Easy Solutions to Get Access Database Running at Peak Performance

MS Access databases are used with a range of applications. Even if your database is locally stored and not shared on a network, you will be concerned about its performance. These concerns rise as your database gets larger and larger. In order to get rapid response, stability, and reliability, you should follow some tips to improve the performance of your Access database. Here are some simple solutions to get Access Database running at peak performance.

How to Get Access Database Running at Peak Performance

 

Disable Subdatasheets

MS Access provides preview of subdatasheets between related tables. This feature is useful for those who use Datasheet view more often. If you are not into such habit, you can disable subdatasheets to improve database performance. To do so, follow these steps:

• First, open the design view of your table and then view the table’s property sheet by selecting the ‘Design’ tab and clicking on the ‘Property Sheet’ in the Show/Hide group. You can also do this by pressing ‘ALT’+’ENTER’.
• Select ‘None’ for the SubdatasheetName property.

Avoid Embedding Graphics in Database

If you deal with a lot of graphic files and usually embed them in your Access database, this is certainly going to degrade your performance. Linking is considered way better than embedding, as you need to link to files that are outside of the database environment. Embedded graphics take up resources that make your database slow. To resolve this issue, you can use the Preserve Source Image Format setting in MS Access as follows:

• In Access 2007, click on the Office button (for Access 2010, click File tab) and select Access Options.
• Select your Access database from the left pane.
• Go to the Applications Options section and select Preserve Source Image Format (Smaller File Size) option for Picture Property Storage Format.
• Click OK.

Split the Database

The splitting process usually involves dividing the database into two files: one storing the data and the other storing user interface objects. The file containing the user interface objects is used as a front-end, whereas the file having your data is used as a linked back-end. The data flows from the back-end to the front-end. This helps to manage your data and the database itself with ease. If the database is used in single-user mode, you should have both ends on the local system.

The methods listed above are simple and easy to implement. By doing some changes to your database, you can get huge performance gains and make your MS Access experience much better.