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# UKAUG 2026: Version Control for Access Developers
- URL: https://nolongerset.com/ukaug-2026/
- Published: 2026-11-04T08:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T08:45:00.000Z
- Description: Interactive slide deck, links, and resources from my talk today at the UK Access User Group Autumn 2026 Conference in London.
- Author: Mike Wolfe
- Tags: Presentations, Version Control

Links and resources from my talk today at the UK Access User Group Autumn 2026 Conference at The Phoenix, Cavendish Square, London.

The talk walked through putting an existing Access application under version control with Git, using Adam Waller’s free VCS Add-in and GitHub Desktop: the first commit, rebuilding the database from source, and pushing to and pulling from GitHub. The slide deck also covers protecting your main branch, pull requests, squash merges, and letting AI handle the Git commands for you.

## Slide Deck

This time, the slide deck is not a PDF. It’s an interactive web page that covers everything I showed, step by step, so you can follow along even if you weren’t there:

[![Title slide of the interactive deck, with the outline of all 16 slides](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/2026/11/ukaug-2026-deck-2.png)](https://assets.nolongerset.com/2026/UKAUG%5F2026-11.html)

Click the picture to open the slide deck.

[Open the slide deck: Version Control for Access Developers](https://assets.nolongerset.com/2026/UKAUG%5F2026-11.html)

Each slide is a title and one picture. The explanations, commands, and step-by-step instructions live behind the pictures:

- **Move** between slides with the arrow keys, `Space`, or the outline down the left side.
- **Click** anything with a teal dot to open a detail panel. Press `D` to open the details for the current slide.
- **Press** `?` to see every keyboard shortcut.
- The **Live demo** button on the demo slides opens the runbook I followed during the live demo. Its file paths are specific to my PC, but they show exactly what I did.

The deck is a single, self-contained HTML file. Save it to your computer, and it works offline.

## Why Git?

Longtime readers know I held out with Mercurial and TortoiseHg long after most of the world moved to Git. This talk uses Git and GitHub Desktop. These two articles explain why I resisted for so long, and what finally changed my mind:

[Mercurial: The Road Less TraveledUnfortunately, choosing the less popular version control system has some important real-world drawbacks.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/2024/02/Road-not-taken.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/mercurial-the-road-less-traveled/)

[The Road Now Taken: Why AI Moved Me from Mercurial to GitAs the world marched inexorably toward Git, I clung for dear life to Mercurial--until now. AI is the anvil that broke the camel's back.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2026/10/photo-1597201423947-3e0028337902-1.jpeg)](https://nolongerset.com/git-the-road-now-taken/)

Several of the older articles below were written while I was still using Mercurial, so their screenshots and instructions show TortoiseHg. The concepts carry over to Git unchanged; only the buttons you click are different. I’ve flagged those articles where they appear.

## Links Related to Today’s Talk

This section includes links referenced in my slide show. These are also linked from the slide deck’s detail panels.

### Why Version Control?

[Make Your Access App More Resilient with Version ControlReassembling the pieces of a fragile system is a fool's (horse's?) errand. Turning back the clock is a more reliable fix.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/2023/09/Humpty-Dumpty--1-.png)](https://nolongerset.com/humpty-dumpty/)

The “spot the difference” puzzle from the talk, and why text-based version control beats a folder full of dated .accdb copies:

[Learn to Love Text-Based Version Control with "Highlights for Children"Why use text-based version control for visual objects like forms and reports? I'll tell you why, but first, find all the differences between these two pictures...![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2021/07/Img-v-Txt-Version-Control.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/highlights-for-children/)

### The Moving Parts

[What's the Purpose of an Access Version Control Add-in?Access version control add-ins are not a replacement for Git, Subversion, or Mercurial.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2024/03/Addin-Bridge.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/version-control-add-in-purpose/)

[Version Control and Cloud Drives: Better Keep 'em SeparatedGit and Mercurial repositories don't mix well with cloud drives like OneDrive and Dropbox. Here are two alternative approaches to keep you out of trouble.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2024/04/Version-Control-and-Cloud-Drives.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/version-control-and-cloud-drives/)

Why a readable diff is the payoff (TortoiseHg screenshots, same idea in GitHub Desktop):

[It's All About the DiffHow can you figure out what you changed on a form when you can't remember changing anything on that form? Version control, of course.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2021/03/fruit-2305192_1920.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/its-all-about-the-diff/)

### Install the VCS Add-in

Adam Waller’s free, open-source add-in. Version 5.1 was released just last week:

[GitHub - joyfullservice/msaccess-vcs-addin: Synchronize your Access Forms, Macros, Modules, Queries, Reports, and more with a version control system.Synchronize your Access Forms, Macros, Modules, Queries, Reports, and more with a version control system. - joyfullservice/msaccess-vcs-addin![](https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon)GitHub![](https://opengraph.githubassets.com/e9edec3e4db0e5c9c6a793c5ad7d0668e5966f97bcd320b607daa5d8874109e7/joyfullservice/msaccess-vcs-addin)](https://github.com/joyfullservice/msaccess-vcs-addin)

[Installing the Access Version Control Add-in: Step-by-StepLooking to try version control with Microsoft Access? Start here by installing Adam Waller's free and open-source Version Control Addin for MS Access.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2024/03/Install-AccessVCS-1-.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/install-vcs-addin/)

