Microsoft Access Specifications and Limitations

 
Microsoft Access provides users with one of the simplest and most flexible RDBMS solutions on the market today. Regular users of Microsoft products will enjoy the familiar Windows 'look and feel' as well as the tight integration with other Microsoft Office family products.

As with any application, there are always specifications and limitations as to what can be done. The following details the specifications stated in the Microsoft Access Help files for Microsoft Access 2000, XP and 2003 versions.

Microsoft Access database specifications:

Microsoft Access Database - General

General specifications for Microsoft Access databases
Attribute Maximum
Microsoft Access database (.mdb) (Microsoft Access database: A collection of data and objects (such as tables, queries, or forms) that is related to a particular topic or purpose. The Microsoft Jet database engine manages the data.) file size 2 gigabytes minus the space needed for system objects (system object: Database objects that are defined by the system, such as the table MSysIndexes, or by the user. You can create a system object by naming the object with USys as the first four characters in the object name.).
Number of objects in a database 32,768
Modules (including forms and reports with the HasModule property set to True) 1000
Number of characters in an object name 64
Number of characters in a password 14
Number of characters in a user name or group name 20
Number of concurrent users 255

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Microsoft Access Table

Microsoft Access table specifications
Attribute Maximum
Number of characters in a table name 64
Number of characters in a field name 64
Number of fields in a table 255
Number of open tables 2048; the actual number may be less because of tables opened internally by Microsoft Access
Table size
  • 2 gigabyte minus the space needed for the system objects - Acc 2003
  • 2 gigabytes - Acc XP
  • 1 gigabytes - Acc 2000
Number of characters in a Memo field 65,535 when entering data through the user interface;
1 gigabyte of character storage when entering data programmatically
Size of an OLE Object field 1 gigabyte
Number of indexes in a table 32
Number of fields in an index 10
Number of characters in a validation message 255
Number of characters in a validation rule 2048
Number of characters in a table or field description 255
Number of characters in a record (excluding Memo and OLE Object fields) when the UnicodeCompression property of the fields is set to Yes
  • 4000 - Acc 2003
  • 2000 - Acc XP
Number of characters in a field property setting 255

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Microsoft Access Query

Microsoft Access query specifications
Attribute Maximum
Number of enforced relationships 32 per table minus the number of indexes that are on the table for fields or combinations of fields that are not involved in relationships
Number of tables in a query 32
Number of fields in a recordset 255
Recordset size 1 gigabyte
Sort limit 255 characters in one or more fields
Number of levels of nested queries 50
Number of characters in a cell in the query design grid 1024
Number of characters for a parameter in a parameter query 255
Number of ANDs in a WHERE or HAVING clause 99
Number of characters in an SQL statement Approximately 64,000

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Microsoft Access Forms and Reports

Microsoft Access form and report specifications
Attribute Maximum
Number of characters in a label 2048
Number of characters in a text box 65,535
Form or report width 22 in. (55.87 cm)
Section height 22 in. (55.87 cm)
Height of all sections plus section headers (in Design View) 200 in. (508 cm)
Number of levels of nested forms or reports
  • 7 - Acc 2003
  • 7 - Acc XP
  • 3 - Acc 2000
Number of fields or expressions you can sort or group on in a report 10
Number of headers and footers in a report 1 report header/footer; 1 page header/footer; 10 group headers/footers
Number of printed pages in a report 65,536
Number of controls and sections you can add over the lifetime of the form or report 754
Number of characters in an SQL statement that serves as the Recordsource or Rowsource property of a form, report, or control (both .mdb and .adp) 32,750

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Microsoft Access Macros

Microsoft Access macro specifications
Attribute Maximum
Number of actions in a macro (macro: An action or set of actions that you can use to automate tasks.) 999
Number of characters in a condition (condition: Part of the criteria that a field must meet for searching or filtering. Some conditions must be used with a value; for example, the field Author with the condition equals with the value Jane.) 255
Number of characters in a comment 255
Number of characters in an action argument (action argument: Additional information required by some macro actions. For example, the object affected by the action or special conditions under which the action is carried out.) 255