Access® 2010 Bible

Chapter 33. Integrating Access with SharePoint

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Considering SharePoint as a data source

• Understanding the SharePoint and Access interfaces

• Using SharePoint data on Access forms

• Displaying SharePoint data in Access reports

• Looking at SharePoint collaborative applications

Several of the previous chapters of this book have touched on different data sources for Access. You've seen how Access supports importing, linking, and exporting data. Microsoft Access has no equal when it comes to sharing data with other applications.

This chapter explains how to use Microsoft SharePoint as a data source for Access applications. Microsoft has taken great pains to ensure that Access and SharePoint interoperate seamlessly, providing Access developers with a rich source of data accessible from anywhere on the Internet.

SharePoint data are stored as lists. SharePoint lists can be exported from, and imported into, Access applications. SharePoint lists are available from any SharePoint site, sharing data across the Internet. In earlier chapters, you read about the SharePoint basics, about the services provided by SharePoint Services, and how various types of applications can be implemented using SharePoint. Additionally, you read about how a SharePoint Web site and Access can integrate with each other.

Linking to SharePoint lists makes data stored on a SharePoint Web site appear as linked tables in Access. From a data perspective, linking to a SharePoint list is no different than linking to a SQL ...