twinBASIC Weekly Update twinBASIC Update: July 10, 2022 Highlights include new shape controls, code-signed twinBASIC IDE and compiler executables, and twinBASIC's first appearance on HackerNews.
Week in Review Week in Review: July 9, 2022 Highlights include code to activate a specific ribbon tab, a deep dive into the innards (and dangers) of multivalue fields, and--yes--more Access bugs.
Deployment Distributing One-Time Data "Hot Fixes" Rolling out changes to *production data* when you don't have direct access to that data can be tricky. This tip makes the process easier.
Announcement Microsoft Backtracks (Temporarily?) on Policy to Block All Macros with Mark of the Web Microsoft official announces in blog comments (!) that they are rolling back their recently implemented VBA-blocking policy.
Presentations Building Ribbons in Code A list of resources and further reading to go with my Access User Group presentation on Building Ribbon Interfaces in Code.
Reports Access Shape Drawing Reference With a bit of creativity, you can draw just about anything on an Access report. Everything you need to know is in Crystal Long's definitive guide.
twinBASIC Weekly Update twinBASIC Update: July 3, 2022 Highlights include added support for the VB6 `End` statement, shape controls, and double-click to change property values in the IDE.
Week in Review Week in Review: July 2, 2022 Highlights include a deep dive into the Autoexec macro, compacting the current database via VBA, and a massive Access drawing reference.
Hidden Features VBA Immediate Window Line and Character Limits Don't take my word for it (or anyone else's on the internet, for that matter). Prove the limits to yourself with some simple VBA.
Announcement Office Apps Won't Run on Windows Server After October 2025 Earlier this month, Microsoft quietly announced the end of support for running (most) Office apps on Windows Server at the end of 2025.
Presentations twinBASIC en Español My presentation on twinBASIC to the Spanish Access User Group is now available on YouTube. Go check it out!
Ribbon Setting the Ribbon Name in Code You don't need to use the options dialog to set a custom ribbon for your Microsoft Access application.
Code Library Set Report Properties in Bulk Looking to set a report property, such as an event handler, to the same value for multiple reports? Use this routine to automate the whole process.
twinBASIC Weekly Update twinBASIC Update: June 26, 2022 Highlights include container support, IDE bug fixes, and a modest request for a complete backward-compatible rewrite of MS Access in twinBASIC.
Week in Review Week in Review: June 25, 2022 Highlights include an elegant solution to synchronized scrolling, a novel approach to db schema versioning, and a deep dive into recovering deleted db objects.
Code Library GetAttr(): Ribbon XML String-Building Helper Function When you're building strings in code with lots of optional values--such as ribbon XML attributes--this simple function helps keep your code readable.
Ribbon XML Callbacks: Adding Functionality to the Office Ribbon To unlock the full potential of the Microsoft Office ribbon, you need to understand the role of callback functions. This quick intro will get you started.
Ribbon Office Ribbon Development Resources Links to resources and ribbon builders for VBA developers who want to add a professional touch to their applications with custom ribbon interfaces.
Code Library XmlWrap() Function This convenience function helps you write more readable code when building Office Ribbon-flavored XML strings.
Code Library TagWrap() Function This convenience function helps you write more readable code when building strings with HTML-style opening and closing tags.
twinBASIC Weekly Update twinBASIC Update: June 19, 2022 Highlights include improved support for 3rd-party ActiveX controls, a new location for tB IDE releases, and a discussion about where to put non-visual controls.
Week in Review Week in Review: June 18, 2022 Highlights include building custom progress bars, creating organizational charts, and yet another Access bug [sigh].
Presentations ¡twinBASIC Va a Madrid! ¡Hola, Madrid! Muchas gracias a Juanjo Luna por invitarme a hablar en su conferencia anual de Access.
twinBASIC HOW TO: Creating a Standard (non-ActiveX) DLL with twinBASIC With twinBASIC, you no longer need C++ to build a standard DLL. Call high-performance code from VBA without needing the Windows registry.