Use the custom toolbars and startup settings from earlier versions of access

If you created custom toolbars and menu bars in earlier versions of Microsoft Office Access (before Access 2007), this article describes how those settings would behave when you open them in current versions of Access.

In this article

• How earlier version databases behave in current versions

• Open an earlier version database that contains custom toolbars

• Set Access to use only custom menu bars

How earlier version databases behave in current versions

If an earlier version Access database (.mdb file) contains custom toolbars, custom menu bars, or a custom startup behavior, you can keep the options when the database is opened in more current versions or when you convert that legacy database to an .accdb or .accde file. For example, if you turned off built-in toolbars and replaced the default menu bar in a database created in Access 2003, that behavior remains in place when you open the database in current versions of Access unless you change it by using the earlier version of Access.

You can hide the ribbon when you open legacy files (.mdb, .mde, and .mda files) in current versions, or you can define different behaviors for the earlier version files by using the Access Options to customize the ribbon and toolbar behaviors. For more information, see Set user options for the current database.

When you open a previous version Access database and you choose to display the ribbon, custom toolbars appear as groups on the Add-Ins tab. Each group in the tab corresponds to a custom toolbar, and each group uses the name assigned to the original toolbar. However, the toolbars must be visible in the legacy database or they do not appear on the tab.

Note: To bypass any custom startup behaviors, press and hold SHIFT while you open the database.

Open an earlier version database that contains custom toolbars

1. Click the File tab, and then click Open.

   The Open dialog box appears.

2. Select your database file (an .mdb or .mde file), and then click Open.

   Access opens the earlier version database and the database objects appear in the Navigation Pane. If you have set a form, switchboard, or other object to appear on startup, that object is also displayed in the Navigation Pane. Also, if you created any custom toolbars or menu bars, they appear in the Add-Ins tab as one or more groups. Each group uses the name originally assigned to the custom toolbar or menu bar.

   Note: If the Add-Ins tab is not visible, Click the File tab, click Options, and then click Customize Ribbon. From the Customize the Ribbon area, make sure that the Add-Ins option is selected.

3. Click Add-Ins tab.

   The custom toolbars appear as one or more groups and you can use the toolbar when it is required. For example, if a custom toolbar contains the Print Relationships command, Access does not enable that command until you display the relationships for the database.

Set Access to use only custom menu bars

1. Open your previous version Access database in the current version.

2. Click the File tab, and then click Options.

3. In the Access Options dialog box, click Current Database.

4. Under Ribbon and Toolbar Options, clear the Allow Full Menus option, and then click OK.

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