XML Onboard: The Developers Potential of Office 12

From DevX.com: In this article learn what Office 12 will mean for developers, particularly those who are creating commercial and enterprise apps.

Latest Access Knowledge Base Articles

Courtesy of KbAlertz.com:

907347 You receive an "Unable to open " error message when you try to access the Office Online Web site in an Office 2003 program

888697 You may receive the "Word was unable to open the data source" error message when you try to mail merge to Word by using an Access parameter query in Microsoft Access

910817 The security level is reset to its original level after a user changes the security level in an Office 2003 program

907248 Description of the Microsoft Office 2003 post-Service Pack 2 hotfix package: November 15, 2005

906723 Error message when you try to open an Office 2003 file from an FTP site in Internet Explorer: "Could not open "

909112 Description of the Office 2003 post-Service Pack 2 hotfix package: December 2, 2005

Understanding the Word Object Model

Understanding the Word Object Model from a Visual Studio 2005 Developer's Perspective Ken Getz on Visual Studio 2005. Learn how you can use objects provided by MS Word 2003 to create managed code solutions with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office. Code examples demonstrate how to work with Word 2003 applications and documents, and with important properties and methods.

MS Office Excel Add-in for SQL Server Analysis Services Just Released

Excel 2002/2003 Add-in for SQL Server Analysis Services Quickly and easily access multidimensional data, perform in-depth analysis, and create flexible, interactive reports in Microsoft Excel. Use the Add-in to access and analyze multidimensional data and create interactive structured and free-form reports in Microsoft Office Excel. Easily access online analytical processing (OLAP) data, perform in-depth analysis, and create flexible reports using Microsoft Office Excel.

You can also download articles and a White Paper on using and deploying this great new tool:

• Improve Business Performance with Powerful Analytics Learn more about the Excel Add-in for Analysis Services and how it can expedite decision making for your enterprise.
• Designing Reports with the Excel Add-in for SQL Server Analysis Services Read this white paper to learn how to design flexible free-form reports and structured reports using this add-in.

Why Access Developers Need Microsoft SQL Server Express

SQL Server Express is the replacement for MSDE, and its database engine is fully compatible with SQL Server 2005, so it is easier to migrate you Access ADP projects from SQL Server Express to SQL Server 2005. Plus it has a graphical query tool, which simplifies creating queries and managing SQL Server.

As set out in my post of 1 November 2005, Visual Basic Express, Visual Web Developer Express, and SQL Server Express Edition are FREE - until 7 November 2006 - cuttting-edge applications for creating Windows and Web solutions with Visual Basic 2005, and they DO NOT expire. Download from:

• Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition
• Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition
• SQL Server 2005 Express Edition

Access guru and writer, Rick Dobson, has just published a book to get you started: Beginning SQL Server 2005 Express Database Applications with Visual Basic Express and Visual Web Developer Express.

Microsoft Press has also released a book, Microsoft® Visual Basic® 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!, which comes with a CD that includes Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.

Microsoft's Office OpenXML Standard Gets Go Ahead

Standards body Ecma International accepted on Thursday Microsoft Corp.'s application to produce a standard for office productivity applications that is compatible with Microsoft's Office Open XML Formats. More

Create an Outlook Add-in that Consolidates Disparate Task Data into a Single View

From DevX.Com: Learn how to consolidate task data residing in various MS Office file types into a Microsoft Outlook Add-in. This article shows how you can begin to incorporate snippets of data included in Microsoft Office files into a meaningful solution.

Updated SQL Server 2005 Books Online

SQL Server 2005 Books Online (December 2005) Download an updated version of the documentation and tutorials for Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

Point of Sale Connector for MS Office Small Business Accounting 2006

POS Connector for Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 and Microsoft Retail Management System The POS Connector for Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 allows small business retailers to connect Small Business Accounting to Microsoft Retail Management System.

POS Connector for Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 and Microsoft Point of Sale The POS Connector for Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 allows small business retailers to connect Small Business Accounting to Microsoft Point of Sale.

Latest MS Office, Visual Studio, and SQL Server Downloads

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office: Understanding the Word Object Model Sample This download contains Visual Basic and C# code examples of using the Microsoft Word object model in Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office applications.

Office 2003 Sample: Generating Active Directory Diagrams with Visio 2003 and Visual Studio .NET 2003 This code sample accompanies the MSDN article "Generating Active Directory Diagrams with Visio 2003 and Visual Studio .NET 2003."

Office 2003 Add-in: Project Report Presentation The Project Report Presentation Add-in for Microsoft Office Project 2003 helps a user to quickly and easily create a Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation containing user-selected task information from Microsoft Office Project.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Documentation and Samples (December 2005) Download the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) Books Online and samples.

SQL Server 2005 Samples and Sample Databases (December 2005) Download over 100 samples and three sample databases for SQL Server 2005.

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Microsoft Office Out Now

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Microsoft Office Now Available Use .NET Framework version 2.0 to extend Microsoft Office 2003 Editions applications, such as Word, Excel and Outlook, using Visual Basic and Visual C#.

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: Status Report Application for Word 2003 This download contains sample code for a Word Status Report solution developed in Visual Basic and C# with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System.

Free Power Tools for MS Office Developers

My free Developer ToolPack for Microsoft® Access, which is listed at Microsoft's Office Marketplace, has been updated today with the Access Database Mechanic and Table Links and Connections Manager applets, coming out of Beta.

