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  Welcome To The Access Unlimited Newsletter - Edition 50
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Access Unlimited is an email newsletter that provides free tips, help and information for skilled Microsoft Access users and related software disciplines.

Produced by Garry Robinson (known below as "Ed") from Sydney, Australia.

In this edition, 

Access Unlimited ~ 50 Editions
The Search Engine War Has Started – Google Desktop
The Next Version Of Access
Give Your Eyes A Break When Designing Queries
Access 2003 Service Pack Fixes
News on Garry’s Access Protection and Security Book
Code Thought for The Day
Good Reading
Programmers Pack Deal

Access Unlimited ~ 50 Editions and still going strong

Dear Reader, it is now over five years since I first sent out a copy of this newsletter to a couple of hundred interested readers and now we have finally arrived at the 50^th edition. Currently the magazine has a readership of just under 5000 and as I still enjoy the challenge and the magazine is still useful to my business, I will continue to provide you with insights into my muddled brain for many more editions.

Order Programmers Pack Here

Read about Garry’s Access book here

The Search Engine War Has Started

In Edition 48, I wrote about the anticipated search engine fight between Microsoft, Google and Yahoo.  Well I am very happy to say that benefits of that tussle have started to arrive and the early leader is Google with its New desktop search engine.

This tool is already changing the way that I work, especially with email searches and saving html pages for a personal knowledge base. The tool is a very small download and it integrates nicely into the normal Google web environment even though it runs without needing an Internet connection. To save power on my laptop, I have disabled the search engine on startup so that it only indexes files after I start to use it.

You can download the (currently beta version) of this desktop searching tool from http://desktop.google.com

P.S. Email searches take seconds as do searches of all Word, Excel, text and Html files on my computer.

One reader has already pointed out another desktop search product from Copernic
http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/

The Next Version Of Access

In the last edition of this magazine, I referred to an editorial that I wrote for Smart Access that outlined my ideas for the next version of Access and beyond and asked for ideas (from my readers). Well you chaps and gals got right into it and we ended up with more than 200 ideas on what Microsoft should do with their Access software. If you wish to read all about what other people have said about this topic, head to the following page where I have organized all the responses.

http://www.vb123.com/access2008/

I have setup a link on this page to the vb123 Anonymous blogging site so that you can continue to keep posting your ideas for future versions of Access.  With your onging support of this initiative, I will endeavor to see if we can have an influence on the developers at Microsoft.

Importantly the first press is starting to come out on the next version of Microsoft Access.  The FMS “Buzz” newsletter reports that Richard McAniff, Corporate Vice President of Access, Excel and Office Programmability has revealed Microsoft’s renewed commitment to making databases easy. The newsletter also stated that Microsoft have assembled the largest Access development team since the early days of Access and the principle focus is on making Access the no-brainer choice for Excel users who need more power. Microsoft are also committed to creating developer features that will allow the continued creation of professional solutions plus improving SharePoint integration for web connectivity.  

Anyway if any of the readers attended the Advisor Access conference, can give the readers of this magazine your insight in Richard’s keynote speech. You can read the text on this FMS article  in this newsgroup posting.

As the approach that Microsoft seems to be taking on making Access easier (for Excel users) was central to my Smart Access editorial and suggested by the readers who pointed out the FileMaker Pro competition, I am glad of this direction. More important though is a refocus on Access the product. My feeling on why this is happening maybe due to the following.

·  Microsoft are probably starting to get embarrassed by the lack of interaction between Access and the rest of the Office suite.

·  It is likely that File Maker Pro and others are starting to bite into the low end database market and Microsoft isn’t making up that market share with the slow uptake of SQL server on the desktop (MSDE).

·  Maybe the reason is due to market-research and if that is the case, keep the Access research happening.

·  Microsoft are aiming to bring out an Express version of Access to get people started.

Anyway here are some FileMaker Pro links to get you thinking.

http://www.filemaker.com/news/product_reviews.html
http://advisor.com/doc/13769
Info world website

Give Your Eyes A Break When Designing Queries

When designing queries, you probably will find the size of the font used in both the query designer and the SQL view is now a little bit small. In Access 2003, the default is the minuscule Tahoma font at size 8.  To make your query design more readable, head to the menu Tools ~ Options ~ Queries and Tables tab and change the size of the Query design font.  Tahoma 10 point is good choice for most situations.

Access 2003 Service Pack Fixes

Here is a list of problems fixed in Service Pack 1 for Access 2003

• When you add several rows on a subform in Access 2003 that is installed on a Tablet PC, Access 2003 stops responding.      
• Access When you print a complex report in Access 2003 that uses the Space() function to set Label captions, you receive a Runtime error 2101.     
• If you programmatically change the SourceObject property of a subform from one form to another form, when data is subsequently pasted in the subform, the changes are not propagated to the underlying RecordSource (table).          
• When you print a multi-page report from a Microsoft Access project (.adp) file that contains images, Access may print slowly and may eventually appear to stop responding (hang).        
• On the fourth page of the Import Spreadsheet Wizard, you can only change the first field name in the Field Name box.           
• Access cannot prevent the conversion dialog box from appearing when opening an old database      
• Error message running a macro that contains a blocked expression
• Conditional formatting not applied to calculated controls in complex form   
• Not a valid password error message when password ends with a backslash           

News on Garry’s Access Protection and Security Book

FMS Inc. Recommends Garry’s Book
http://www.fmsinc.com/toplevel/books.htm

One Reader writes

I've been a Visual Basic for Applications/Microsoft Access developer since Version 2.0.  Your book has done more for me in a couple of days than a host of Microsoft Access web sites could have done in a year.  I'm currently involved in a project that has/will be putting almost every security measure in your book to work.   I just wanted to thank you for producing such a great book. . . Oscar Carrero

Another Reader writes

I am reading your book.  It's very interesting and covers a lot of things that I never knew or thought about even though I have been using User Level Security in all my applications for the last 5 years. 

