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 […]
Access Archon #172 Using the AddItem and RemoveItem Methods The frmPairedListboxesMethodsUnsorted form uses the new AddItem and RemoveItem methods to move items from one listbox to the other. You can’t simply iterate through the ItemsSelected collection of the listbox, and use the appropriate method, since using AddItem or RemoveItem clears the selections, so I […]
Microsoft Australia is trying to lure Aussies to buy Office 2007 with petrol. Down in Australia you can buy Office 2007 and get money back for petrol see Office 2007 plus petrol
Q: Bradley Wellard writes: “I am still a bit of a novice and have been attempting to find some useful information on how to apply/use ActiveX controls in Access with little success. I am particularly interested in any information regarding the Microsoft ImageCombo Box control V.6. Are you aware of any sites and or publications […]
How to filter a form from a listbox selection. Q: Martin later wrote with a related question: he is getting Runtime error ’13’: Type mismatch when running the following code (which is intended to filter the current form by the double-clicked item in the listbox): Private Sub lstSamtaler_DblClick(Cancel As Integer) Dim LngID As Long […]
How to create a database with links to external documents. Q: I am looking for some information and examples for creating a database of documents….(Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, word documents, jpegs, and bimps). I would like to see an example of records with links to external docs, and perhaps an example of how to build […]
How to retrieve some commonly used folder paths using contemporary syntax. Access Archon #148 Introduction Back in 1996 or 1997 I wrote a set of articles for Office Underground Office Newsletter (that was the one printed on bright yellow paper) on retrieving various paths, such as the Windows and Office folder paths. Before Windows 95, […]
How to get accented characters in Access fields. Q: Ray Bona wants to know: “How can I get an accented character (e.g. e-acute, n with a tilde, or o with an umlaut, etc.) in text that I enter in an Access field?” A: One way is to create the accented character in Word (using Insert […]
Readers offer their solutions for calculating total hours. Many readers have contributed better (or at least different) functions or expressions as alternatives to the rather awkward method I described in AW 7.04. Here they are for your consideration, with my comments. (Bill Patterson’s contribution was described in AW 7.10). For testing and comparison, I am […]
Looks at the different types of item counts you can get for listboxes and combo boxes. Access Archon #132 Introduction Recently I received some emails from AW readers requesting help on counting selections in listboxes and combo boxes. This article deals with the different types of item counts you can get for listboxes and […]
How to deal with unwanted or redundant indexes. While reading my new book, Expert One-on-One Microsoft Access Application Development, Garry Robinson (see my review of his Access Security book in Access Archon #120) wrote to point out that I didn’t mention that giving fields the suffix “ID” can result in an index automatically being created […]
How to group database objects in Access 97. Q: Ron McIntire would like to be able to group database objects in Access 97, similar to the built-in feature in Access 2000 and higher. Is there any way to do this? A: This could be done (in a limited fashion) by using a naming convention […]
Using the FindFirst method in a DAO recordset. Q: Peter Lucero is having problems using the FindFirst method in a DAO recordset based on a table, using the following syntax: Set Rst = dbs.OpenRecordset(tablename) A: This is because when you create a DAO recordset based on a table, without specifying the recordset type, it […]
How to print a report footer “page X of Y”, where X is the current and Y is the total. Q: Don Fox wants to know how to print a report footer “Page x of y”, where x is the current page and y is the total number of pages. A: Use the following expression […]
Here are a couple of methods for creating calculations in queries vertically. Q:Gang Wei writes to ask whether it is possible to create calculations in queries not only horizontally (like Total Cost: [UnitPrice] * [Quantity]), but also vertically, pulling in data from multiple rows. A:Yes, this can be done in two ways. One (the more […]
How to find Outlook mail messages from a specific sender. Q: Ray in New Zealand writes: “I’m trying to link my Access db (Accommodation) to Outlook. I receive accommodation bookings from guests and would like to be able to click on a button on the guest data form which will take me to the emails […]
Access Archon #170 Introduction Several earlier Access Archon articles have dealt with various aspects of mass emailings. In Access Archon #106 I described how to send mass emailings from an Access table, in Access Archon #135 I described how to send reports as attachments for a mass emailing, and in Access Archon #148 I described […]
