No Longer Set

Week in Review: December 9, 2023

Highlights include new (undocumented) functions for working with DateTimeExtended, an AI Builder for Access, and Jon Halder's TDD journey.

Tools

PureText: Paste Unformatted Text From Your Clipboard

Are you tired of the Notepad dance: Copy rich text, paste in Notepad, select all, copy, paste plain text? If so, this simple utility could be life-changing.

VBA

Improve the Readability of Numeric Settings in VBA

In VBA, numeric property settings (such as ComboBox.TextAlign–where 3 = "Right") can be handled in many ways, but some ways are more right than others.

Presentations

clsImExSpecs Presentation to the Access Europe User Group

A list of resources and further reading for my presentation on my custom Import/Export Specifications class module.

Basic

Using the Wizard to Export to Text Files with Microsoft Access

In an effort to remain simple, the Access export to text file wizard manages to do the opposite, making simple updates to export specs unnecessarily cumbersome.

Debugging

Use XML to Share Access Table Data and Avoid Internet Warnings

Anti-virus software and Microsoft policies make it harder than ever to share table data among Access users. The XML format is a simple way to avoid those roadblocks.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: December 3, 2023

Highlights include an update on "Edit & Continue" development progress, a new Auto-Save tB add-in, and the discovery of twinBASIC's potential downfall.

Week in Review

Week in Review: December 2, 2023

Highlights include a new direct SQL view feature in Access, 7 issue fixes, a new release of the Rubberduck VBA project, and how to count "checkbox" fields.

Commentary

Microsoft Access has an Anemic Third-Party Ecosystem...But There is a Silver Lining

Sometimes, less is more.

Access 101

Access 101: UPDATE Query

The UPDATE query: a dangerously powerful tool for making bulk changes to data in your Access tables.

Hidden Features

NEW & IMPROVED: The "Unset" Enum Item

This hidden feature of VBA lets you take advantage of my "Unset" enum item technique without cluttering up your IntelliSense.

VBA

The Secret to Achieving Naming Bliss in VBA Class Modules

This little-known technique from Rubberduck VBA maintainer and MVP Mathieu Guindon will change how you write class modules forever.

Commentary

Bananas Bring Bad Luck on Boats

An important lesson in the hidden danger of unknown unknowns, and a good reminder of why non-developers create some of the most useful Access apps.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: November 26, 2023

Highlights include foundational work on the forthcoming Edit & Continue feature and a new wiki page documenting the twinBASIC compiler constants.

Week in Review

Week in Review: November 25, 2023

Highlights include the arrival of LAA in Access, adding gradients to forms, using named arguments in VBA, and multi-field search with only two controls.

Business

Profit Centers vs. Cost Centers

Both impact a company's net profits, but one tends to be a better fit for most Microsoft Access projects.

Commentary

7 Things Most People Don't Know About Microsoft Access

Number four is the most frustrating for professional Access developers.

Commentary

What Dwight Eisenhower Can Teach Us About Microsoft Access

IT departments love to hate Access. With an open mind, though, Access can play an important role in a holistic approach to in-house software development.

VBA

The vbNullChar Constant in VBA

What is the vbNullChar constant in VBA and how does it differ from vbNullString?

Form Design

Highlight the Current Control in an Access Form...Without VBA!

Let's adapt Colin Riddington's excellent no-code current control highlighting technique to work with different form background colors.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: November 19, 2023

Highlights include an overhaul of the IntelliSense system, a project to get full paths of all running processes, and a new Kernel Mode Support Package.

Week in Review

Week in Review: November 18, 2023

Highlights include ChatGPT in Access, Test Driven Development, implementing dictation, and a new Office default font and theme.

Access 101

Access 101: INSERT INTO ("Append") Query

Discover the power of INSERT INTO queries in Microsoft Access, a vital tool that allows you to add a single record or transfer data from one table to another.

VBA

Reader Question: Do DAO Objects Need to be Closed?

Let's explore the conflicting opinions and scarce documentation on whether you need to close your recordsets and databases in Access.

VBA

Nullable Types in VBA

Ever wondered about the best ways to handle Null values in VBA? There's the ideal solution and then there's what's actually available in the language.