My idea is similar to the one called "Provide a native grid control similar to the visual studio gridview or even the old flexgrid" EXCEPT I want it to be a BOUND crosstab that is editable. This blog describes how to fake an editable crosstab, but it is a lot of work http://alisadev.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-fake-editable-crosstab-in.html. My best example is that for a school, they want to view the grades in a grid, but be able to edit them. Classes go down the side, Quarters go across the top, and Grades will be in the middle. When the user is hand-entering the Grades for Quarter 2, the user wants to be able to see the existing grade for Q1 next to it. I could create this by dumping the data into temp tables and creating a crosstab view, but then it is not editable because the crosstab is not bound back to the underlying normalized tables. This is not summary data (like # sales per month per employee), but just data from normalized tables being presented in an editable grid. The solution / process would be to take the data from normalized tables, de-normalize it and present it in an editable crosstab (with maybe a temp table behind it), and then normalize the data again and save it back to the source tables.

After I add a Totals row to my datasheet (by clicking the Sigma button), I was expecting to get a drop down when I click on any column for the Totals row. With a Linked Table (SQL Server), I wasn't getting this. I assumed it was because this Totals row would not work for Linked Tables, perhaps?

I had even asked why this might be with this SQL Server support forum: https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/sqlserver/en-US/502dea49-1a92-4fdb-89b0-1d778a7b7df4/not-able-to-display-column-totals-totals-row-in-ms-access-for-linked-table-from-sql-server

As described in that forum post, the reason I wasn't getting the drop-down allowing me to choose Sum, or Count, etc., was because MS Access was still loading data from the Linked table, and thus the UI was not responsive for that specific action (clicking on any column in the Totals row).

Simply waiting for Access to finish loading the data, and then clicking on a column in the Totals row did yield the drop-down with the Sum, Count, etc, that was was looking for.

So essentially, my request is that Access provide some visual that it is still loading data, and therefore, my click event on the Totals row was not being acted on yet.

So this is a request for a UI / UX improvement.

I don't know if Access has this same behavior with local tables, or if this only happens with Linked tables, so if it is Linked tables only (and only large amount of data), there probably aren't all that many people that are impacted by this.

Currently, one can highlight multiple column headers, double click on the right edge and have all the field widths autosize to the maximum width of its data. Unfortunately, this is limited to the columns that are visible on screen which makes it cumbersome for tables with lots of fields. Columns beyond the screen are not adjusted and the last one is often adjusted oddly. Excel lets you select the entire worksheet, double click on the edge of one column, and have all the columns resize even if they aren’t currently visible. We would like to see the same in Access. A limit for the maximum width would be nice so that a column would never exceed the width of the screen.

Please increase the size of the footer of the data sheet to make it easier to see and use the record controls. The number of records box should be much bigger to see large record numbers. Also, the search box should be at the top of the datasheet to make it more intuitive to use and be inline with the emphasis Microsoft now gives search in all its applications. I would like to see wrappable columns heading. And the filter button, the add button and a delete and refresh button at the upper right hand part of the datasheet so this consistent with other microsoft programs and obvious for the user to see and work with.