Microsoft released Office 2024, their latest Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) version. LTSC is the perpetual license of Office available as a one-time purchase rather than the subscription-based Office 365. Office 2024 succeeds Office 2021, the previous perpetual license version.
Total Access Emailer is the most popular email automation system for Microsoft Access. Total Access Emailer uses your SMTP server to send emails. A popular choice is the SMTP server provided by Microsoft Office 365’s Exchange Server.
Total Access Emailer and the Office 365 SMTP Server
Assuming the account is properly configured to relay email messages (Mailbox Delegation), Total Access Emailer has supported Office 365 since it was introduced.
Over the years, Microsoft has increased security on their site and adjusted configurations for their SMTP server. You can connect via SMTP protocol using an approved IP address or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol for a specific email address.
In the last week, we confirmed that Office 365 and Windows made changes that cause Total Access Emailer to be unable to send emails with its TLS connection protocol with an error like this:
SMTP protocol error: TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are not supported
The message implies the need for TLS 1.2, but recent versions of Total Access Emailer already support TLS 1.2.
If you are having trouble using TLS protocol, the SMTP protocol still works for Office 365. You need to authenticate your IP Address where you’re sending the emails. Remember to use the Temail.txt to store the FROM email address to use for validation as instructed in the referenced page above.
We realize that is not possible for all the environments of Total Access Emailer users.
New Versions of Total Access Emailer
This has accelerated our ongoing development for a new version of Total Access Emailer to address the new protocols. Our development team has already created a solution that is working with the new protocols and hope to release it, as soon as it completes thorough testing. We expect to release these Access 32 and 64-bit versions:
New Product:
Total Access Emailer 2021 for Access 2021, 2019 and the current Office 365 version
Updates:
Total Access Emailer 2016
Total Access Emailer 2013
Total Access Emailer 2010
New versions are now available! Visit the Total Access Emailer page for more information on the new features or ordering information.
Receiving the New Version
Customers on Premium Support Contracts will receive a free update for their version when it is available. Existing customers will be able to purchase an upgrade at a discounted price.
Microsoft confirmed the Microsoft Office security update released on Tuesday (December 14, 2021) causes Microsoft Access databases on shared drives to be locked after users exit the database. This prevents other users from opening the database and multiuser database sharing. Customers reported errors like:
Could not lock file (Error 3050)
Could not use 'Admin' (related to workgroup security)
This file is in use. Enter a new name or close the file that's open in another program.
Several issues appear to be happening:
The first person opening the database is successful but an exclusive lock is placed on the database preventing others from opening it.
The Access lock file (*.laccdb or *.ldb for ACCDB and MDB databases respectively) is not being deleted after the last person exits the database. This makes the database seem like it’s still being used.
This can also impact workgroup security files (*.mdw) that also have their *.ldb lock file.
From Microsoft:
This is due to the December 14, 2021 (Patch Tuesday) update to Office. The problem was introduced by a security fix, so it impacts all active versions of Access.
We are working on a fix, and will deliver it as quickly as
possible.
The update has only updated a small percentage of users, and we are pausing automatic updates.
This problem is even in the Semi-Annual Channel which is never supposed to include such poorly tested changes.
To avoid such problems, disable automatic updates. While this is a drastic step, Microsoft repeated failed to release stable updates thereby causing more problems than they fix.
Microsoft Office Update Version 2107 (Build 14228.20204) Breaks Applications using the Access Database Engine (ACE)
Background
Last week on Tuesday July 27th, Microsoft Office released version 2107 (Build 14228.20204) to Current Channel customers. It updates the Access Database Engine (ACE) ACEDAO.dll that supports connections to Access databases.
From Access, Account, next to the About Access button is your Version, Build and Channel
Problem
Unfortunately, this broke applications outside of Office such as Visual Studio and other programming platforms that rely on ACE to open Access databases. Programs include Microsoft programs such as PowerBI, SQL Server Management Assistant (SSMA), in addition to programs from other organizations that support Access databases. Errors like this appear:
The operating system is not presently configured to run this application
The error can be triggered in Visual Studio .NET with a single line of code that initializes the Access database engine: dbe = New DAO.DBEngine
The error occurs before opening any database because the core database engine fails. Even worse, having the code in a Try..Catch block doesn’t trigger the catch. It stays in an infinite loop requiring the need to close the application from the Windows Task Manager. Ugh!
Total Access Admin lets you monitor who’s connecting and disconnecting from Access databases across your network.
Our database administrator program, Total Visual Agent, automates Microsoft Access database tasks like nightly compacts.
They include EXE and DLL programs that run outside of Access and rely on ACE to support your databases. They may fail if Office/Access 365 is installed on the machine with Current Channel and ACE was updated.
