Category Archives: Microsoft Access

Apr 23

Microsoft Azure SQL Server Usage and DTU Limit Resource Graphs are Confusing

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microsoft-azure-h60 SQLServerText

Microsoft Azure lets you easily create and deploy enterprise quality SQL Server on the cloud and scale it to suit your application’s needs. From the SQL Server database’s Azure dashboard, you can see the Database Transaction Unit (DTU) usage against the specified DTU limit for the database.

One Hour Usage Graph

This is what we saw for usage over one hour. The cyan line across the top is the DTU limit. The dark blue line is the DTU used. The limit is what you pay, so it’s important to scale it to what the application needs.

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One Hour Azure SQL Server DTU use versus limit

While everything seemed fine at the weekly level, looking at the hourly graph gave us a shock. It looks like the database is maxed out for most of the hour. It seems conclusive that we need to increase our DTU level.

65 Minute Graph

But when we set the range to 65 minutes and saw this:

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65-minute Azure SQL Server DTU use versus limit

These are completely different displays of the same period of time. The 65 minute graph never hits the maximum DTU. What’s going on?

Visit our page Monitoring SQL Server Usage on Microsoft Azure and Setting DTU Limits for an explanation.

Mar 20

Microsoft Access/Office Resources

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There are many online Microsoft Access resources available from the Access and Office teams.

New Microsoft Access Tech Community Site

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This is the Microsoft Access development team’s community site that’s integrated with the Access program. Expect to see more and more information and discussions here:

Microsoft Access Tech Community Site

Online Microsoft Access/Office Training

office-training

Online training videos from Microsoft are available for most Office products.

Online Microsoft Office Training

Click on the Access icon to see the Microsoft Access training videos, or go directly to:

Microsoft Access Training Videos

Microsoft Access Help Center

access-helpcenter

The documentation team manages this site for MS Access documents and online help.

Microsoft Access Help Center

Old Microsoft Access Support Team Blog

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This Microsoft Access blog site is being retired but still has relevant information.

Become an Office Insider

office-insider

If you have an Office 365 subscription, and want to get the latest builds of Office/Access, become an Office Insider.

Sign up from the PC that will host the insider version. Of course the insider version is not ready for prime-time, so don’t use it for your development or production environment.

Office Insider Sign-up

Feb 21

Microsoft Access Version Comparison Matrix

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microsoftboxes2013Microsoft Access debuted in 1992 and recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary! Over the decades, Microsoft Access evolved with a large number of enhancements, database formats, features both new and old. and discontinued features.

It’s hard to remember all the changes. Fortunately, we created a comparison matrix that shows the different Microsoft Access versions and changes. See when versions were released, their latest service packs, database formats, linked tables, field types, security features, Windows Operating Systems, and many other features both new and old.

Visit our page: Microsoft Access Version Features and Differences Comparison Matrix

feature-matrix

 

Feb 21

Total Access Statistics Updates for Access 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003

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New versions of Total Access Statistics are available for Microsoft Access 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003.

Enhancements:statistics

  • 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003 Versions:
  • Adjusted treatment of null values as missing values rather than zero
  • Updated digital signature for Runtime MDE (for MDB databases)
  • Enlarged the field selection forms

For more information, visit:

Existing Total Access Statistics owners were notified to download the update.

Nov 28

Microsoft Access is 25 Years Old!

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birthday25Microsoft Access is celebrating its 25th year this month. It’s an amazing accomplishment for a software product to be so successful for so many years. We at FMS were there since the beginning.

Read our first hand, historical account of watching Microsoft Access take over the Windows desktop database market, and how we became the world’s leading 3rd party developer of Microsoft Access products.

Discover how we watched MS Access rise from nothing to the leading Windows desktop database application. This directly caused the implosion of Borland International which previously dominated the desktop database industry. Witnessing this in person was an amazing experience of how quickly technology can change established, large software businesses.

This article was originally published by Microsoft on their website for the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of Access (October 2002).

The video is from the November 1992 COMDEX conference where a very young Bill Gates personally announced the debut of Microsoft Access. He remains a big fan of Access and was actively involved in its design and development.
bill-gates

Nov 07

Microsoft Access DevCon 2017 in Vienna, Austria

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FMS Inc. founder and president, Luke Chung, was invited to speak at the Access developer’s convention in Vienna, Austria April 1-2. Luke provided his insight on:

  • The Access Challenges that developers like himself face
  • How Access has changed and evolved over the years,
  • Demonstrations of many of FMS Inc.’s products and their features.

Luke Chung

Along with Luke’s presentations, DevCon saw Microsoft Access Team members Michal Bar and Mike Sullivan, who gave overviews of Access 2016 and what is coming in the future. Thomas Pfoch, from picoware, showed new features relating to treeview customization. Peter Bryant, from Corylus Business Systems, provided insight in communicating with JSON Services. Microsoft Access MVP, Juan Soto, spoke about Optimizing Access with SQL Server. Danish Microsoft Access MVP Andres Ebro provided techniques and tricks to help with image handling, classes, and using reports inside a form. Paul Rohorzka of TechTalk presented automated testing of Access applications. Kevin Bell of COMC shared his thoughts on tools to extend Access development.

The conference was a great, informative success! The event, organized by Microsoft Access MVP Karl Donaubauer, was sold out! FMS Inc. was grateful for the opportunity to meet and present for all of those in attendance.

Additionally, due to the enormous success of the event this year, 2018 will host the 2nd Access DevCon Vienna on April 7-8. To stay updated on the event for next year, make sure to check out Karl’s page about the event! Access DevCon 2018

Apr 28

Microsoft Access Video on VBA Programming with Luke Chung at Access DevCon 2017

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FMS President Luke Chung was a presenter at the Microsoft Access DevCon 2017 in Vienna, Austria in early April.