If Access shows a red **SECURITY RISK** bar instead of **Enable Content**, you skipped the “Unblock” step:

[Mark-of-the-Web (MOTW) DetailsMicrosoft 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."![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2022/03/cobweb-4439844_1920.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/mark-of-the-web-details/)

### Install GitHub Desktop

[GitHub Desktop | Simple collaboration from your desktopGitHub is where people build software. More than 225 million people use GitHub to discover, fork, and contribute to over 800 million projects.![](https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon)GitHub](https://desktop.github.com)

Optional, but useful once you (or your AI coding agent) start working from the command line:

[Git - Install for Windows![](https://git-scm.com/favicon.ico)git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com/install/windows)

[GitHub CLITake GitHub to the command line![](https://github.githubassets.com/favicon.ico)GitHub CLI![](https://cli.github.com/assets/images/social-card.png)](https://cli.github.com)

### Commit, Build, Push, and Pull

A deep dive into the add-in with its author, including merge conflicts:

[Access Version Control Add-in Deep Dive with Adam WallerBehind the Scenes of the Add-in That Makes Git Workflows Possible for Access Databases (an Access User Group Talk with Adam Waller)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2026/01/AUG-VCS-Add-in-Deep-Dive.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/aug-vcs-deep-dive/)

Written for Mercurial, but the same rules apply to Git’s `.gitignore` and to undoing changes in GitHub Desktop:

[Five Types of Files to Exclude From MS Access Version ControlThe provided sample .hgignore and .gitignore files are good starting points when setting up new Microsoft Access version control repositories.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2024/03/hgignore.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/hgignore/)

[Reverting Unwanted ChangesUsing Version Control in Access is like having a time machine that makes it easy to undo design mistakes. Here's a quick overview of the process.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2021/03/time-2034990_1920.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/reverting-unwanted-changes/)

### Silence the Casing Noise

[VBA's Case Changing "Feature"VBA likes to change the casing of our code (upper/lower/mixed). It may seem random, but it's not. Read all the details here.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2020/11/letters-691842_1920.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/vbas-case-changing-feature/)

[VBA Letter Casing Nightmare Fixed in VCS Addin v5+Do you write it \`SQL\` or \`Sql\` or \`sql\`? With v5 of the VCS Addin, you can choose one (and enforce it!) so Git will stop hassling you.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2026/08/photo-1533226458520-6f71cffeaa6a.jpeg)](https://nolongerset.com/vcs-letter-casing/)

[How To: Enforce Consistent Letter Casing in VBAConquer VBA's case-changing "feature" once and for all with this simple, brute-force solution: the StandardizeLetterCasing() function.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2025/05/A_conquering_Roman_general_looks_over_an_ancient_Roman_city_partially_in_flames_from_atop_a_hill_overlooking_the_city_image_1.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/standardizelettercasing/)

### Easy Mode: Let AI Drive Git

[Overview - Claude Code DocsClaude Code is an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and integrates with your development tools. Available in your terminal, IDE, desktop app, and browser.![](https://code.claude.com/docs/mintlify-assets/_mintlify/favicons/claude-code/pLsy-mRpNksna2sx/_generated/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png)Claude Code Docs![](https://claude-code.mintlify.app/_mintlify/api/og/v2?division=Getting+started&title=Overview&description=Claude+Code+is+an+agentic+coding+tool+that+reads+your+codebase%2C+edits+files%2C+runs+commands%2C+and+integrates+with+your+development+tools.+Available+in+your+termin&theme=8d9812df31da293aba4e8103&signature=cd48661c819838a7b3cf407ae2a1c37f89e6e34833443538a75f097a9386c016)](https://code.claude.com/docs)

[Tools of the Trade: AI EditionThese are the key tools a Microsoft Access developer needs to unlock the full potential of AI-assisted software development workflows.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2026/08/photo-1504917595217-d4dc5ebe6122.jpeg)](https://nolongerset.com/tools-of-the-trade-ai-edition/)

[UK AUG: Access Development with AILinks and resources for my presentation today to the UK Access User Group.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2026/01/UKAUG-Jan-2026-1.png)](https://nolongerset.com/uk-ai-2026/)

## Past Presentations

If you enjoyed this presentation, you may enjoy some of my earlier ones on version control, as well. Both predate my switch to Git, so they set up TortoiseHg instead of GitHub Desktop:

[DevCon 2024: Version Control with AccessA list of resources and further reading for my 2024 DevCon Vienna mini-presentation on version control with Microsoft Access.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2024/04/2024-04-19-13_05_19-GBM18-VersionControl-DevCon2024---PowerPoint.png)](https://nolongerset.com/devcon-2024-vcs/)

[Access Day 2024: The Access Developer's Guide to Version ControlA list of resources and further reading for my 2024 Access Day presentation on version control with Microsoft Access.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2024/03/2024-03-15-00_58_49---gbm15---VersionControl---PDF-XChange-Editor.png)](https://nolongerset.com/vcs/)

[Presentations - No Longer SetAdvanced techniques and unique perspectives from a guy who pushes the limits of Microsoft Access software development. Warning: may contain strong opinions.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer Set![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/size/w1200/2020/08/access-2348384_1920_background-3.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/tag/presentations/)