Microsoft’s annual TechEd conference is being held in Los Angeles next week. Microsoft has invited me to participate on a few panels including:
For more information, times and rooms, please visit our Upcoming Events page. Be sure to find me up if you are there.
Total Access Components 2007 is now shipping with support for Microsoft Access 2000 through 2007. Dazzle your users with amazing enhancements to your forms and reports using 30 custom controls designed exclusively for Access. Check out our product tour with examples of the features. For existing customers, here’s a list of new features. Add animation, popup and icon menus, form resizer and splitter bars, data entry enhancements, custom cursors, simplified use of Windows API calls, and much more! Download the free trial version and see for yourself!
The HotMommas Project and Professor Kathy Korman Frey are featured in a recent Washington Post article. It is about the GWU Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Class, the Hot Mommas Project (as mentioned previously on our blog), and all the reasons why these educational initiatives exist.
Today, April 13th, 2009, at 12pm EST you can participate in a related online chat at the Washington Post's website. Professor Frey will be there to answer questions and lead the discussion.
Recently, we published an article describing how to Synchronize Two Related Subforms on a Microsoft Access Form. In that article, we mentioned when setting the master link field of a subform, you should always reference the control rather than the field name. We didn't mention why and received some inquiries, so this new article covers when and why that's so important. It includes a database with examples showing how a reference to the field instead of the control could cause users to not realize they're editing the wrong linked records, or adding and deleting records linked to the wrong master value. Read more in the article on why Microsoft Access Subforms Should Reference the Control Rather than Field for Master Link Fields
As part of our commitment to quality software, FMS regularly releases product update patches to add new enhancements and resolve known issues. Most recently, we have released updates for Total Access Emailer, Total Access Analyzer 2007, and Total Visual CodeTools. Updates have been sent to all registered owners—contact us if you did not receive your update.
You can check for updates in most FMS products by using the built-in Update Wizard. From the Windows Start menu, select All Programs, FMS, Program Name, Update Wizard. Follow the wizard prompts to check for updates.
There are many experienced Microsoft Access developers who continue to resist the migration to Access 2007. While there are some changes that are cumbersome, there are many new features that justify the migration. With Access 2007, you can create applications with features that in many cases would be impossible to provide in prior versions. Here are my Top Features of Microsoft Access 2007 That Aren't Available in Prior Versions.
Luke and I attended the awards ceremony for The HotMommas Project Case Study Competition March 9th, 2009 at The George Washington University. It was great to see the result of our efforts developing the HotMommas website over the past several months. It’s quickly become the world’s largest, public domain case study repository of stories from female entrepreneurs. It was wonderful to hear the stories of some of the contestants. We met some dynamic, brave and inspiring women entrepreneurs. The winner’s case is well worth reading, and so are many others. We encourage you to check out The HotMommas Project website.
If you’re in the Denver, CO area next week, please drop by the Denver Access User Group meeting where I’ll be speaking on a variety of topics related to Microsoft Access and FMS. The event is from 6-9PM at the Microsoft office. The event is free though we encourage you to become a member of the group if you aren’t already. Please visit their web site for more information: http://www.daaug.org/
Over the years, I have had an ongoing discussion about how Microsoft Access best fits in an organization's database strategy. Similar to how some Excel files evolve beyond the capabilities of a spreadsheet and move to Access, some Access applications grow beyond the features of Access. Recently, I was interviewed by Microsoft’s Architect Evangelist Dr. Zhiming Xue on dealing with Access Database based solutions and the challenges of migrating them to SQL Server. Watch the 22 minute video and read more about Migrating Microsoft Access Databases to SQL Server. Let me know what you think.
Integrating emails into Microsoft Access applications is an amazingly powerful way to distribute your data. The built-in SendObject command lets you do this at a very basic level. Here’s a review of the SendObject command’s features and limitations, and how Total Access Emailer can help you extend Access beyond SendObject to really email personalized messages with Microsoft Access data and reports to all your contacts.