Microsoft has now released, free to all Microsoft Office365 users, the ability to port an Access application, complete with forms, database tables, reports, etc. directly to the web. This lets them begin using a shared web-based database almost instantly, without coding. It lowers the threshhold for office-accessible secure web based databases.
This series of videos shows how simple it is to create tables, add reports, and port the entire thing to the web in a matter of minutes. You can create Access apps directly on the web, or in Access offline and move them to the web.
There are limitations to the online version of Access, especially when it comes to imports. This chart from the Microsoft Learning center shows what you can do with online and offline access:
External data operations available in apps and desktop databases
This table gives you a quick reference of which kinds of files you can import or link to Access apps or desktop databases.
| ACCESS APPS CAN IMPORT… | ACCESS APPS CAN LINK TO… | DESKTOP DATABASES CAN IMPORT… | DESKTOP DATABASES CAN LINK TO… | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel |  | | (read-only) | |
| Microsoft Access | | | | |
| ODBC Databases | | | | |
| Text or comma-separated value (CSV) files | | | (add new records only) | |
| SharePoint List | | (read-only) | | |
| XML | | |||
| Data Services | | (read-only) | ||
| HTML Document | | | ||
| Outlook folder | | |
These databases aren't suitable for everyone - you need to figure out the best solution for your needs. But this is a new, surprising development, offered free to Office365 pro users, that will push your database requirements online faster.
OS-Cubed is a Microsoft Cloud Accelerate partner, and are experts at Office 365 database development and design. Contact us to chat about your requirements.
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