Back in 2002 I wrote an Access Archon article dealing with reference issues, among them the problem of certain references being upgraded when a database is opened in a higher version of Access, but not downgraded when it is again opened in a lower version. You might think that over the last 16 years Microsoft […]
The two procedures will let you easily clear up redundant Word documents, and alphabetize lists of declarations. Access versions: 2007-2013 Level: Intermediate Introduction The two procedures described in this article will let you easily clear up redundant Word documents, and alphabetize lists of declarations. When working on the 3rd edition of my Working with Word […]
Q: Susan H. writes that she has some standard code that creates a Word document and puts some Access data into it, using VBA Automation code. But sometimes the Word window is hidden behind other windows, either the Access window itself or some other window. A: This is a long-standing problem in Office Automation. Many […]
Q: Lou writes that sometimes when he clicks on a label in Design view, in order to change the caption, it displays with a dark back color, which is disconcerting. The Label control’s BackStyle property is set to Transparent, so it shouldn’t be displaying as a color. How can this be fixed?A: This can happen […]
Back in Access 2003, you could easily change the font name and size for a datasheet form by clicking the square in the upper-left corner of the datasheet (in datasheet view), and selecting the font and size from the selectors on the Formatting toolbar, or by selecting Font from the Format menu. But these features […]
If you need to create a filter string for filtering by a person’s name, or a city name, you may run into this error: This is because single quotes are used as the delimiter for Text strings, and there is a single quote in the city name. To get around this problem, make a calculated […]
Some great tips on table formatting. Joey Cherdarchuk has a nice posting on a very different table styling to the type that Microsoft prefers. Under the banner ‘Clear Off the Table’ he suggests getting rid of gridlines and colors to simplify the look of tables. In his example, Joey takes a standard Microsoft auto formatted table […]
Access Archon Column #230 – Making Concatenated Strings from Linked Tables and Multi-valued Fields Access versions: 2007-2013 Level: Intermediate Introduction Back in 2001, I wrote an Access Archon article (#89, Flattening Linked Data) which showed how to create a string of concatenated data from values in a one-to-many linked table. That technique is still useful, […]
Access Archon Column #229 – Fixing Normalization Errors Access versions: 2002-2013 Level: Intermediate Introduction Sometimes when you take over an Access database created by an amateur (or at least, someone with a minimal understanding of normalization), you will find data such as employee names stored in a Text field in the Orders table. If the […]
Finding the location of the Office object model DLL Q: Frank H. writes: “I want to use the FileDialog object to create a browser for selecting a file, but it requires a reference to the Office object library, and I can’t find that library in the list of Microsoft objects. Where is it?” A: For […]
Access: Disabling a Label control Q: I need to disable a Label control, for a consistent appearance with some other controls on a form. But this control doesn’t have an Enabled property. Is there some way I can do this? A: You can’t disable a Label control, but you can make it look disabled by […]
Exporting Filtered Data to Excel Access versions: 2007 – 2013 Level: Intermediate In Access Archon #200 (Exporting Access Data to Excel), I showed how to export data to an Excel workbook, using various techniques. In this article, I expand on that theme, showing how to export filtered data from Access to multiple worksheets within […]
By Helen FeddemaAccess versions: 2007-2013Level: Intermediate The main menu of the sample database for Access Archon #212 (A New Style Main Menu) has selectors for filtering a report by CustomerID or OrderNo. But sometimes you might want to print a filtered report right from the current record of a form. That is the topic of […]
by Helen Feddema I recently had occasion to set up a VM with 64-bit Windows 8.1 and 64-bit Office 2013, and I tested several of my add-ins in that environment, as well as Rick Fisher’s Find And Replace (the 64-bit version). I found that my Extras Plus add-in (an .mda add-in that works in Access […]
A simple way to backup your SQL databases and move them offsite. SQL Server from Microsoft has a built-in backup utility however it doesn’t compress the backup nor let you move it to another machine. That’s where SQL Backup and FTP comes in, a nifty add-on for a reasonable price. SQL Backup and FTP lets […]
How to get detailed SuperPAC donation and spending information into Excel. Today the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) is receiving and publishing details of the controversial SuperPAC’s showing who has donated and what they spent money on. It’s a good and timely example of how you can get information from the web and turn it […]
How to enter accented characters, grave, circumflex, umlaut etc when they aren’t on the keyboard. Typing accented letters can be a chore and a mystery, especially for those of us unaccustomed to languages with the ‘extra’ letters. The keyboards don’t show accented letters and it’s not obvious how to type them. It’s good to get […]
Free training manuals for Office 2007 and before plus Quick References for Office 2010. Mouse Training in the UK has released their training manuals free for all comers plus some Quick Reference Guides. The Training Manuals are for Office 2007, Office 2003, Office XP (2002) and Office 2000. They cover Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, […]
There are several built-in ways to export Access data to Excel. There are several built-in ways to export Access data to Excel. You can use the Excel button on the Ribbon (or toolbar) to export a report (or other object) to Excel, or the TransferSpreadsheet method in code, to transfer data from the report’s record […]
How to index the code on ASP and ASP.net web pages with Windows Search A problem with Windows Search is the default treatment of web pages with programming code like PHP, ASP and ASP.net. The Windows Search indexing filter for these types only indexes the visible parts of the web page using a HTML filter, […]