You infer that when you secure as database using the security wizard, your database is also encrypted.  I thought I would test your theory.  I checked one of my secured databases and sure enough, it appeared to be encrypted secure because I could not compress it.  I decrypted it and I am now running comparison tests. So if your theory is right, all my secured databases are encrypted which make them run about 15 percent slower.  That would account for the common knowledge that secured databases run slower than non secured ones. Anyway it's a good book and I have learned a great deal and I am sure I will learn more as I continue to read it.   Thanks, Fred

If you want to find out more about the book, what people have been saying, read the table of contents and the free book chapter, head to the following address (the book is for Access 97 users onwards)

http://www.vb123.com/map/

The Access Workbench Improves Again

The Access Workbench now allows you to assign Access 2003, 2002, 2000 or 97 executables to a database favorite so that you always open it in the correct version. There are also some great new menus in the beta version that makes the Workbench a lot more versatile.

Click here for more

GOOD READING

Revamped TOC and Keyword Searches for VB123
http://www.vb123.com/search/toc.htm
http://www.vb123.com/search/keyword.htm

Why ASP.net is a winner and VB.net is in the maybe camp
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/printerFriendly/articles/APIWar.html

Access 2003 has a tool called Object dependencies.  Learn how to use it for upgrading and cleaning up software.  Note that the tool doesn’t work with vb code and has a few other limitations but is generally pretty good from Ed’s experience.
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/msaccess/article.php/3403871

FMS Inc. Tips on the Jet Sandbox mode
http://www.fmsinc.com/free/tips.html#accesstip19

Make the mouse wheel work in the Access VB IDE Environment
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=837910

Restore a SQL Server Database
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.php/3389831

Find out what some big name vendors say about the upgrading to Windows Service Pack 2  Dell  HP Compact  Sony

JPEG Buffer Overrun Vulnerability (downloads)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-028.mspx

Access ADP as a documentation tool
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/msaccess/article.php/3388551

A new Junk email update for Outlook 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=870765

How to open a password protected database using ADO.
http://www.vb-helper.com/howto_ado_use_access_password.htm

A good chapter on Relational Theory by Rebeca M. Riordan including a discussion on Theta Joins (do you know what they are?)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/70/books/relation.mspx

Windows Service Pack 2 brings considerable improvements to Windows Tablet PC
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6268_11-5323405.html?tag=search#

12 Things you must know to protect a Windows Network
http://mcpmag.com/techlibrary/resources.asp?id=36

Transform a WordML Document with XSL to html format
http://www.devx.com/xml/Article/21689

Winzip vulnerabilities – Upgrade soon
http://www.winzip.com/wz90sr1.htm

String Concatenation – an explanation of how it gets slow and what to do about it
http://www.asp101.com/articles/marcus/concatenation/default.asp

Next edition of VB.net  See the video
http://www.ftponline.com/vsm/2004_en/magazine/online/soma/

Cheap Software – Try the MS Partner Program
Microsoft Link

Protect a personal database and other files by using simple file sharing (or denial) in Windows XP.
http://www.theeldergeek.com/quick_guide_to_simple_file_sharing.htm

Access 2 to Access 2003 Converter from Microsoft
Microsoft link

Tony Toews take on Access naming Conventions
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/tablefieldnaming.htm

Tony Toews Access Performance FAQ page
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/performancefaq.htm

If you like this newsletter, why not try the websites of others who contribute to this newsletter.

http://www.vb123.com/explore/links.htm

Code Thought for The Day

When you instantiate an object using
Set ObjectName = …

immediately type in
Set ObjectName = Nothing. 

Make sure that you move this line to the appropriate place in your error handling where you will ALWAYS exit the subroutine. If you don’t, you may be consuming unnecessary computer (virtual) memory.

WRAPPING THIS EDITION UP

Received this lovely email from a reader. Sums up why I write this newsletter

Thank you for many helpful tips in my work with Access since Access 1.0. Now I have retired and are looking forward to other things in life.  Yours Ebbe Holsøe

So thanks for reading our popular newsletter.  Feel free to make comments, copy the email to a friend or maybe even contribute to the next edition. And if you can, have a look at our software by using the Marketing section on the left hand side of this newsletter. If you really like this newsletter, why not purchase The Toolbox and you will get all the other newsletters and plenty more in a developer’s knowledge base tool with super searching facilities.

Garry Robinson - Software Consultant and Author
 

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Published  2004-08