What Three Issues Cause the Most Pain in Microsoft Access.

In the dozens of Microsoft Access issues I have fixed since I started working with Access in 1997, I would estimate that 95% of the issues were one of the below: Issue #1: Database is growing in size at an alarmingly rapid pace and seems way too large for the amount of data it is storing. Solution: Enable the Compact and Repair option. I cannot think of a single reason why this would not be enabled and I am not sure why this is not an automatic feature. Sure, it makes closing the Access database file slower, because the database file relinquishes unneeded hard drive storage when it closes, but this is a trade-off that is well worth it. Issue #2: Database cannot be troubleshooted because tables and queries are hidden. When you open the database, only a "switchboard" form is displayed or a macro is automatically runs and the rest of the database objects are hidden. Solution: Open the database file while holding down the Shift key. Although hiding tables and queries from users who could do harm to the database is good design, if you are fixing a database you need access to EVERYTHING. Issue #3: Database is corrupt beyond repair. You are getting cryptic error messages when you open the file and you cannot make the messages go away. Solution: Sometimes it is much more expedient to rebuild an Access database from scratch rather than repairing a corrupted file. Building from scratch is not that difficult, you just need to import all of the Tables, Queries, Forms and other database objects from the original database file to the blank database file.