The new cover for third generation Kindle devices is very clever. I like the look of the new Kindle with WiFi only. Many people have never felt a pressing need to use the 3G service if only because it’s too tempting to make impluse purchases. It also reduces the battery life of the device – even […]
The distributable code for Access 2010 developers is now available, but beware bugs. The Microsoft Access 2010 runtime download is now available from Microsoft. There are two versions available – 32-bit and 64-bit depending on which type of Windows you have. The runtime download is freely distributable and allows Access developers to make ‘solutions’ (aka […]
From: Microsoft This is a direct copy of the Office 2010 pricing as presented by Microsoft with all the footnotes described as a ‘more detailed guide’. Microsoft Office 2010 Retail Pricing Comparison Chart January 2010 Office Home and Student1 Office Home and Business Office Professional Office Professional Academic Word 2010 Word 2010 Word 2010 Word […]
Pity about the name but ‘God mode’ is a handy trick for Windows 7 and Vista. In fact you don’t need ‘God’ at all. Again, this isn’t MS Office but it’s too good to ignore … Given how sensitive some religious people can be, it’s little wonder Microsoft doesn’t want to talk about the Windows […]
A reader’s having some problems backing up back end databases. Q: Bob Linthicum writes that he is having a problem with backing up back end databases using the code from Access Archon #151. He is getting Error 76, “Path not found”. A: Try my new Extras Plus add-in (Code Sample #20), which updates the backup […]
Q: Bradley Welland writes to ask if there is any information available on using ActiveX controls in Access. A: This continues to be a sore point, even in Office 2007. ActiveX controls (other than the few native ones) can’t be depended on to work the same in Access as in other hosts (such as VB), […]
How to put a command on the Quick Access Toolbar. As those of you who have installed Office 2007 know, the new Ribbon interface offers very little customizability. No longer can you drag commands around to where you want them to be, remove ones you don’t need, or write functions and place them on the […]
How to have a form open to the last record. Q: Manjit Lota writes to ask how he can have a form open to the last record. A: There are several ways you can do this. If you want to use the form for data entry, change the form’s DataEntry property to Yes. Then it […]
Making records appear in the order they were entered. Q: Frank Payne writes: “I would like the data in a particular table to appear in exactly the order in which I enter the records. I do not want it sorted in either Ascending or Descending order. I have deleted the Order By property, but it […]
How to create a date range filter. Q: Fredm writes: “I have a table that has two different date fields but I have linked them to one date table. I want to filter the results of the date to show records from now to 30 days before but find that the usual expressions to filter […]
How to get a return value of the number of full years elapsed between two dates. Q: William Butler writes: “I have been working on this problem all day, writing an expression in a query to show the difference between today’s date and one that just passed. It seems it keeps adding 1 year to […]
Here’s a more streamlined method for backing up databases without exiting them. In Access Archon #115(WAW 5.16) I described a method (usable in database formats from 2000 up) for making a backup of the current database, without exiting the database. This is very handy when working on a database – if you back it up […]
Working with a combo box record selector. Q: Debbie Sabia writes that she has created a form with a record selector combo box. The end user selects an ID from the combo box and correct data is pulled up on that student. Here’s the problem. When you use the record selector to go to record […]
How to make all table records appear in a query regardless of whether they have any linked Extras records. Q: Liz has a query that returns records from a Registration table and an Extras table. She needs the recordset to include all the records in the Registration table regardless of whether they have any linked […]
Using the Size to Fit Form. Q: Peter Farren writes “I would be grateful if you could clarify for me usage of the acCmdSizeToFitForm constant. For example, the Load Event of frmInvoices in Archon Column 114 consists of: DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdSizeToFitForm I assume that the RunCommand method is applied to the Subform fsubCompanyInfo. Once […]
How to reference specific fields in an Access query. Q: Lee Aldrich wants to know how to reference specific fields in an Access query/dataset. A: In VBA code, you can set up a DAO recordset to work with Access data, using the following syntax (the example sets two variables with values picked up from […]
How to change the color of a specific control on a report. Q: Huber Stevan wants to know whether there is a way to change the color of a specific control on a report record by record, depending on whether certain criteria are met. A: For a report, this can be done in all Access […]
Some readers suggest efficient alternatives to writing large quantities of text to a separate document, which is then imported into Word. Several readers wrote to suggest more efficient alternatives to writing large quantities of text to a separate document, which is then imported into Word. Robin Trew and Andrew Koch suggested using DocVariable fields, which […]
How to suppress subtotals on reports. Q: Barbara Gorches writes: I am creating a report that needs to subtotal my detail records on several different levels. Level 1 – project phase totalLevel 2 – project totalLevel 4 – grand total This works fine, but when we have a lot of start-up projects there is only […]
How to prevent duplicate data entry in different records. Q: Nigel Heremaia wants to prevent users from entering the same data in the FirstName and LastName fields in different records. He is using this code, but it isn’t working: Private Sub Form_BeforeUpdate(Cancel As Integer) Dim FirstName Dim LastName Dim FullName FirstName = DLookup(“[FirstName]”, […]
