Tools Using FreeMind as a Schema Development Tool In the early stages of planning a database design, I prefer a tool that lets me capture my thoughts as they flow without getting in the way. FreeMind is that tool.
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.
Tools ActiveX Controls: Love 'Em or Hate 'Em? I always avoid ActiveX controls in my Access applications. Except when I can't. Or don't want to. It's complicated...
Tools AccessImagine: ActiveX Picture Control for Access If you are building an image-rich data application with Microsoft Access, you can save yourself a lot of development time with a third-party tool like AccessImagine.
Tools Connecting to GitHub from TortoiseHg Using SSH Keys Step-by-step instructions to set up a completely seamless integration between TortoiseHg and GitHub. No passwords. No Pageant. No friction of any kind.
Tools Automatically Link to Your Bug Database from TortoiseHg Everyone's favorite Windows Mercurial software includes a killer feature that is criminally underused.
twinBASIC HOW TO: Install twinBASIC The latest step-by-step instructions for installing twinBASIC (aka, Visual Basic 8).
Announcement vbWatchdog v4 Released Version 4 of vbWatchdog just got released. If you don't already own a license for it, you should. And if you do, you should upgrade before August 31, 2022.
Tools Access Database Right-Click Context Menu Creator Wouldn't it be great to right-click an Access file to compact or decompile it? With Daniel Pineault's awesome tool, you can!
Tools Changing Internet Explorer Options in IE Mode of Microsoft Edge Did you try to change Internet Explorer options from IE Mode in Edge only to realize that you can't get to them? Luckily, there's an easy workaround.
Tools 3 Free Options for Managing Linked Tables in Access The original linked table manager was a terrible tool. Let's look at three better options for today's Microsoft Access developers.
Debugging Troubleshooting the "Unable to create target directory" Error in PDQ Deploy with ProcMon Let's use my jack-of-all-trades troubleshooting tool--Process Monitor--to find the root cause of a recurring PDQ Deploy error.
Signal vs. Noise Signal vs. Noise: ShowPlan.out Edition Reading showplan.out files can be intimidating for new and experienced Access developers alike. This simple rule will help get you started.
Debugging Troubleshooting Access Hanging When Switching to Design View How I used two low-level tools--ProcMon and WireShark--to figure out why Access was taking forever to switch to design view in forms and reports.
Advanced Details about the Mark-of-the-Web (MOTW) Microsoft announced that VBA will be blocked soon in all files from the web. Let's dive into how Windows manages this "Mark of the Web."
SQL Server Editing Data Directly in SSMS Query results in SQL Server Management Studio are read-only by default. Follow these steps to edit SQL Server table data directly inside SSMS.
Tools 3 Ways to Find sqlout.txt Finding ODBC TraceSQLMode's sqlout.txt file can be deceptively difficult. Here are three approaches to make it easy. At least one is guaranteed to work.
Tools 3 Ways to Find Showplan.out Finding Jet ShowPlan's showplan.out file can be deceptively difficult. Here are three approaches to make it easy. At least one is guaranteed to work.
Tools Using ProcMon to Troubleshoot Registry Calls Finding the correct registry keys for JetShowPlan and ODBC TraceSqlMode can be tricky. Let ProcMon take the guesswork out of the process.
Tools Simple Fix for Missing DBF Support in Access 2013 Quick fix installers that restore Access 2013 DBF support *PLUS* the techniques I used to build the installers using 7-Zip and Inno Setup.
Tools Creating a Shortcut to an Environment Variable Path If you rely on OneDrive or SharePoint to collaborate on files with your team, this tip will help you provide a uniform way to access data across all devices.
Tools Setting a Common Path to Sharepoint Site Folders on Multiple Devices This quick tip will help you create consistent development environments across multiple devices and users.
Tools Application Environment Inheritance Understanding how applications inherit environment settings from one another can shed light on some otherwise puzzling situations.
Tools Advanced Data Generator 4: First Look Looking to generate lots of test data in your backend Access databases? Advanced Data Generator 4 may be exactly what you are looking for.
Tools Keybase: A Simple and Secure Way to Communicate Whenever I need to share sensitive information with my team--such as passwords or private keys--I use Keybase for peace of mind.