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Optimizing Access Applications

When Microsoft introduced 32-bit Access, a number of new performance concerns came part and parcel with the new features and functions. Microsoft continues to make a conscious effort to enhance the performance of the Access database engine, as well as compilation techniques and features such as the formerly undocumented Decompile command. The end result is that Microsoft has helped to ease your burden, but in no way has it completely taken that burden from you.

Tip: The published minimum RAM requirement for a computer to run Access on Windows XP (SP2 or later), Windows Server 2003 (or higher), or Windows Vista or Windows 7 is 256MB - with an emphasis on minimum. If you plan to do serious development with Access, you should have at least 512MB to 1GB of RAM or, preferably, 2GB or more.

With today's computers and memory prices, this amount of memory is a valuable investment. In fact, simply adding more memory will increase speed much more than changing your processor speed, because Access must use the hard drive as a virtual memory area if it doesn't have enough memory. Hard drives are slow, and big hard drives are even slower - regardless of the processor speed.

In this tutorial:

  1. Understanding Module Load on Demand
  2. Using the .accdb Database File Format
  3. Distributing .accde Files
  4. Understanding the Compiled State
  5. Application's code into a compiled state
  6. Distributing applications in a compiled or uncompiled state
  7. Creating a library reference for distributed applications
  8. Improving Absolute Speed
  9. Getting the most from your tables
  10. Getting the most from your queries
  11. Getting the most from your forms and reports
  12. Using bitmaps on forms and reports
  13. Getting the most from your modules
  14. Using control variables
  15. Eliminating dead code and unused variables
  16. Improving Perceived Speed
  17. Loading and keeping forms hidden
  18. Speeding up the progress meter display
  19. Working with Large Access Databases
  20. Recognizing that compiling and compacting
  21. Using the decompile option
  22. Detecting an uncompiled database and automatically recompiling