Week in Review

Week in Review: June 27, 2026

Highlights include the evolution of Rubberduck VBA 3 into RDCore, tips for managing subform timing-related errors, and time zone-handling API calls.

Mike Wolfe

• 6 min read
Week in Review: June 27, 2026

Just Published

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

Articles

Article descriptions generated by Claude-Sonnet-4.5.

  • a.p.r. pillai (Learn MS-Access Tips and Tricks)
    • Complete Guide to Microsoft Access AI Integration: Learn how to integrate AI into Microsoft Access by installing Ollama and the Qwen model, connecting VBA to AI services, building JSON requests, and using prompts to generate and debug SQL and VBA code.
  • Mathieu Guindon (Rubberduck VBA)
    • RDCore™: Rubberduck v3 has evolved into RDCore, an open-source .NET 10 SDK that reimplements the VBA language specification as a modern platform with full Language Server Protocol support, aiming to provide VBA with a Roslyn-like development experience.
  • John Mallinson (The VBA Help)
    • Download, install and use mscomct2.ocx: Learn how to legally obtain mscomct2.ocx from Microsoft's Visual Basic 6.0 Service Pack 6, extract it from the MSI file, register it for 32-bit Office, and use the Date and Time Picker and MonthView ActiveX controls it contains.
    • Calling methods and properties by name in VBA with CallByName: Use the CallByName function to invoke object methods or access properties dynamically at runtime using string-based member names, enabling simplified command dispatchers without lengthy Select Case statements.
    • Get the current time zone, UTC offset and daylight saving state: Retrieve the current time zone name, UTC offset, and daylight saving status in VBA by calling the GetDynamicTimeZoneInformation Windows API function and decoding the returned DYNAMIC_TIME_ZONE_INFORMATION structure.
  • Colin Riddington (Isladogs on Access)
    • CCP or not CCP? That is the Question!: Microsoft deliberately deploys Current Channel Preview builds to a subset of Current Channel users as part of its experimentation and validation process, meaning some production users unknowingly receive pre-release builds with potential bugs.
    • Big Forms & Reports for Modern Monitors: Access Beta Channel introduces the Big Forms feature, removing the 22.75-inch size limit and enabling forms and reports up to approximately 236,715 cm using new WidthNew, HeightNew, TopNew, and LeftNew long integer properties.
    • Zooming Feature (Stage 2) Rolling Out: Stage 2 of the Access zooming feature adds support for continuous forms, popup forms, and report view, extends the zoom range to 10%–1000%, and introduces limited VBA support for programmatic zoom control.
    • Zooming Feature (Stage 1) Now Available: Access 365's new zooming feature enables 50%–500% scaling of datasheet views, single forms, split forms, navigation forms, and report print preview using the ribbon, keyboard shortcuts, mouse wheel, or touchscreen gestures.
    • Access Bug Summary - June 2026: A summary of Access bugs reported in June 2026, including issues with the new zooming feature, form performance slowdowns in version 2606, control tip display problems, and shadow effect rendering glitches.
  • Mike Wolfe (NoLongerSet)
    • Throwback Thursday: June 25, 2026: A weekly roundup featuring past articles on task-appropriate user interface design and the importance of the human element in software development.
    • twinBASIC Update: June 23, 2026: Wayne Phillips teases an upcoming business announcement for twinBASIC, community debate centers on balancing VB6 compatibility with new features, and a Bluetooth scanner sample project demonstrates generic type capabilities.

Videos

GitHub Projects

Changelog summary generated by Claude Opus 4.8.

MCP-Access Last week MCP-Access was busy encoding taste into the forms it builds; this week it turned to the rough edges operators hit while actually using it.

v0.7.47 was a fast community bugfix — a duplicate "design" key in tips.py, caught by @jbchea — tidying up after the prior week's design-guide work. v0.7.48 smoothed out databases with many ODBC-linked tables: access_list_linked_tables gained optional single-table (name='X'), lightweight (names_only=true), and password-masking (mask_password=true) modes, access_relink_table gained a refresh=true that re-reads a linked table's schema from its own connection string without re-exposing the password, and control tools now scope lint feedback to just the controls you touched (with full_lint=true to opt back out). v0.7.49 killed a longstanding annoyance where the VBE-write tools threw modal error dialogs whenever the target module was open in the editor — a new watchdog thread dismisses them automatically while the edits still land.

The throughline: a week of removing friction, so the tools behave predictably whether or not a human has the database open in front of them.

New to Me

This section includes content I discovered this week that has been around for a while.

  • 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.

  • [July 1, 2026] Colin Riddington: UI Tips/Tricks and New Access Features
  • [July 2, 2026] John Colby: Managing a Team of AI Agents
  • [August 5, 2026] Marcus Dieterle: Use the Edge browser control to extend Access
  • [August 6, 2026] Tom van Stiphout: Anonymizer for Access Data
  • [September 2, 2026] John Mallinson: Working with the Windows API
  • [October 7, 2026] Peter Bryant / Andrew Richards: GraphAuthenticator – the ‘New’ Outlook problem solved and a world of possibilities to explore

Access Roadmap

The following changes were made to the roadmap between the Week in Review last week (2026-06-20) and this week (2026-06-27):

  • Design Access forms and reports without 22-inch size constraints: Moved from "In Development" to "Rolling Out" (rollout start still JUN 2026). Microsoft also retitled it — last week it appeared under In Development as "Modernize Access Forms and Reports to work well on Large Format Monitors."

The roadmap was last updated June 23, 2026.

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. Dates listed are "rollout start" dates.

In Development

  • AUG 2026: Cascading combo and list boxes with LinkMasterFields/LinkChildFields: Combo boxes and list boxes now support LinkMasterFields/LinkChildFields properties, enabling cascading dropdowns (e.g., Country filters City) without writing VBA code.
  • JUL 2026: Rounded corners on Access form controls: We’re making it easier to give your Access apps a polished, up-to-date feel. With the new CornerRadius property, you can add rounded corners to form controls—bringing a softer, more modern look to your designs.
  • JUN 2026: Zooming for Continuous Forms and Multiple-Items Forms: Access extends zoom capabilities to continuous forms and pop-up forms, building on zoom support already available in tables and queries. Adjust magnification from 10 percent to 500 percent using the slider in the lower-right corner or controls on the ribbon. Keyboard shortcuts are also available, making it easy to quickly change your view and focus on the details that matter most.
  • MAY 2026: Enable zoom magnification to Microsoft Access for Forms, Tables, Queries: Access will add magnification slider (10% to 500%) in lower right of the application, similar to the feature in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. It will also be keyboard accessible and available on the ribbon in Access forms, tables, and queries.

Rolling Out

  • JUN 2026: Design Access forms and reports without 22-inch size constraints: With the removal of the 22-inch limit, your apps can now take full advantage of today’s larger monitors. You can display more data, create flexible layouts, and deliver a better experience on wide and high-resolution screens.

Launched

None listed.

Upcoming End-of-Life Dates

Here are the key end-of-life dates Access developers should track:

2024

2025

2026

2027

2029

  • [JAN 09] Windows Server 2019
  • [OCT 09] Access 2024 | Outlook 2024
  • [OCT 09 (or later)] Classic Outlook
    • See "Edit 8/12/2024" at top of this article for official clarification that "both perpetual and subscription [i.e., MS 365] versions of Outlook will be supported until 2029"
    • Support for Classic Outlook is guaranteed at least through 9 Oct 2029; it may be extended beyond this date

2030

2031

2033

2034

Ongoing

Date TBD

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All original code samples by Mike Wolfe are licensed under CC BY 4.0