Automating AutoCAD using Microsoft Access VBA
Directly to your question: yes, it is more than possible to do it. You do it via AutoCAD COM automation. That is, you run your application (in your case, it is VBA code in Access), which automates AutoCAD (either starts a new AutoCAD instance, or find a running AutoCAD instance), makes AutoCAD open drawings, update/retrieve data to/from drawings...
However, before you do this, you really need to ask yourself/users: do you want to run 2 apps (Access UI and AutoCAD) in order to achieve the business goal? Since AutoCAD has to run anyway, can the business goal be reached withing AutoCAD (i.e. only writing AutoCAD VBA code)?
Anyway, if you have decided to use another application to control AutoCAD (be it Access, or Excel, or anything else for that mater), following VBA code would let you connected to AutoCAD and do something with it (hopefully you do know AutoCAD well and know very basic AutoCAD COM object model; otherwise, you need to do quite some study before you can do anything meaningful with AutoCAD):
Sub DoSomethingWithAcad()
Dim cadApp As AcadApplication
Dim dwg As AcadDocument
On Error Resume Next
Set cadApp = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.Application")
If Err.Number<>0 Then
Set cadApp = CreateApplication("AutoCAD.Application")
End If
If cadApp Is Nothing Then
MsgBox "Cannot connect to/start AutoCAD." & vbCrlf & _
"Something is wrong with the computer!"
Exit Sub
End If
On Error GoTo 0
Set dwg = cadApp.Open ("[drawing file path/name]")
DoSomethingWithDrawing dwg
dwg.Close True/False '' Close the drawing with or without saving changes
End Sub
Private Sub DoSomethingWithDrawing(dwg As AcadDocument)
''You access drawing data here
'' You can also update drawing here
End Sub
Of course, in your app (Access/Excel/...) the VBA project must set reference to AutoCAD type library.
Since you are trying to change something in AutoCAD from external application (Access UI), it does make thing a bit complicated if your AutoCAD programming knowledge is limited. Again, I do not recommend such a solution in most cases (automating AutoCAD from external app), unless the working to be done in AutoCAD is trivial/simple and has to be done by user who knows little of using AutoCAD (yet, AutoCAD must be installed and running!).
Anyway, if you go ahead with what you wanted (using Access to control AutoCAD), then take the code in my previous reply:
...
Private Sub DoSomethingWithDrawing(dwg As AcadDocument)
''' Here you rename a particular layer
RenameLayer dwg, oldName, newName
'' Do whatever else
....
End Sub
Private Sub RenameLayer(dwg As AcadDocument, oldName As String, newName As String)
Dim lay As AcadLayer
For Each lay In dwg.Layers
If UCase(lay.Name) = UCase(oldName) Then
lay.Name = newName
Exit For
End If
Next
End Sub
Agian and again, when you are new to AutoCAD programming, try to do and learn it with AutoCAD VBA where you can easily write and test/debug your code, such as the Sub I just wrote here (RenameLayer()). AutoCAD VBA also provides quite good help document with tons of sample code: simply select any class/property/method in AutoCAD VBA's Object Browser window and click "?", which would open the help document/sample code.
Once you are comfortable to write AutoCAD VBA Code to do something, you can then move the code to run from Access application side with some, but not too much, necessary modification, if you insists to do thing from external app that controls AutoCAD.