This Happened Before
This is particularly disappointing because the same problem occurred in September 2020 when Office released version 2008 (Build 13127.20296). It was fixed when version 2009 (Build 13231.20262) was released.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a solution once this Office update is installed on a PC other than going back to a prior version. Visit Microsoft’s pages for instructions:
On the update history page, you can see the prior versions. Reverting back to the last Monthly Enterprise Channel version 2105 (Build 14026.20334) from July 13, 2021 works.
Change Your Update Channel
From experience, we can attest that using the Current Channel causes too much disruption. To eliminate the chance of this happening again on your PCs, you can turn off all updates, then manually update when you want:
From Access, Account, click the Update Options button and choose Disable Updates
The downside is this may leave your PC vulnerable to security problems that the updates address. It also prevents bug fixes and new features Microsoft adds to Office 365 over time. You’ll need to remember to come here and click Update Now periodically.
We are excited to announce the release of Total Access Memo 2021! Total Access Memo lets you add rich text format (RTF) memos to Microsoft Access with sophisticated editing and spell checking. Our super-easy data binding means you can display rich text on your forms and reports and store it in your tables.
Give your users the ability to add text with different fonts, point sizes, fonts styles (bold, italics, underline, etc.), bullet points, tabs, paragraph margins, indentations, alignment, spacing between paragraphs, color, graphics, hyperlinks, etc .
Total Access Memo 2021 is an upgrade from the 2007 version and includes these enhancements:
Support for 64-bit Versions of Access/Office including 365
Backwards Compatibility
Improved Rich Text Editor
Enhanced Sample Database
Updated Manual and Help File
New Setup and Distribution Programs
Download the free trial to experience it for yourself.
Existing Total Access Memo owners are eligible to upgrade at a discounted price.
A set of Microsoft Office security updates released on November 12, 2019 causes Access databases to fail when it runs Update Queries to modify data. An error like this appears when the query is run:
Error 3340: “Query ‘qryName’ is corrupt”.
It doesn’t matter if the query is against a table in the current database, a linked table, or a linked SQL Server table. If the Access database engine is processing the UPDATE query, the error occurs.
In addition to Microsoft Access, other programs that update Access databases may also be affected. That includes Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc. and programs written in Visual Studio .NET, VB6, and web applications.
Types of Update Queries Affected
When attempting to run an Update query, it may fail with the error: “Query ‘query name’ is corrupt”. This occurs for an UPDATE query that:
Updates a single table (i.e. it updates a table, rather than the output of a Select query or join)
Specifies a WHERE clause (i.e. has entries in the Criteria row in the query designer)
These queries can be saved Access query objects or SQL strings executed in VBA code (or other languages that use ACE).
Security Updates Causing Query is Corrupt Error 3340
The issue was introduced on November 12, 2019 via the following patch updates for MSI builds:
Office 2010: Description of the security update for Office 2010: November 12, 2019 (KB4484127)
Office 2013: Description of the security update for Office 2013: November 12, 2019 (KB4484119)
Office 2016: Description of the security update for Office 2016: November 12, 2019 (KB4484113)
Office 2016: Update for Office 2016 – November 12, 2019 (KB3085368)
Microsoft announced they’ll fix this in the December update, but that’s way too long to wait. We hope Microsoft will respond more quickly. Until then, we found multiple solutions to address this issue.
Current Microsoft Fixes
Here are the current Microsoft fixes for the issue.
There is a December 10, 2019 security update for the MSI builds, that will be available via WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) and will be automatically applied that fixes the issue.
Access 2010: KB4484193 – Build 14.0.7243.5000
Access 2013: KB4484186 – Build 15.0.5197.1000
Access 2016: KB4484180 – Build 16.0.4939.1000
Note: If you try to apply the patch and you receive a message that says “No products affected by this package installed in the system”, this means you have a click-to-run (C2R) installation of Office, rather than an MSI installation.
Access 2010 MSI, Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable: Fixed Build 7241.5001 – November 27, 2019 This update is only available for manual download and installation from the Microsoft Download Center. To manually download the update, visit November 27, 2019, update for Office 2010 (KB2986256). Organizations that want to distribute the update without requiring each user to install manually, visit Distribute product updates for Office 2010 for more information.
Access 2010 C2R: Fixed Build 7243.5000 – December 10, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now].
Access 2013 MSI: Fixed Build 5189.1002 – November 27, 2019 This update is only available for manual download and installation from the Microsoft Download Center. The update can’t be installed on Office Home and Student 2013 RT. To manually download the update, visit November 27, 2019, update for Office 2013 (KB2965317). Organizations that want to distribute the update without requiring each user to install manually, visit Distribute updates for Office 2013 products for more information.
