What’s new in Access 2013 for developers

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Mike Stowe, Programming Writer, Office Developer Documentation team, authored today's post.

Access 2013 features a new type of application model, Access apps, that’s makes it easy to create, customize, and deploy an app to the cloud. This post briefly describes some of the features that make that possible.

Bring Access apps to the cloud with Office 365

If you subscribe to the Office 365 plan includes SharePoint Online, such as Office 365 Small Business Premium or Office 365 Enterprise, you can host your Access 2013 apps in the cloud with no extra setup required. Microsoft will make sure your data is secure, backed-up, and available, so that you can focus on getting things done.

For more information about hosting your Access app in the cloud, see Get started with Access 2013 Web Apps.

Access apps are SharePoint apps

SharePoint 2013 features a new application model, apps for SharePoint. In an on-premises environment, Access apps are hosted on SharePoint 2013. SharePoint 2013 provides the infrastructure and tools to manage, deploy, and maintain your app. Your Access app can be featured in your company’s app catalog, where users can discover and install it in just a few clicks. Best of all, anyone with a web browser and an internet connection can use your app, even if Access isn’t installed on their device.

For information about apps for Office 2013, see Apps for Office and SharePoint in the MSDN online library. Additionally, you can follow the Apps for Office and SharePoint developer blog to keep up on the latest information around apps for Office and SharePoint.

SQL Server back-end

When you create an Access app —whether on-premise or through Office 365—a full-fledged SQL Server database is automatically created to store its data and objects. This means that your app will be faster, more reliable, and work great with large amounts of data. If you’re already familiar with SQL Server you can connect to this database for advanced reporting and analysis with familiar tools such as Excel, Power View, and Crystal Reports. Your users can rest assured that their apps are ready for the future if they ever need to enhance them with advanced integrations or migrations.

For more information about Access apps and SQL Server, see Access 2013 and SQL Server.

Polished user experience

Access apps feature a polished user interface (UI) that’s optimized for the web. When you create a table, Access automatically creates a set of views for you to customize. The default views contain different paradigms for filtering and data entry. They contain some features that you’d have to code by hand in an Access desktop database.

List Details view allows the user to filter the view by using a search box. Datasheet view provides a spreadsheet-like experience for users who prefer to view many records at once. If your app contains related data, Access adds a control to the view that displays the related items, allowing the user to “drill-down” on the details.

For more information about views, see what’s new for Access 2013 developers.