Week in Review

Week in Review: August 22, 2026

Highlights include Phase 2 of the new zoom feature in Access, a talk on using the Edge browser control to extend Access, and a free UserForm tool for finding VBA code modules.

Mike Wolfe

• 5 min read
Week in Review: August 22, 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-opus-4.8.

  • Access Forever
    • Visual Glitches and Format Problems, by Karl Donaubauer: Learn about display and formatting bugs affecting reports and forms in Access version 2607 and later, including the suspected cause and a rollback workaround.
    • Zoom Phase 2, by Karl Donaubauer: Discover the second phase of Access's zoom feature in version 2608, including continuous form and Report view support, an expanded 10–1000% range, a new Zoom property, and an option to disable zooming.
  • Colin Riddington (Isladogs on Access)
    • AEU55: GraphAuthenticator - 'New' Outlook solved!: This Access Europe meeting features Peter Bryant and Andrew Richards demonstrating GraphAuthenticator, a tool that lets VBA connect to the Graph API and authenticate with MFA to work around "New Outlook" automation issues.
    • Access Bug Summary - Aug 2026 (IN PROGRESS): A running list of Access bugs reported in August 2026, including symptoms, affected versions, workarounds, and fix status, many related to the new zooming feature.
    • Fine Tuning the Zooming Feature: A walkthrough of new options for controlling Access's zoom feature, including disabling it at the application level, the per-form AllowZooming property, and the new ZoomResizesWindow property.
  • Crystal Long (Ms Access Gurus | Access Access Newsletter)
    • Find Module: A free downloadable userform tool for any VBA-enabled application that lists and filters VB components by name pattern and type, letting you activate a selected module in the VBE.
  • Mike Wolfe (NoLongerSet)
    • What is a Business App?: Presents a first-principles definition of a business application as software that captures inputs to produce outputs supporting business outcomes, along with a five-step design process.
    • Throwback Thursday: August 20, 2026: Revisits the author's early articles on AI, written shortly after ChatGPT's public preview, to assess how well they have held up over time.
    • VBA Letter Casing Nightmare Fixed in VCS Addin v5+: Learn how version 5 of the MS Access VCS Add-in natively enforces canonical VBA identifier casing via a clsStandardLetterCasing class module to eliminate spurious Git diffs.
    • twinBASIC Update: August 18, 2026: Covers the September 4, 2026 target release date for the next LLVM-centered twinBASIC beta, plus legacy VB6 control compatibility work, error-handling internals, and Discord discussion highlights.
    • AI: The Point of Highest Reality: Argues that safely harnessing AI as a force multiplier requires rigorous application of established software development best practices, since AI removes the limits on the damage shortcuts can cause.
    • "I Code, Therefore I Am": The author reflects on how building a game in twinBASIC helped him resolve an AI-driven identity crisis by realizing he is fundamentally a builder rather than a coder.

Videos

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 25, 2026] Crystal Long: Exploring Userforms
  • [September 2, 2026] Peter Bryant / Andrew Richards: GraphAuthenticator – the ‘New’ Outlook problem solved and a world of possibilities to explore (NEW DATE; was 2026-11-04)
  • [September 3, 2026] Eric Blomquist: Class Programming 201: Custom Events
  • [November 4, 2026] UKAUG Autumn 2026 Conference: In person at The Phoenix in London; speakers:
    • Alessandro Grimaldi: Advanced UI Design in Microsoft Access
    • Mike Wolfe: Source Control with Microsoft Access
  • [December 2, 2026] John Mallinson: Working with the Windows API (NEW DATE; was 2026-09-02)

Access Roadmap

There were no changes made to the roadmap between the Week in Review last week (2026-08-15) and this week (2026-08-22).

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

Never miss an article.

Sign up to receive a Sunday morning email with links and recaps of the seven articles published that week.
(I'll never sell your email. Unsubscribe any time.)


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