Week in Review

Week in Review: July 4, 2026

Highlights include the blockbuster release of VCS Addin v5, the Access PM's farewell to the community, and surprising details about how the Office "Current Channel" works.

Mike Wolfe

• 5 min read
Week in Review: July 4, 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.

Videos

GitHub Projects

Changelog summary generated by Claude Opus 4.8.

Version Control System for MS Access Adam Waller's version-control add-in shipped its first major release in a year this week, and Version 5 is less a feature drop than a re-foundation. v5.0.0 (July 2) introduced a new 5.0 export format with descriptive .form, .report, and .macro extensions, deterministic query export through MSysQueries that preserves Design View, and a binary vcs-index.idx that replaces the old JSON index for roughly 30× faster loads — all while staying backward compatible with 4.x source trees. The same release leaned hard into automation and reliability, adding .env connection externalization with environment-variable layering, a built-in TestAssert framework backed by 53 regression fixtures, and an expanded public API aimed at AI- and agent-driven workflows. Two days later, v5.0.1 (July 4) tidied the edges: byte-exact round-tripping for multi-rule legacy conditional formatting, %VARIABLE% expansion in path functions, and a cancel-confirmation prompt so silent test runs no longer abort by accident. After 345-plus commits and a year of work, the throughline is durability — a more deterministic, testable, and automation-friendly foundation built to carry Access source control forward.

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.

  • [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

There were no changes made to the roadmap between the Week in Review last week (2026-06-27) and this week (2026-07-04).

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