Mike Wolfe

Best Of

My Top 10 Allen Browne Posts

If you're a Microsoft Access developer and you've never heard of Allen Browne, then you are in for a treat...

VBA

Dollar Signs at the End of VBA Functions

What's the difference between Left() and Left$()? Why would you use one or the other? And what do *I* do, personally?

Intermediate

Karl's Catalog: A Checklist of Access Best Practices

Karl Donaubauer's checklist of Microsoft Access best practices offers a wealth of information to beginners and professional developers alike.

Leadership

Leadership Principle: You Can Delegate Authority But Not Responsibility

It's not easy to earn the trust of a "subordinate" who's almost twice your age. It's even harder to do it in a single day.

WizHook

Microsoft Access WizHook References

A list of all the best resources for the hidden and undocumented Microsoft Access WizHook object.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: November 6, 2022

Highlights include native CoClass support and a TWINPACK package from fafalone with definitions for all the standard common controls.

Week in Review

Week in Review: November 5, 2022

Highlights include a new Access MVP (congrats Juanjo Luna!), a deep dive into the FileSystemObject, and using UIAutomation to interact with the ribbon.

Reports

Using Temp Tables as Report Record Sources

If you're having trouble building a query to run a complex report, you may be better off populating a temp table and using that as your report's record source.

Under 100

What does RBAR mean?

The concept of RBAR explained in under 100 words. #Under100

WizHook

Sorting Arrays of Strings in Access with WizHook

No need to write your own array-sorting code from scratch. Use the SortStringArray method of Access's hidden WizHook object instead!

Tools

Checking Version Compatibility with NetOffice

Take advantage of the open-source NetOffice project on GitHub to look up version compatibility for the Access/Office/Word/Excel object models.

Under 100

What is rowversion in SQL Server?

The concept of SQL Server's rowversion data type explained in under 100 words. #Under100

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: October 30, 2022

Highlights include better PNG handling, improvements to the custom menu builder, and support for a NumbersOnly textbox property.

Week in Review

Week in Review: October 29, 2022

Highlights include a data macros how-to, time zone-aware dates, automating the Access nav pane, and collapsing/expanding the ribbon.

Announcement

Prepare for the Upcoming Death of IE11

The grim reaper takes IE11 for good on February 14, 2023. Prepare for the inevitable now to avoid unnecessary Valentine's Day pain.

WizHook

WizMsg(): A Simple Way to Create a MsgBox with Bold Text

Bold text in a Microsoft Access message box? It's true. And it requires no API calls, no third-party libraries, and no arcane string syntax. Check out WizMsgBox!

WizHook

Wiz(): Never Forget to Set the WizHook Magic Key

This convenience function handles setting the WizHook Key property with the required magic value once per session.

Hidden Features

WizHook: A Hidden Access Object With Intriguing Potential

Font-aware AutoFit of text and combo boxes, auto-bracketing of illegal field names, sorting an array of strings...the possibilities are finite!

Commentary

Follow-Up: Avoiding Context Switching

It doesn't matter which context you are working in–VBA or queries–the key is to pick one and stick with it.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: October 23, 2022

Highlights include many IDE improvements, better support for high-performance code, and a sample Task Dialog project from fafalone.

Week in Review

Week in Review: October 22, 2022

Highlights include a reserved word checker utility, executing PowerShell cmdlets from VBA, using Access in an Azure VM, and 5 types of control tips.

TempVars

GenerateTVClass(): Auto-Create a TempVars Class Module

The culmination of my TempVars series, this article shows you how to generate a TempVars class module from a local table.

Under 100

What is Database Normalization?

The concept of database normalization explained in under 100 words. #Under100

Leadership

Leadership Principles

If you live by these six principles, it is impossible to fail as a leader.

Code Library

Create a Class Module from a String in Microsoft Access

Generate VBA class modules from strings during design time using this simple function in Microsoft Access.