17.3. SharePoint Features in Access
Microsoft Office Access 2007 features a slew of new toys for working with SharePoint lists. The introduction of multi-valued lookups and attachment field support allows Access to work with SharePoint Multiple Value and Attachment columns much more seamlessly. Several new features have been added, such as Published Databases and Access Views on SharePoint to allow database applications to quickly and easily integrate with SharePoint. There are a number of Object Model updates and feature additions for developers to leverage in an Access database solution, some of which have already been discussed. Access 2007 database applications can finally leverage SharePoint as it was meant to be used.
17.3.1. Linked Tables to SharePoint
Linked Tables to SharePoint is probably the most commonly used SharePoint feature in Access database solutions. It provides the database with virtual tables, which update data on the specified SharePoint site, directly from within the database solution. The SharePoint ISAM provides the interface for Access to connect directly to SharePoint. SharePoint linked tables can be used just like native Access tables, except that the Schema cannot be modified in Access or through VBA code, and the actual data in the table is stored on the SharePoint site. When the tables are in offline mode, the data is copied to Access local storage. SharePoint linked tables can be extraordinarily useful in building Access applications for groups ...