Access 2013 C2R: Fixed Build 5197.1000 – December 10, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now].
Access 2016 MSI, Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable: Fixed Build 4927.1002 – November 18, 2019 This update is only available for manual download and installation from the Microsoft Download Center. To manually download the update, visit November 18, 2019, update for Office 2016 (KB4484198).
Access 2019 Volume License: Fixed Build 10353.20037 – December 10, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now].
Access O365 Monthly Channel/Access 2016 C2R/Access 2019 (Version 1910): Fixed Build 12130.20390 – November 18, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now]. For more information on the update, visit Version 1910: November 18.
Access for Office 365 (Microsoft Store Version): Fixed Build 12130.20390 – November 22, 2019 Open Microsoft Store, Click on […] in the upper right corner, Choose [Downloads and Updates]
Access for O365 Semi-Annual (Version 1808): Fixed Build 10730.20422 – November 22, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now]. For more information on the update, visit Version 1808: November 22.
Access for O365 Semi-Annual (Version 1902): Fixed Build 11328.20480 – November 22, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now]. For more information on the update, visit Version 1902: November 22.
Access for O365 Semi-Annual (Version 1908): Fixed Build 11929.20494 – November 22, 2019 Open an Office program, select [File], click [Account], click [Update Options] and select [Update Now].
Solutions
Uninstall the Security Updates
The best way to fix the problem is to uninstall the Security update for Office which is the source of the problem. There are different steps depending on whether you are on an Office 365 subscription or not.
Modify All Your Update Queries
If your solutions are deployed to users where you cannot uninstall their Security Updates, you can modify your queries so they don’t trigger the problem. This can be done by adjusting the queries or replacing them with recordsets updated in code.
Rename each table and create a query selecting it with the original table name. Need to adjust table references.
Deploy your Access application with Access 2007 or earlier. You can download the free Access 2007 runtime from our site.
Microsoft Office 365 makes it easy to create mailboxes. For no additional cost, email aliases can be created and assigned to a mailbox. For instance, sales@domain.com and support@domain.com could be aliases assigned to specific people’s accounts. That makes it easy to maintain a general address that’s assigned to whomever is currently responsible for it.
Setting Up Aliases
Before adding an email alias to a user, you must have admin permission to do so.
In the admin center, choose Users > Active users
Select the user > Manage email aliases
You won’t be able to see this option if the user does not have a license assigned.
Select [+ Add an Alias] and enter a new alias for the user.
Click [Save changes].
It may take up to 24 hours for the new alias to populate throughout Office 365.
When the email appears in the user’s Inbox and they reply, the FROM address is their email address. The alias is not the FROM address.
This makes it useful to have dedicated mailboxes rather than aliases. Someone can monitor the mailbox and respond from it. With Office 365, it’s easy to have an internet browser with Outlook opened to that account.
Unfortunately, it’s inconvenient to log in to the mailbox, and if it rarely receives emails, it’s easy to forget. It’d be much better to be notified at your regular email address when an email arrives.
Forwarding Email Messages
Microsoft allows you to easily forward your emails from your Office 365 account to another email account on Office 365 or external accounts such as Gmail or Yahoo. It’s very helpful for monitoring mailbox that are rarely used (e.g. webmaster, info, etc).
At the top of the page, click the Settings icon, then at the bottom of the panel, click on “View all Outlook settings”.
Choose Forwarding and enter in the email you would like your Office 365 emails to be sent to. There is an option that allows you to keep a copy of your forwarded messages so you can still log into that account and respond to them.
We are excited to announce the release of Total Access Analyzer for Microsoft Access 2019! Total Access Analyzer examines all your database objects to provide extensive documentation, code analysis, object cross-reference, and diagrams with over 390 presentation-quality reports.It detects 300+ types of errors, suggestions, and performance tips, so you can learn and apply Best Practices to fix problems, improve your design, and speed up your Access applications.>New Features
Access Analyzer 2019 is an upgrade from the 2016 version and includes these enhancements:
Supports Microsoft Access 2019, 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Document All Database types supported by Microsoft Access 2019.
Improved Blueprint Documentation.
Additional Cross-Reference and Validation including Subform References.
Improved Memory Management.
Data Macro Documentation.
Document Workgroup Security in ACCDBs.
Better Support of Documentation for Multiple Databases.
Module Bracket Reports.
Improved User Interface Shows more Progress Details.
There are many online Microsoft Access resources available from the Access and Office teams.
New Microsoft Access Tech Community Site
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:
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.
Microsoft 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.
For no additional cost, email aliases can be created and assigned to a mailbox. For instance, sales@domain.com and support@domain.com could be aliases assigned to specific people’s accounts. That makes it easy to maintain a general address that’s assigned to whomever is currently responsible for it.
