Note   The Microsoft Office Access 2007 Developer Extensions are required to use this feature. See Introduction to the Access 2007 Developer Extensions and Runtime for more information on how to obtain the Access Developer Extensions.

Source code control, also known as version control, is ideal for team development of software applications, publications, manufacturing procedures, or any work that benefits from keeping up with each new version of an object or document. Source code control systems track and store changes to files developed over time. By using Microsoft Visual SourceSafe or another source code control program, team members can review an object's history, revert to earlier versions of an object, and develop applications concurrently.

Visual SourceSafe (and most other source code control programs) provides the following services:

• Displays differences between two versions of an object.
• Prevents accidental deletion of objects.
• Organizes databases into a nearly unlimited hierarchy of projects and subprojects.
• Checks objects in and out easily, allowing users to add comments to describe what they have done.
• Enables two or more users to share objects across projects.
• Works with modular or object-oriented code.
• Tracks changes users make to objects.
• Makes older versions of objects readily available for software updates and other purposes.
• Tracks date and time of changes to all objects in the database.
• Creates reports on object or project activity.
• Creates journal files, with records of each change to a database.
• Controls access to files.

When you have your development projects under Visual SourceSafe control, the contents of your project and the contents of your Visual SourceSafe project remain synchronized. The most common source code control commands are available from the Source Control tab in Microsoft Office Access.