Microsoft Access’s latest Current Channel build—version 2510 (Build 19328.20158)—delivers a compact but meaningful set of quality‑of‑life fixes that directly address long-standing designer pain points: Undo/Redo behavior when changing control stacking, improved syntax visibility in the Monaco SQL editor under dark Office themes, and better visibility controls for Waterfall chart connector lines. These are incremental changes on the surface, but they remove friction from everyday design and reporting workflows and improve accessibility in commonly used surfaces.
Microsoft has been steadily modernizing Access over the last two years—shipping the Monaco SQL editor, introducing a set of modern charts, and moving many user‑facing fixes into fast, iterative Current Channel releases. The Access team publishes monthly bug‑fix posts and the Office Current Channel release notes, and community sites and independent trackers frequently capture real‑world impact and accessibility fixes. That steady cadence makes small usability patches like this one significant because they target high‑frequency tasks for database designers and power users. Two threads of history are important here:
Source: Windows Report Microsoft Access November Update Fixes Undo, Dark Theme, and Chart Visibility Bugs
Background / Overview
Microsoft has been steadily modernizing Access over the last two years—shipping the Monaco SQL editor, introducing a set of modern charts, and moving many user‑facing fixes into fast, iterative Current Channel releases. The Access team publishes monthly bug‑fix posts and the Office Current Channel release notes, and community sites and independent trackers frequently capture real‑world impact and accessibility fixes. That steady cadence makes small usability patches like this one significant because they target high‑frequency tasks for database designers and power users. Two threads of history are important here:- Historically, z‑order (Bring to Front / Send to Back) commands in Access design surfaces did not participate in the standard Undo stack—Microsoft’s documentation explicitly noted that layering commands could not be undone. That limitation forced designers to be extra cautious when rearranging overlapping controls.
- The Monaco SQL editor (the same editor family that powers Visual Studio Code) was added to Access to modernize SQL editing, but early iterations introduced contrast and formatting edge cases—particularly under dark Office themes—so the editor received iterative fixes. Meanwhile, Access’s modern charting engine has been enhanced over several releases to provide a task pane and series-level control.
What changed in version 2510 (Build 19328.20158)
Key user-facing fixes (at a glance)
- Undo/Redo now covers Bring to Front / Send to Back in Form and Report Design view — designers can undo z‑order changes that previously could not be reversed.
- Monaco SQL editor syntax colors improved for dark themes — keywords and language tokens use a lighter blue for better contrast and readability under Black/Dark Office themes.
- Waterfall chart connector visibility improved — connector lines are now more configurable so transitions between bars are easier to see in reports or presentations. (See caution below: official documentation confirms the ability to show/hide connector lines; explicit thickness control is mentioned in some community coverage but is not yet documented in an authoritative Access API page.
Deep dive: Undo / Redo for z‑order commands
The problem
Until now, Bring to Front and Send to Back were considered layering operations that did not create an undoable step in Access’s design history. That behavior is documented in Microsoft’s UI guidance for Access/Forms: z‑order operations historically bypassed the undo stack, meaning a mis-click could force manual rearrangement or rolling back to a saved copy. For designers working with dense forms or pixel‑tight report layouts, that was a frequent, productivity‑sapping annoyance.What this update appears to do
Build 19328.20158 restores full Undo functionality for those actions in Form and Report Design view, so z‑order changes are now reversible through the standard Undo command or Ctrl+Z. That effectively removes a class of recoverability problems and aligns Access’s behavior with modern expectations for object‑level editing in other design tools. This change was reported in current coverage of the 2510 release.Why this matters (practical benefits)
- Fewer recovery steps: Designers can experiment with layout without fear; a single Ctrl+Z restores the prior stacking order.
- Faster iteration: Rapid visual tweaks no longer require manual rework or saving sequential copies.
- Better parity: Behavior now more closely matches other Microsoft design tools and modern IDEs that treat layering as undoable.
