Mar 22

Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Breaks Backward Compatibility with ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)

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The recent release of Windows 7, Service Pack 1 (and Windows 2008 R2) breaks backward compatibility for Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). That means if your .NET, Visual Basic 6, VBA/Office, C++ or other program includes an ADO library reference, and you compile your application or COM object on a Windows 7 SP1 machine, it will not run when deployed to an earlier environment containing the existing ADO object.

An error you may encounter is: Unable to cast COM object of type ‘System.__ComObject’ to interface type ‘ADODB.Connection’.

Basically, the interface IDs for files like MSADO28.tlb and MSADO15.dll have changed. For more information on this, read the Microsoft KnowledgeBase article 2517589.

This is not an issue in Visual Studio .NET if you are using ADO.NET. But if you are using ADO, it is an issue. For .NET specific issues, see KnowledgeBase article 840667, You receive unexpected errors when using ADO and ADO Multidimensional in a .NET Framework application.

Note that applications built on the original version will run fine on Windows 7, SP1. You just can’t go backwards. Watch out!

Feb 24

Free Access Solutions: Tip, Tricks, and Secrets from Microsoft Access MVPs Book Offer

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Congratulations to our friends and Microsoft MVPs, Arvin Meyer and Douglas Steele who recently published Microsoft Access Solutions: Tip, Tricks and Secrets from Microsoft Access MVPs. Filled with quick ways to improve your productivity, it’s available at bookstores and Amazon.com.

Even better, we are pleased to offer a limited quantity of this book for FREE (a $50 value). Thanks to a special arrangement with the authors and their publisher, Wiley, purchasers of any of our Access product suites can receive a complimentary copy of this book.

Feb 23

Send Emails from the Preview version of Total Access Emailer for Microsoft Access 2010

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Microsoft Access Email BlasterTotal Access EmailerMicrosoft Access Email

If you’ve ever wondered how Total Access Emailer could work for you, now is your chance to download a fully-functional version which includes the add-in and the VBA runtime library.

Total Access Emailer is the most popular Microsoft Access email program. Running as an add-in, it lets you easily send personalized emails using the information in your database. From using fields in the subject and body of the message, to attaching PDF reports filtered for each recipient, you’ll find that Total Access Emailer revolutionizes the way you communicate with your contacts. Any table or query can be the data source for your emails which can be in text or HTML format. We can even automatically include graphics in your HTML emails or let them reference a public site.

We are very pleased to offer a Free Preview of Total Access Emailer for Access 2010 (the preview version has expired and the Microsoft Access 2010 version is shipping). Enhancements include support for Access 2010, 32 and 64 bit, compressing all your attached files into one zip file with optional password, international extended character support, a new Code Generator, additional programmatic interfaces, and many more new features.

Feb 15

Luke Chung Speaking at Portland Access User Group Conference in May

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FMS President Luke Chung will be attending and speaking at the three day Microsoft Access conference sponsored by the Portland Oregon Access User Group.  Join him and other guest speakers including Alison Balter from InfoTech Services Group Inc., Armen Stein from J Street Technology, and Kevin Bell from Microsoft.

Luke will be speaking on the following topics:

  • FMS Products for Microsoft Access Developers and How they Make You Money
  • Microsoft Access and Azure: Working in the Cloud
  • Microsoft Access Disaster Recovery Plans

For complete details visit PAUG 2011 Database Designer Conference and see you there May 14-16, 2011.

Feb 14

Luke Chung Presenting at the Denver Area Access User Group April 5th

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FMS President Luke Chung will be the guest presenter at the April 5th meeting of the Denver Access User Group. He'll be discussing Microsoft Access 2010, FMS products for Microsoft Access, and all things Access. See you there!

DAAUG Meeting
April 5, 2011 from 6 to 9PM
Microsoft USA – Rocky Mountain District
7595 Technology Way
Suite 400 (4th Floor)
Denver, CO 80237

 

Jan 12

Microsoft Access Database Compact and Repair to Minimize Corruption and Avoid Bloat (by Access Version)

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File server databases like Access/JET MDB and ACCDB files need to be periodically compacted and repaired for optimal performance and to minimize database corruption. This also eliminates database bloat that can occur as data is added and deleted in the database.

Microsoft Access databases can be manually compacted from the Access menu. Unfortunately, over the last few versions of Access, the location of this command has moved around driving Access many users and developers crazy. Read our paper on Microsoft Access Database Compact and Repair to Minimize Corruption and Avoid Bloat (by Access Version).

Jan 12

Automatically Compact and Repair Microsoft Access Databases with Compact On Close

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Microsoft Access/Jet databases require routine maintenance to ensure reliability, integrity, and efficiency. You can manually compact and repair a database. However, you can save yourself some time and effort by configuring your database to automatically do this every time it closes. Read the issues and limitations around this Microsoft Access feature Automatically Compact and Repair Microsoft Access Databases with Compact On Close.

Jan 12

Create a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan for Microsoft Access Database Applications

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Microsoft Access Backup Disaster Recovery PlanIf you create or take over a Microsoft Access application from someone else, you become responsible for the data in addition to the application and its queries, forms, reports, macros, and module code. Unanticipated disasters can occur, so it’s important to prepare before they happen. The amount of effort and investment to spend for disaster recovery varies with the value of the application, but some basics apply to all applications.

A Disaster Recovery Plan is much more than making backups of your database. And if your backups are on the same machine and/or hard disk as your production database, that doesn’t qualify.

Read our paper on Creating a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan for Microsoft Access Database Applications for ways to limit your risk and headaches, while providing a professional solution for your end-users, boss, and clients.

Jan 04

Total Access Admin for Microsoft Access 2010 is Shipping

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Total Access Admin lets you monitor your Microsoft Access databases to see who’s currently in it. It’s ideal for understanding who’s currently connected, compacting databases after everyone has exited it, and troubleshooting multi-user problems.

The Total Access Admin 2010 supports Microosft Access 2010 and 2007. In addition to supporting Access 2010, it now lets you monitor multiple databases in one screen. You can perform actions across all the databases, watch the activity in real time, log the users entering and exiting each database, and compact the database after everyone exits. Visit the New Features page for all the enhancements.

Total Access Admin 2003, version 11.5, is also released for Access 2003 and earlier.

Free Trial versions of both versions are available.