Mike Wolfe - No Longer Set (Page 22)

Week in Review: April 29, 2023

Highlights include the release of the Northwind 2.0 database templates, automatic form resizing, and a deep dive into VBA events with a.p.r. pillai.

DevCon

Access DevCon Vienna 2023 - Day One Recap

A brief recap of the six sessions on Day 1 of Access DevCon Vienna, the premiere annual English-speaking Microsoft Access global conference.

Presentations

twinBASIC Update: DevCon 2023

Links and resources from my talk today at Access DevCon Vienna 2023, twinBASIC + Access: Future Plans.

Presentations

Defensive Programming - DevCon 2023

Links and resources from my talk tomorrow at Access DevCon Vienna 2023, Some Bugs are Better than Others: Defensive Programming Tips and Tricks.

AI

How ChatGPT Helped Me Write a Complex Stored Procedure in SQL Server

Stop treating ChatGPT like an all-knowing oracle and start treating it like the hard-working, enthusiastic, but not-quite-fully-formed intern that it currently is.

Bug Types

Why You Should Learn to Love Syntax Errors

The immediate negative feedback loop that syntax errors provide is a powerful learning tool.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: April 23, 2023

Highlights include a status update from Wayne Phillips, extended discussion of twinBASIC on two web forums, and updates to fafalone's ucExplorer control.

Week in Review

Week in Review: April 22, 2023

Highlights include episode 5 of Karl Donaubauer's Access News video update, how to sell Access services with Juan Soto, and lightweight MVVM in VBA.

Commentary

AI is the Future...And the Future is Now

Used properly, AI is the greatest force-multiplying technology the world has ever seen.

Code Library

TryGetForm: Set a Strongly-Typed Form Object in Access VBA

The TryGetForm function helps you convert "stringly-typed" code into "strongly-typed" code when working with Access forms in VBA.

Defensive Programming

Five Ways to Turn Runtime Errors into Compile Errors in VBA

Compile errors are cheaper and easier to fix than runtime errors. Here are five ways to turn potential runtime errors into compile errors.

Basic

Why You Should Always Use Option Explicit in VBA

Don't let typos and logic errors ruin your VBA code. Read our latest blog post to learn about the importance of Option Explicit and how to use it.

Defensive Programming

Five Ways to Turn Logic Errors into Runtime Errors in VBA

Runtime errors are cheaper and easier to fix than logic errors. Here are five ways to make that happen.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: April 16, 2023

Highlights include a steady dose of bug fixes and and a brief recap of twinBASIC's standing in slant.co's list of "best BASIC-like programming languages."

Week in Review

Week in Review: April 15, 2023

Highlights include drawing stoplights and dials on reports, a SQL-to-VBA-to-SQL utility, creating calendar reports, and migrating Access tables to SQL Server.

SQL Server

B-BEAR: Quick and Dirty SQL Server Testing

Begin, Before, Execute, After, Rollback. This technique makes testing your SQL Server statements a snap.

Form Design

Setting Column-Specific Colors in Microsoft Access List Boxes and Combo Boxes

How to use the Format property of a query or table field to set custom colors for columns in a Microsoft Access list box or combo box control.

SQL

Efficient Querying: Finding Maximum Values for Each Distinct Value in a Column

A high-performance alternative to subqueries for solving a tricky query problem.

SQL Server

Installing Multiple Versions of SQL Server Side-by-Side on a Development Machine

Save resources by setting additional instances of SQL Server to Manual startup. Use Process Explorer to grant Start/Stop permissions for an individual service.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: April 10, 2023

Highlights include the addition of SendKeys support, CDecl support for certain types of API callbacks, and a vigorous discussion about possible tB namespace support.

Holiday

Happy Easter

“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Week in Review

Week in Review: April 8, 2023

Highlights include a reliable way to bypass AutoExec in VBA, a Pro version of the IslaDogs Table Analyzer, and the new Rubberduck VBA Swag Shop.

Code Library

LockControls() Function: Locking and Unlocking Multiple MS Access Controls in VBA

This convenient function lets you lock or unlock multiple Access form controls with a single line of code.

Code Library

How to Safely Disable Controls in Microsoft Access

I *never* set the Enabled property of a form control directly. Instead, I use a convenience function so that I don't have to worry about run-time error 2164.

Backwards Compatibility

How to Use VBA to Set the ControlSource Property of an Access Image Control (and Other Deeply Hidden Object Properties)

Ever wonder why you can set some values in the form/report designer Property Sheet but not in VBA? You may just need this well-hidden workaround.