Technical note and risks
- Implementation of undo for z‑order implies Access now tracks z‑order mutations as discrete, undoable operations in the design document model. That change is small on the surface but touches persistence, the object model exposed to VBA, and any automation or third‑party add‑ins that manipulate control order.
- Potential regression vectors include:
- Automation scripts that previously assumed immediate and irreversible z‑order changes could now behave differently if they rely on a particular persistent order immediately after a user action.
- Add‑ins and deployed front‑ends that manipulate controls programmatically might need validation to ensure the new undo bookkeeping does not conflict with existing save/restore workflows.
Monaco SQL editor: contrast and readability fixes
What’s changed
The Monaco editor inside Access has matured quickly since its introduction. This update adjusts syntax highlighting colors for dark themes—keywords are now rendered in a lighter blue shade—which improves legibility when the Office suite is using dark or black themes. That adjustment addresses accessibility concerns raised by the community and bug trackers.Why it matters for SQL authors
- Reduced eye strain: Better contrast helps during long edit sessions and on dim displays.
- Fewer mistakes: Clearer token colors reduce the chance of misreading keywords or table/field names.
- Consistency: Monaco is intended to match other Microsoft editors (VS Code, SSMS), so color tuning brings Access’s editor closer to the broader Microsoft developer experience.
Cross‑checks and provenance
- Microsoft’s Monaco SQL editor documentation confirms the editor supports light and dark themes and that Microsoft has been iterating on Monaco‑specific bugs and keyboard behavior in earlier fix posts. The Access community and independent trackers logged the dark theme keyword contrast issue and report it as fixed in the 2510 family.
Remaining caveats
The Monaco editor is a substantial change and community reports show intermittent visual or formatting issues (e.g., indentation preservation, line breaks) have been tracked and fixed iteratively. While contrast tweaks are a clear win, users relying on precise SQL formatting or unusual encodings should continue to test queries in the environment where they’ll run.Modern charts and Waterfall connector visibility
The charting landscape in Access
Access’s modern charts (introduced in 2024/2025 releases) expanded the built‑in visualization palette with types such as Waterfall, Pareto, Bubble, and Box‑and‑Whisker and a dedicated Chart Settings task pane. Over several releases Microsoft exposed many chart settings to the UI and to VBA, closing gaps between the settings task pane and programmatic control.What the 2510 coverage reports
The 2510 release notes and community coverage mention improvements to Waterfall charts: connector lines are easier to see and—which several outlets reported—connector appearance can be tuned to improve visibility. Microsoft’s VBA documentation shows a ChartSeries.ShowWaterfallConnectorLines property (Boolean) that controls whether connectors are shown for Waterfall modern charts; this confirms Access supports connector visibility control programmatically.What is and isn’t confirmed
- Confirmed: Access supports showing/hiding connector lines for modern Waterfall charts. That property is part of the documented Access VBA chart object model.
- Less clear / unverified: WindowsReport and some community posts indicate you can customize connector thickness in the latest build. A thorough search of Microsoft’s official API docs did not reveal a documented ChartSeries connector thickness property for Access at the time of writing. That means the reported thickness control may be:
- A UI setting exposed in the Chart Settings pane (not yet documented in the API); or
- A community observation that relates to a related setting (for example, outline or series stroke controls) rather than a dedicated connectorThickness property; or
- An upcoming or gated capability not yet reflected in public reference docs.
How to validate and deploy this update (practical steps)
- Check your build: run winver or Settings > System > About to confirm you’re on Version 2510 (Build 19328.20158) before testing the fixes.
- Test the Undo change: open a copy of a complex form/report, select overlapping controls and use Bring to Front / Send to Back. Confirm Ctrl+Z reverts the z‑order and test multi‑select cases and grouped controls.
- Test Monaco in dark mode: enable the Monaco SQL editor (File > Options > Enable Monaco SQL Editor), switch Office to a dark theme, and edit queries with keywords and linked table references to confirm contrast and token visibility.
