VBA - No Longer Set

Thomas Jefferson's Accidental Programming Advice

Premature declaration is nothing to be embarrassed about. It can happen to anyone. You don't want to make a habit of it, though.

COM

How VBA IDE Addins Get Loaded From the Windows Registry

A deep dive into how VBA IDE addins get loaded from the Windows Registry to help you avoid getting stuck in DLL hell.

VBA

The Windows Registry: A Deep Dive for VBA Developers

Everything you need to know to get started reading and writing to the Windows Registry from VBA without breaking into a cold sweat.

Backwards Compatibility

Refactoring Procedure Signatures: The Do's and Don'ts

Best practices for modifying procedure signatures while maintaining backward compatibility.

Advanced

Static Linking vs. Dynamic Linking

You've likely heard the terms "dynamic link library", "DLL Hell", and "static linking." But what do they mean? Why should you care? And how do they apply to Access?

Hidden Features

Concatenating Strings in VBA: Plus (+) vs. Ampersand (&)

Both the ampersand and the plus sign operators can be used to join strings in VBA. Clever developers can use this to their advantage.

Code Library

How to Set the Background Color of the Microsoft Access Application Window with VBA

A series of Windows API calls will "repaint" the Microsoft Access canvas with the color of your choice. It is a bit rough around the edges, though...

Announcement

Dropping `#If VBA7 Then` From API Declares

Plus, step-by-step instructions for restoring the `#If VBA7 Then` code construct if you still need to support Office 2007 or earlier.

VBA

32-bit vs. 64-bit VBA: Deep Dive

A deep dive into the past, present, and future of the transition from 32-bit VBA to 64-bit VBA.

VBA

The Curious Case of the Return Type of the hWndAccessApp Method in 64-bit VBA

Is everything I thought I knew about 64-bit vs. 32-bit VBA wrong? Or is there a problem with the Access object model? Or is it something else?

VBA

Improve the Readability of Numeric Settings in VBA

In VBA, numeric property settings (such as ComboBox.TextAlign–where 3 = "Right") can be handled in many ways, but some ways are more right than others.

Hidden Features

NEW & IMPROVED: The "Unset" Enum Item

This hidden feature of VBA lets you take advantage of my "Unset" enum item technique without cluttering up your IntelliSense.

VBA

The Secret to Achieving Naming Bliss in VBA Class Modules

This little-known technique from Rubberduck VBA maintainer and MVP Mathieu Guindon will change how you write class modules forever.

VBA

The vbNullChar Constant in VBA

What is the vbNullChar constant in VBA and how does it differ from vbNullString?

VBA

Reader Question: Do DAO Objects Need to be Closed?

Let's explore the conflicting opinions and scarce documentation on whether you need to close your recordsets and databases in Access.

VBA

Nullable Types in VBA

Ever wondered about the best ways to handle Null values in VBA? There's the ideal solution and then there's what's actually available in the language.

VBA

The Pitfalls of Implicit Boolean Conversion in VBA

VBA's implicit boolean conversions can trip up even experienced programmers. Negating the results of the Len() function is a perfect example.

VBA

Create Standalone Functions to Return User Input Values in Microsoft Access

A combination of the GetInfoForm() function, custom VBA types, and "Extract Method" refactoring helps reduce our Access application's complexity.

VBA

Standard String Concatenation in VBA is Slow and Inefficient

A deep dive into the inner workings of string concatenation in VBA and why appending a single character to a long string can be so expensive.

VBA

When–And When Not–To Use the Statement Separator Character in VBA

Did you know you can combine lines of code in VBA with the colon character? The key is to understand when--and when not--to use it.

Debugging

Break Down Complex Expressions for More Debuggable Code

Combining multiple operations into a single line of code may be an effective way to play "code golf", but it's no way to develop maintainable software.

VBA

The Magic Behind Microsoft Access Form Object Properties in VBA

By using the Me keyword, you can leverage the automatically generated properties to retrieve and set data in VBA.

VBA

The vbNullString Constant in VBA

What is the vbNullString constant in VBA and how does it differ from a simple empty string ("")?

Error Handling

The Form Error Event: How to Handle "Untrappable" Access Errors

The Form Error event comes to the rescue for a category of errors impervious to `On Error Resume Next` and `DoCmd.SetWarnings False`.

VBA

Working with Empty in VBA

A deep dive into the Empty keyword in VBA: why it exists, how to check for it, when it makes sense to check for it, and--most importantly--how NOT to check for it.