Introduction
A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled. A single agent
was rebooking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly,
an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his
ticket down on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight
and it has to be FIRST CLASS."
The agent replied "I'm sorry, sir. I'll be happy to try to help
you, but I've got to help these folks first, and I'm sure we'll be
able to work something out."
The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly so that the
passengers behind him could hear, "Do you have any idea who I am?"
Without hesitating, the gate agent smiled and grabbed her public
address microphone. "May I have your attention please?" she began,
her voice bellowing throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger
here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help
him find his identity, please come to the gate."
With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man
glared at the United agent, gritted his teeth and swore, "F***
you!"
Without flinching, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but
you'll have to stand in line for that, too."
The above story is a bit apocryphal; however, it helps to know who
you are and where you stand. In a like way, from time to time you
have to be able to tell which version of Access you are using.
For instance, if you are doing an upgrade to Access, you may need
to know whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the
program. In this month’s Wizard, I will show you the
step-by-step instructions for figuring it out.
The Problem
Prior to Office 2007, it was easy to determine the version and
service pack of Access. You just went to the help menu and clicked
on About Microsoft Access. Life got more complicated because there
are now 32- and 64-bit versions of Access and Office, and you have
to make sure that you are getting the right service pack upgrade
for the program.
Although Microsoft doesn’t make it easy to figure out which
version you are using, you can follow the step-by-step
instructions below.
Access 2010
In Access 2010, take the following steps:
- Click on the File tab.
- Click on Help.
- On the right side just below About Microsoft Access, you
will see the version number and either 32 or 64 bit.
If it is at or above 14.0.7116.5000, you have the most recent
version as of spring 2014.
A word to the techies: If on that same screen you click into the
additional version and copyright information, you may see SP1, SP
2, or perhaps event SP 3. The reason for this is that there is a
disconnect between the Service Pack for Microsoft Access, Office,
and Access 2010 run time versions.
If you need to update to the latest service pack for Office 2010,
you can run the generic Windows Update program. To do this, go to
the following Microsoft website and follow the directions:
For 32 bit versions of Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687455
For 64 bit versions of Office:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39647
As of 2014, most people are on 32-bit versions of Office. Don’t
confuse this with 32 or 64 bit operating system, which may be
different from the Office version. Or just click on the Check for
Updates button available in the same screen as above.
Access 2007
To determine the most recent service pack for Access 2007, take
the following steps:
- Click on the Office button.
- Click on Access Options.
- Click on Resources.
- In the dialog box on the right side, look at the About
Microsoft Access 2007 section. There you will see SPx, where x
represents the Service Pack. If you do not see SPx, then you do
not have any Service Packs. As of spring 2014, the most recent
Service Pack is SP 3. If you need to update, that same screen
also contains a button that will allow you to do it directly
from there.
Conclusion
Once you know the
steps to get the information about Access, it is simple to get
current. So keep this tip handy for the next time you need to
figure out which version and service pack you have.
