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 #174 Introduction Many of my code samples write data from Access tables or queries to document properties in Word documents. For this technique to work, you have to add the appropriate doc properties to the Word template, which can be a time-consuming process. In this article I automate the process of creating […]
Microsoft has released a set of programming tools to let developers work with Office 2007 documents without the Office applications themselves.click here for more …
How to enable Macros in Office 2007. Q: Marge W. writes that a client called her in panic, saying that “nothing works” in the updated database she just delivered. Upon questioning, it turned out that nothing happened when buttons were clicked on the main menu, and that the client had just done a fresh install […]
How to generate random numbers. Q: Bob wants to know if there is some way to generate random numbers within a certain range (he needs to fill a field in a table with sample values). A: Yes, there is an Rnd function you can use for this purpose. It returns a Single value, so you […]
How to filter reports. Q: Sandy Salas writes to ask: I have a report that has several fields on the report that could be used as a filter. … Phase, Priority, Grouping, Open, Division… I may not use all of the filters might only need the first 2 but possible all of them. How can […]
How to write long strings to an InputBox. Q: Peter Matthews writes that help for the InputBox says it will input the user’s string, and the definition of a (variable length) string says it can be up to 2 billion characters. So how come my VBA called out InputBox won’t accept more than 256 characters? […]
Looks at a method that’ll often fix a problem that’s resistant to all other repair methods. Q: Harold Lewton writes: ” I have 1 database file that works perfectly in Access 2000 and partially in Access 2003. In Access 2003 it works fine while in the Access program itself until I close down the file […]
How to export information from a current record of an Access form to make a new Outlook appointment. Q: Martin Wichmand writes: “In my planner I have a Subject, Startdate, StartTime and Endtime. Normally I import those to Outlook via the slow and manual way. But I wonder if it is possible to send those […]
Several readers have written to recommend using a certain format when date stamping files. In AW 7.04 I recommended date-stamping files using date formats such as “m-d-yyyy” or “d-mmm-yyyy”. The latter is the one I use most frequently, because it prevents confusion as to whether the day or month is in the first place. Several […]
How to change the names for the fields in the column headings. Q: Marlene H. writes: “I want to display more user-friendly names for fields in the column headings for the lists in combo boxes and listboxes – for example, Project Code instead of PrjCode. How can I do this? “ A: The text in […]
Some code or query expressions that were working have stopped – here are the updated applications. Recently, I have had to modify several Access 2000 applications that are currently running in Access 2002 or 2003 because code or query expressions that used to work have stopped working. The problems are all data type-related. It appears […]
How to email attachments using the Redemption Library – and avoid the Object Model Guardian. Mark Riddick wrote in response to Access Archon #114, Avoiding the Object Model Guardian with the Redemption Library, asking how he could email report snapshots using the Redemption Library (he used to do this with the SendObject method). I prefer […]
Here’s another way to strip a character from a text string, a simpler alternative to the StripCharacter function. Q: Robert Greiff writes to say that there is a simpler way to strip a character from a text string than the StripCharacter function I described in WAW 4.24. He proposes using the Replace function instead, as […]
How to suppress the “OpenForm action was canceled” message. Q: Nick Els finds that when he runs a report from a form, even though he has a message on the report’s NoData event, he still gets an annoying error message stating that the OpenForm action was canceled, and he wants to know how to suppress […]
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 […]