Before giving two conference presentations, he was sat down and spoke with Philipp Stiefel of codekabinett.com of Germany. Philipp is creating a series of videos discussing VBA development.

Luke shares the history of how FMS Inc. began working with MS Access and how we now offer 12 products for the Access community, including Total Access Analyzer, Total Access Emailer, Total Visual CodeTools, and Total Visual SourceBook.

They talked about:

  • VBA Best Practices
  • How end-users migrate from Excel to Access, then learn how to code
  • Why people are hesitant to purchase third party products and how FMS overcomes that by showcasing the value we offer
  • Using tools like Total Access Analyzer to catch errors before shipping and learning best practices
  • Using the module code in Total Visual SourceBook to address problems we’ve already solved so you can focus on the unique issues in your applications
  • The value of creating consistent, quality code
  • How to improve code for developers of all backgrounds
  • Being in constant “growth” mode to look for ways to become a better developer

FMS Inc. is proud of the quality of products we have produced for the past 30 years. We are honored to continuously be regarded as a leading expert in the Access community. Thank you for supporting us and we hope you enjoy the 20 minute interview!

 

Mar 07

Total Access Statistics 2003 11.9 and 2007 12.9 Released

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Total Access StatisticsWe are pleased to introduce new versions of Total Access Statistics for Microsoft Access 2007 and 2003; versions 12.9 and 11.9 respectively. They include the many features we introduced with the latest Access 2016 version.

Total Access Statistics is an add-in that is the most powerful data analysis program for Microsoft Access. It extends the power of Access queries to analyze the data in your local or linked tables. It generates results in tables you can view or include in other queries, forms, and reports. It offers a wide range of statistical functions such as:

  • Field Descriptives
  • Financial Cash Flow Calculations
  • Percentiles
  • Running Totals and Moving Averages
  • Field Comparison
  • Frequency Distributions
  • Regressions
  • Advanced Cross-Tabulations
  • Group Analysis (t-Tests and ANOVA)
  • Record Analysis and Rankings
  • Non-Parametric Analysis
  • Probability Calculator

New Features

  • Additional percentile types can be assigned to a field in your table
  • Enhanced data formatting
  • Improved financial calculations for IRR and XIRR
  • Updated user manual
  • Support for Windows 8 and 10

New Add-in and Runtime Library Files

Version 12.9 and 11.9 include new files for the Access add-in. It also has new runtime library files.

  • A digitally signed MDE library for MDB databases that support users of Access 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 and 2003.
  • The Access 2007 version includes an ACCDE runtime library for ACCDB databases for Access 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007 users
  • The Access 2003 version includes a runtime library for Access 2000 and 2002 users

For more information, visit New Version X.9 Features.

Try out the new enhancements with our
download-trial-blue

Feb 15

Total Access Admin 2016 Released

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real-time-monitortotal-access-adminadmin-icondownload-trial-blue

We are excited to announce our release of Total Access Admin 2016! Total Access Admin is our administrator tool to help you monitor the users going in and out of your Microsoft Access databases (ACCDB and MDB formats) in real-time:

  • adminSee who is currently connected to your Microsoft Access database (you can manage multiple databases from one screen)
  • Monitor up to 150 databases at one time
  • Keep a log of users entering and exiting each database
  • Identify workstations or users disconnecting in a suspect manner which may be the source of database corruption
  • Compact your database when all users exit it
  • Prevent new users from logging into your database
  • Log off idle users
  • Communicate with your users in real-time

New Features

Total Access Admin 2016 is an update from the 2013 version and includes these enhancements:

  • Monitors ACCDB and MDB format databases created by Microsoft Access 2016 (32 or 64-bit version) and earlier versions of Access
  • Works in environments where Access 32 or 64-bit versions is installed, including installations from Microsoft Office365
  • Does not require Microsoft Access to be installed on the machine
  • Up to 150 databases can be monitored at one time (up from 100)
  • Setup program supports Windows 8 and 10, Server 2012 and later, with an option to launch the program after its installed

database-monitor

Download the free trial version today!

Existing customers can upgrade at a discounted price.

Oct 28

FMS Inc. Joins Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Alliance

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FMS Inc., a leader in software database development and design, is proud to announce it is joining the Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Alliance.

Celebrating 30 years in software development, FMS has a long track record of building mission-critical solutions for a wide range of organizations around the world. From desktop to web and mobile solutions, FMS serves tens of thousands of customers in over 100 countries ranging from small to large commercial organizations, non-profits, educational institutions, and government agencies.

The Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Alliance offers an innovative way for FMS Inc. to integrate its innovative products and services with Microsoft Corp.

“We’ve helped many organizations create and deploy database applications on the Microsoft Azure cloud,” said Luke Chung, President and Founder of FMS, Inc. “With Microsoft’s cloud center, our solutions are hosted on an enterprise quality infrastructure platform that’s highly scalable and reliable.  It eliminates the headaches of managing our own hardware and connectivity, and best of all, it’s a fraction of the cost compared to doing it ourselves. That translates to quicker time to market and lower costs for our customers.”

To learn more about the Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Alliance, please visit https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/mt438667.aspx.

About FMS Inc.

Since 1986, FMS has created innovative software solutions for commercial and government organizations. A Microsoft partner since 1992, FMS is a leading provider of products for Microsoft Access and Microsoft Office. Our Professional Solutions Group offers custom solutions on Windows, web and mobile platforms. Our Advanced Systems Group created Sentinel Visualizer, an advanced link analysis and data visualization product for the intelligence, defense and law enforcement communities. For 30 years, FMS has helped over 50,000 customers in more than 100 countries make better data-driven decisions.