Week in Review: December 14, 2024

Just Published

^{This section includes videos, articles, and (occasionally) open-source project updates from the past 7 days.}

Articles

^{*Article descriptions generated by Claude-3.5-Sonnet.}

• Jonathan Halder (Access JumpStart 2.0)

  • Access plugin SDOpenAI and OpenAI API setup: Discusses setting up an OpenAI API account for use with SDOpenAI plugin, including pricing considerations and initial challenges encountered.
  • Pair programming with AI – SDOpenAI – installing the plugin: Details the installation process of the SDOpenAI plugin for Microsoft Access and its requirements for integration with OpenAI's API.
  • Formatting Forms for different screen sizes: Provides strategies for designing responsive Access forms that work effectively across different monitor resolutions and screen sizes.
  • Remotely Accessing Access: Explores different methods for accessing Microsoft Access applications remotely, including Remote Desktop services and backend database options.
  • Double vision – what might a pair programming session look like?: Outlines the structure and best practices for conducting effective pair or mob programming sessions.

• Daniel Pineault (DEVelopers HUT)

  • Decoding the Cryptic ADODB Virtual RecordSet Error Message: Explains how a cryptic error message was traced to a field length mismatch when using Virtual RecordSets.
  • Utilizing In-Memory Virtual RecordSets in Microsoft Access: Provides a comprehensive guide on using Virtual RecordSets in Access to manage temporary data without database storage.
  • The Unexpected Behavior of Mixing ADODB and DAO Recordsets in Access Forms: Details an odd behavior where mixing ADODB and DAO recordsets triggers an unexpected Data Source dialog.
  • Using AI for Development Not Ready for Primetime, Yet: Examines the current limitations and challenges of using AI for software development tasks.
  • Microsoft Access Multi-Valued Fields: A Deceptive Feature Best Avoided: Explains why Multi-Valued Fields should be avoided in Access databases due to numerous drawbacks and limitations.

• Colin Riddington (Isladogs on Access)

  • NEW - Monaco SQL Editor: (Updated 2024-12-11) Several new fixes. Moved Fixed Issues to separate section.

• Mike Wolfe (NoLongerSet)

  • Mailgun: Quick Start Guide for VBA Developers: Provides step-by-step instructions and sample VBA code for sending test emails through the Mailgun service without requiring a credit card.
  • Throwback Thursday: December 12, 2024: Reviews three essential productivity tools: Everything file finder, Ditto clipboard manager, and KeePass password manager.
  • Mailgun: An Email-Sending Alternative for Access Developers: Introduces Mailgun as a potential replacement for Outlook automation in Access applications ahead of Microsoft's New Outlook migration in January 2025.
  • Microsoft Graph API with Maria Barnes: Demonstrates how to use Microsoft Graph API as an alternative to COM automation for maintaining Outlook functionality in Access applications.
  • Web APIs in Access with George Young: Explains how to integrate web APIs into Microsoft Access applications using VBA, covering both basic data retrieval and full CRUD operations.

Videos‌

• Access User Group Recordings (YouTube channel)

  • Creating Add-ins that run in Access and Office - Part I (33:05): with Crystal Long & Geoffrey L. Griffith
  • Creating Add-ins that run in Access and Office - Part II (01:10:04): with Crystal Long & Geoffrey L. Griffith
  • How to Add Tables to your Access Database, Pitfalls to avoid and Tips for Optimization (14:36): with Juan Soto

• Richard Rost (YouTube channel)

  • Up To Midnight (19:46): How to Query Records by Date in Microsoft Access Up to, But Not Including Midnight
  • Option Compare (14:16): The Difference Between Option Compare Database, Binary, and Text in Microsoft Access VBA
  • Open Form Unfiltered (16:59): How to Open a Microsoft Access Form to a Specific Record Without Filtering
  • Quick Queries #22 (39:49): Microsoft Access Quick Queries #22: Performance over VPN, Fixing Grainy Logo, Record Locking, More!
  • Remove Time, Part 2 (15:56): How to Remove Time Part from a Date/Time Field in Microsoft Access, Part 2
  • Building an Undo System (02:39): Microsoft Access Developer 46: Building a Microsoft Access Undo System (Trailer)

New to Me

^{This section includes content I discovered this week that has been around for awhile.}

• Nothing new this week.

Upcoming Access User Group Events

^{NOTE: Only English-language user group meetings with scheduled guest speakers or topics are listed. For a complete list of upcoming events, visit the Access User Group event calendar.}

• December 17, 2024: Mark Edwards- Learn about all the different field types for tables (JUST ADDED)
• December 19/20, 2024: Kent Gorrell, Crystal Long, Adrian Bell- Data Type Mapping Access to SQL Server
• January 8, 2025: Philipp Stiefel - Developing COM Add-Ins for Microsoft Access
• January 09, 2025: Geoffrey L. Griffith - Creating Add-ins that run in Access and Office — Part II (JUST ADDED)
• February 05, 2025: John Mallinson - Using VBE_Extras Add-In with Access
• February 06, 2025: Adam Waller - Access Version Control
• March 05, 2025; Alexander Denz - Topic title to be confirmed
• March 06, 2025: George Hepworth - Eliminating Magic Numbers in VBA (NEW DATE)
• April 02, 2025: John Heaser - Source Control for Access & SQL Databases
• April 10-11, 2025: Access DevCon Vienna (speakers TBA) (JUST ADDED)
• May 07, 2025: Colin Riddington - Large Monitor Support and Responsive Forms
• May 15, 2025 @ 9:30 am - 5:00 pm: In-person UKAUG 30th Anniversary Conference 2025, Imperial College London (Armen Stein, other speakers TBA)
• June 04, 2025: Anders Ebro - Using Class Modules

Access Roadmap

No changes were made to the roadmap between the Week in Review last week (2024-12-07) and this week (2024-12-14).

The roadmap was last updated on October 4, 2024. The development priorities were last updated at the German-language AEK conference on October 20, 2024.

Listed below is a snapshot of the official Access Roadmap.

"In Development", "Rolling Out", and "Launched" are Microsoft terms that I pulled straight from the public roadmap.

"Development Priorities" do not appear on the Access Roadmap. Instead, they get updated from time to time in official Access blog posts or Access engineering team presentations. I'll include a link to the source of the current development priorities as they get updated.

Development Priorities

The items listed below reflect Microsoft's order of priority and were published in the following article, Microsoft's Plans for Access Oct '24 – March '25.

The items are listed in priority order according to Principal Engineering Manager Dale Rector. The "Expected Benefit" of each feature is shown in italics after the description of the feature itself.

New priorities added since the previous set of priorities are shown in bold below.

1. Continued Focus on Monthly Issue Fixes: (Monthly Issue Fix Blog) Improved product quality and reliability
2. Large monitor support for forms: Improved support of Access on the latest hardware
3. Integrated source control: Simplifying the process of building mission critical Access solutions

Special thanks to Karl Donaubauer for posting the updated priorities at AccessForever.org.

In Development

• SEP 2024: Integrate Monaco framework to improve SQL editor capabilities

Rolling Out

None.

Launched

• AUG 2024: Modern Chart Improvements
• NOV 2023: Making 32-bit Access Large Address Aware (LAA)