Mike Wolfe - No Longer Set (Page 51)

Are You an Access Developer in Northeast Pennsylvania?

Calling all (current or aspiring) Access developers in Northeast PA: we have an immediate job opening at Grandjean & Braverman, Inc.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: October 24, 2021

Highlights include the addition of 4 new custom control events, ElementTabStop/Index properties, and a Spanish presentation on twinBASIC.

Intermediate

4 VBA PowerShell Functions

Microsoft Access MVP Daniel Pineault provides four easy-to-use routines for integrating PowerShell with VBA.

Business

The Hour-Tracking Journey

From Palm Pilots to Google Sheets to Clockify, I take a trip down hour-tracking memory lane.

Bug Alert

Compact on Close Danger

Compact on Close. It seems innocent enough. But lurking under this seeming convenience is the spectre of corruption just lying in wait.

Forms

AutoFitDatasheet: A Function to Prettify Your Access Datasheets

This routine resizes the columns of the active datasheet window (plus the window itself) based on its contents to make the best use of the available space.

Commentary

Eliminating Friction

The key to becoming a better developer is to make it so The Right Way is also The Easy Way.

Defensive Programming

Data Validity Checks

Increase the quality of your existing data by running it through a series of validity checks and showing your users the results.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: October 17, 2021

Highlights include the alpha release of CustomControls, a twinBASIC wiki, and a revived discussion around "Quirks Mode" in twinBASIC.

Tools

3 Tools to Take and Manage Screenshots

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are three tools that I use to make the process of taking screenshots as smooth as possible.

Basic

The QBE Window: Training Wheels for Access Developers

If you're new to relational databases, the QBE window is the solution to--and cause of--many of your query problems.

Conventions

Naming Conventions Matter: Making Wrong Code Look Wrong

Joel Spolsky and Antonin Scalia join forces to help illustrate the importance of sensible code naming conventions.

Basic

Beware the BETWEEN

Using the BETWEEN clause with date-time fields may lead to unexpected results. There's a safer alternative.

Business

Configuring a Send-Only Email Address in Outlook 2019

How to add an account in Outlook 2019 where the user name is NOT the same as the email address.

Business

Manage Email Addresses for Multiple Domains with One Gmail Account Using Opalstack

Some practical advice on how to configure email addresses for multiple domains so that you can still send and receive from a single Gmail account.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: October 10, 2021

Highlights include an extended preview of the yet-to-be-released form designer and a spirited discussion about whether to fork VS Code to create a dedicated tB IDE.

Advanced

Double-declaring APIs

Is it finally time to stop adding the `#If VBA7 Then` guard clause to PtrSafe API declarations? Let's explore.

Basic

The Difference Between Good and Bad Code Comments

The difference between good and bad comments explained in under 25 words.

Humorous

Reproducing Errors

A physicist, a mechanic, and a programmer were in a car driving over a steep alpine pass when the brakes failed...

Intermediate

CurrentDB and the "Object invalid or no longer set" error

Misuse of the CurrentDb function is a common cause of the "Object invalid or no longer set" error. Are you using it safely?

Code Library

Converting the DataTypeEnum Values to Equivalent VBA Types

Two simple functions to convert DataTypeEnum values to descriptive strings and their VBA data type counterparts.

Forms

2 Ways to Escape Leading Quotes when Adding Items to a List Box

Leading quotation marks can cause problems when adding items to a list box or combo box. Here are 2 easy ways to deal with the issue.

twinBASIC Weekly Update

twinBASIC Update: October 3, 2021

Highlights include a glimpse into the possible GUI release timeline and a discussion about data binding with twinBASIC forms.

Forms

Escaping Semicolons in a Multi-Column Access ListBox

When adding items to a multi-column list box, the semicolon character is used to separate columns. What if the items themselves contain semicolons?

Defensive Programming

5 Ways to Reduce Logic Errors Using Automated Double-Checks

Identify the critical functions in your application. Then, apply one or more of these techniques to ensure that if they break, someone will notice.