- Validate Waterfall connectors: create a Waterfall modern chart, toggle connector visibility, and inspect the Chart Settings pane for stroke/outline or connector size options; test VBA access to ChartSeries properties.
- Confirm automated flows: run any UI automation or VBA that manipulates control order to make sure behavior remains correct with the new undo bookkeeping.
- Roll out slowly: deploy to a pilot group, collect Feedback Hub reports and crash telemetry, then widen deployment after 7–14 days of validation.
Developer and IT considerations
- Accessibility audit: color changes in Monaco and chart visuals should be validated against contrast guidelines (WCAG AA/AAA where appropriate). Designers and accessibility leads should confirm color contrast for token colors and chart annotations in typical user environments (OLED low‑light vs. bright office).
- Automation compatibility: any automated UI testing or macros that assert z‑order or rely on a previous behavior should be re‑run; undo hooks may alter the timing or state assumptions in automation.
- Source control: for teams managing Access front ends in source control, confirm that any automation or build scripts that manipulate design objects still behave predictably when undo history is extended to include z‑order actions.
- Patch policy: because Current Channel updates are rolled out progressively, enterprise admins should control exposure via update rings (Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise, or Previews) and schedule validation in lab images before broad deployment.
Strengths of this release
- High‑impact, low‑risk fixes: The update addresses frequently expressed usability issues that do not need major architectural changes but materially improve day‑to‑day workflows.
- Accessibility gains: Adjusting Monaco’s keyword colors in dark themes directly improves readability for developers and power users who prefer low‑light environments.
- Maturing modern charts: Continued investment in chart settings and programmatic chart control narrows the gap between Access and other Office charting surfaces for reporting scenarios.
Risks, unknowns, and things to watch
- Incomplete documentation: Some claims from community coverage (for example, explicit connector thickness controls) are not yet mirrored in Microsoft’s public API documentation. Treat these claims as promising but not authoritative until Microsoft documents the capability or publishes a developer blog outlining exact property names and behavior.
- Staged rollout inconsistency: Office Current Channel updates are often delivered via staged flags. Expect variability across machines even on identical build numbers while server‑side gating is in effect. That can make replication and support more complex.
- Potential automation regressions: Undo bookkeeping changes can interact with VBA and UI automation in non‑obvious ways—validate any processes that rely on immediate, irreversible z‑order changes.
- Accessibility edge cases: While color tweaks improve contrast, they may introduce new issues for high‑contrast themes or users with atypical color vision; confirm behavior under assistive technology scenarios.
Recommendations for power users and admins
- For database designers: test form and report designs in a sandboxed copy before updating production front ends; leverage Ctrl+Z testing scenarios, and validate grouped controls and subforms.
- For IT and app packagers: pilot the 2510 build with a group of power users who build or maintain forms and reports, gather feedback, and only then push to broad user populations.
- For developers needing connector styling: if connector thickness is required for presentations today and Access does not expose it in your build, generate the chart in Excel or Power BI where connector style controls are clearer, or build a VBA workaround that draws connectors as shapes if needed.
Conclusion
Version 2510 (Build 19328.20158) of Microsoft Access is a concise, pragmatic update that fixes a handful of issues with outsized daily impact: it restores undoability for control layering, improves the Monaco SQL editor’s dark‑theme readability, and continues the charting engine’s steady refinement. These changes reflect a team prioritizing user experience and accessibility fixes alongside feature work. That said, a few claims in community coverage—most notably around explicit connector thickness controls in Waterfall charts—remain not fully documented in Microsoft’s public API resources and should be validated by administrators before being relied on in production reports. Users who depend on Access design and reporting workflows should pilot this build, validate automation and accessibility scenarios, and continue feeding actionable feedback to the Access engineering team so incremental improvements like these become routine and predictable.Source: Windows Report Microsoft Access November Update Fixes Undo, Dark Theme, and Chart Visibility Bugs
