Microsoft Access Database 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 |