Week in Review

Week in Review: October 17, 2026

Highlights include a free Access image gallery with carousel, the value of custom vs. off-the-shelf software, and how to pre-select a file in File Explorer from VBA.

Mike Wolfe

Oct 17, 2026 • 5 min read

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.}

Maria Barnes (Business Data Bytes Newsletter)
- Purpose-Built Platforms: Why Your Business Deserves Software That Fits: Argues that purpose-built software tailored to a business's specific workflows outperforms commodity tools, while advising that proven off-the-shelf services still be used where they fit.
Daniel Pineault (DEVelopers HUT)
- Open a File In Windows Explorer and Select It: Presents a VBA function that uses the Shell command with Explorer's /select switch to open Windows Explorer with a specified file pre-selected.
- Microsoft Access Image Gallery with Carousel: Shares a downloadable Microsoft Access image gallery form with a thumbnail carousel, navigation buttons, and image-viewing options, all driven by a simple SQL statement.
- Evolution of the Access Roadmap: Tracks changes to the Microsoft Access roadmap over several months, showing shifting release dates and status updates for features like large-format form design, rounded control corners, and zoom magnification.
Colin Riddington (Isladogs on Access)
- Access Bug Summary - Oct 2026 (IN PROGRESS): Documents Access bugs reported in October 2026, including out-of-memory errors from too many identifiers, a Shape Outline ribbon display glitch, and a tab-control VBA crash, along with their investigation status.
George Hepworth (Grover Park Consulting)
- AI is a Process, Not Person: Reflects on how understanding the mechanics of an AI assistant's short- and long-term memory, revealed through re-architecting a template library, changes how one should communicate with and troubleshoot AI tools.
Mike Wolfe (NoLongerSet)
- Throwback Thursday: October 15, 2026: Revisits a tip on crafting custom software proposals that address the specific question your prospect is asking, whether they doubt the need for custom software or are evaluating developers, plus a comic about SaaS platforms replacing custom Access systems.
- The Road Now Taken: Why AI Moved Me from Mercurial to Git: Explains how AI-driven workflows and their reliance on Git integrations finally prompted a switch from Mercurial to Git and GitHub, with AI removing the command-line barrier and branch-protection rulesets addressing safety concerns.
- twinBASIC Update: October 13, 2026: Highlights okaso's automated twinBASIC documentation pipeline—producing an HTML site, a 2,000-page PDF, a help add-in, and auto-generated annotated screenshots—plus a free 2D MMORPG maker built with twinBASIC.
- The Jevons Paradox: Why AI Is Good News for Access Developers: Applies the Jevons paradox to software development, predicting that as AI drives down the cost of building custom software, overall demand for developers and small custom applications will rise even as large platforms decline.

Videos

Richard Rost (YouTube channel)
- Nz Rejected (06:55): How To Handle Null Values Without Nz in Microsoft Access Table Validation Rules Safely
- Video Quiz A3.3 (03:21): How Do You Lock Paid Order Details On An Order Form in Microsoft Access?
- Big Forms (09:21): Microsoft Access Big Forms Give Your Dashboards More Room - New for 2026!
- Video Quiz X3.2 (04:00): What Happens When You Hide a Bound Customer ID Field in Microsoft Access?
- Still Need to Learn? (36:32): Do You Still Need to Learn Microsoft Access If AI Can Build It for You? QQ 107
Daniel Pineault (YouTube channel)
- Image Gallery (16:29): Microsoft Access Image Gallery with Carousel

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}^.

[October 27, 2026] Eric Flamm: Access to Azure integration using Data Factory
[November 4, 2026] UKAUG Autumn 2026 Conference: In person at The Phoenix in London; speakers:
- Colin Riddington: Sprinkle a little UI Magic on your Apps (in-person version)
- Mike Wolfe: Version Control for Access Developers
- Alessandro Grimaldi: MS Access: More than you think!
- Tim Finch: 3D Rendering in VBA. Helped by new “mate”, Claude
- The Microsoft Access Team
[November 11, 2026] Colin Riddington: Sprinkle a little UI Magic on your Access Apps
[December 2, 2026] Mike Wolfe: Using AI for Test Driven Development in Access

Access Roadmap

The following changes were made to the roadmap between the Week in Review last week (2026-10-10) and this week (2026-10-17):

Rounded corners on Access form controls: Entry updated October 15; no change to its status, rollout date, or description

The roadmap was last updated October 15, 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

OCT 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.
SEP 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.

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

AUG 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.

Upcoming End-of-Life Dates

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

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

[JAN 08] SQL Server 2019

2031

[OCT 14] Windows Server 2022

2033

[JAN 11] SQL Server 2022

2034

[OCT 10] Windows Server 2025

Ongoing

Microsoft 365 (with subscription)

Date TBD

Complete removal of VBScript from Windows OS (Microsoft Announces the Death of VBScript)