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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 #162 Getting around Vista Security We have all seen those ads where the Mac guy acts superior to the PC guy who is constantly bothered by the Vista Secret Service agent asking if he wants to cancel or continue every time he tries to do something on his computer. Unfortunately, that ad is […]
How to set column heading text for datasheets. Q: Jane H. writes that she has started using a naming convention for form controls (Helen’s comment: definitely a good idea!), but now she is seeing the control names, with prefixes, as the column headings in datasheet subforms. Is there any way to remove the prefixes in […]
Access Archon #170 Before we finish this article a reminder that mass emailing should always comply with all local laws. More generally, you should ensure that all mailings are to people who have authorized the use of their email address for that purpose. Our purpose is to help you efficiently send emails from Access – […]
How to use records selected in a recordset as the record source for the Detail section of a report. Q: Mark Jackson writes to ask if records selected in a recordset can be used as the record source for the Detail section of a report. A: I think the best way to do this would […]
How to sort reports by date in Access. Access Archon #163 Introduction If you have a report with a date field, you may need to sort the report by date, and Access has a built-in feature that lets you do date sorting very easily, without preparing a query in advance, or writing code. This article […]
Access 2007 has a new Report view which implements interactive sorting and filtering. Access Archon #158 Access 2007 has a new Report view for reports, which implements a long-requested feature: interactive sorting and filtering. To use this feature, select the Report view for a report: Figure A. The new Report view in Access 2007 In […]
Here’s where to locate the Access 2007 equivalent of the View Form Header/Footer command. For a while, I couldn’t locate the Access 2007 equivalent of the old View Form Header/Footer command, and finally found it, as a tiny button on the far right of the Show/Hide group on the Layout tab of the Form Tools […]
Access Archon #144 Introduction I was recently given an assignment. The client needed to extract information from several log files and put them into a format that would expedite ad-hoc analysis. These log files were in several different folders, and were generated at several times during the day. They wanted to be able to go […]
Use this technique to switch fields to records. Access Archon #137 Introduction Ray Wright wrote to me to ask how he could convert a table with over 100 questionnaire fields to a more manageable format, with the fields converted to records in a table, to make it easier to tabulate the data. It is indeed […]
Here’s a good method for copying values from one record to another, including any linked records. Access Archon #133 Introduction In Access Archon #51, I described how to copy values from one record to another, using hard-coded control names. That method does the job, but it requires a lot of editing to make it work […]
This shows you how to filter contacts, then merge the filtered records to Word documents. Access Archon #130 Introduction Thanks to John Lehmus for suggesting this article, which combines the fancy filtering of Access Archon #129 with the four types of merging featured in my Code Sample #24, so that you can filter contacts in […]
How to export contacts from an Access table to an Outlook folder. Q: Farouk Dawood has written code to export contacts from an Access table to an Outlook folder, using the CreateItem(olContactItem) syntax, but it isn’t working – the new contacts are being created in the default local Contacts folder instead. What is the syntax […]
Here’s a brief overview of my latest book, Expert One-on-One Microsoft Access Application Development. I wrote my latest book (Expert One-on-One Microsoft Access Application Development, Wrox) for experienced Access users, who know how to create tables, queries, forms and other Access objects, and have some familiarity with writing Access VBA code, but need help in […]
How to suppress printing of a record or a control on a report. Q: Luis Pelaez is looking for a way to suppress printing of a record on a report if the Balance Due field is zero. A: If you wish to just suppress printing of one or more controls, code like the following will […]
How to change the Overtype mode in text boxes to Insert mode. Q:John Lawrence is frustrated with the Overtype mode in Access text boxes, and wants to know if it can be changed to Insert mode. A:Yes, this can be changed in the Options dialog. Click the Keyboard tab, then select the “Go to start […]
A handy solution to the problem of disappearing form view headers and footers. Q: Bob writes that in Access 2003, when he is working on a form in design view, and turns on form headers/footers (using the View Form Header/Footer menu command), often the header and/or footer section doesn’t show when he switches to form […]
How to change back end database structure. Q: Peter Matthews writes: “If you have split a data base, and then decide to change the data structure – say to add some extra information to a table – is this a problem? There does not seem to be any way of recombining the files. I am […]