The Toolpack comprises:

Access Database Mechanic A tool that automates the process of attempting to recover a corrupt Microsoft Access database, using three operations: compact & repair, decompile, and complete rebuild of an .mdb. The applet also features a fail-safe mechanism that creates a uniquely named back-up copy of the .mdb before each recovery operation.

Ezy Debug Simplify debugging in Microsoft Access 2000 and later. Ezy Debug is launched from the right-click popup menu in the code window of the VBA Editor. The applet provides quick access to the error-trapping settings in the code window, and once invoked it is available both in the Database and VBE windows. The current error-trapping setting is displayed and can be changed on the fly.

The Table Links and Connections Manager finds all the Microsoft Access files in the location you select and an Access report will display all table links and base string connections, and any connect errors grouped by:

• Jet Version
• File Type: mdb/mde/mda or adp/ade
• Linked Database Paths and linked tables: for mdb/mde/mda's
• Depend on me table links
• Base Connection String: for adp/ade's
• Separate reports are produced for .mdx and .adx files.

The A Better ZoomBox property builder lets you edit the following control properties when designing Access forms and reports:

• Record Source
• Row Source
• Control Source

With full Find/Replace functionality and saving of customized font and Enter key settings.

New v2.0 of Object Dependency Browser Add-In for Microsoft© Access

Use Object Dependency Browser *(OBD) to dynamically explore all objects, object collections, and dependencies of your Access database. Microsoft introduced a native object dependency viewer in Access2003, where objects can be viewed in separate treeviews:

• objects that depend on me, and
• objects that I depend on.

ODB goes much further:

• Supports Access 97, Access 2000, Access 2002, and Access2003
• The two dependency views are integrated in the one treeview. For example, in the above screenshot, ODB displays not only the fields collection for the Customers table, but linked tables and joins, and all other objects in the database that depend on the Customers table.
• Clicking on a join field will show the related to table/field and the type of join.
• Full dependency details are also displayed in the adjacent properties pane
• Each object can be fully documented in a formatted Access report by clicking the Document button.
• Copy of all object details from the properties pane to the Windows clipboard by clicking the Copy to Clipboard button.
• Open database objects in design view with a click of the Design button.

ODB v2.0 offers these new additional features:

• Explicitly documents Union query source tables/queries
• Documents for Queries: depend on me queries
• Documents Data Access Pages (Access 2000 and later)
• Documents Custom Command Bars
• Documents for Forms: custom Menubars, Toolbars, and Shortcut Menus

This update completes the recent upgrade cycle for three Access add-ins, which offer exceptional functionality and ease of use:

Ezy Documenter Premium Edition Automatically documents and prints in fully formatted Access reports all the objects in your Access database: tables and fields, table relations, query definitions, forms and record sources, reports and record sources, code modules, macros, data access pages, references, custom command bars, and database properties. The Premium Edition allows user customization of each Ezy Documenter Database Report. Reports can be exported in varied formats.

123 Error Handler Wizard Instantly add error-handling to your databases: 1. The Wizard reviews your database and identifies all procedures without error-handling, and reports the On Error... statement for all other procedures. 2. You select which procedures to add error-handling. 3. The Wizard adds error-handling to the selected procedures in one automated operation.

Object Dependency Browser The easy way to explore all objects, objet collections, and dependencies of your Access database. Microsoft introduced a native object dependency viewer in Access2003. ODB goes much further. ODB supports Access 97, Access 2000, Access 2002, and Access2003, and all dependency views are integrated into the one treeview.

Latest Microsoft Access Knowledge Base Articles

Courtesy of KBAlertz.com:

Access 2000

• 907349 How to troubleshoot video issues in Office programs

Access 2002

• 908475 You cannot embed an Adobe OpenType font in a document that is in an Office program
• 905867 You are offered an update for Access 2002 when you check for updates on the Microsoft Office Update Web site or on the Microsoft Update Web site
• 904018 Description of the update for Access 2002: October 18, 2005
• 905862 Description of Office XP post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: September 6, 2005
• 905863 The Private Bytes counter in Performance Monitor may continually increase when an ActiveX control is updated in an Office XP document
• 908125 Description of Office XP post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: October 5, 2005
• 904953 You cannot change, add, or delete data in tables that are linked to an Excel workbook in Office Access 2003 or in Access 2002
• 903727 Description of the Access 2002 post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: July 12, 2005

Access 2003

• 907347 You receive an "Unable to open " error message when you try to access the Office Online Web site in an Office 2003 program

The Easy Way to Document Access Databases:
Ezy Documenter Premium Edition for V6.0
















A new version of my MS Access add-in, Ezy Documenter Premium, is now available. Ezy Documenter automatically documents and prints in fully formatted Access reports all the objects in your Access database: tables and fields, table relations, query definitions, forms and record sources, reports and record sources, code modules, macros, data access pages, references, custom command bars, and database properties. The Premium Edition allows user customization of each Ezy Documenter Database Report.

New in v6.0:

• Linked table paths
• Data Access Pages: name, linked URL, and Data Source
• Custom Command Bars All Database Object Properties

Try the Demo

Microsoft Office Live Communications Server Labs and Tools Kit

Add real-time collaboration to your applications. Get complimentary controls and sample code for incorporating presence and real-time collaboration into line-of-business applications by ordering the free Microsoft Office Live Communications Server Labs and Tools Kit.

New Improved 123 Error-Handler Wizard for MS Access

A new improved version 1.3 of my very popular MS Access tool, 123 Error-Handler Wizard, is now available.

The Wizard reviews your database and identifies all procedures without error-handling, and reports the On Error... statement for all other procedures. You select which procedures to add error-handling. The Wizard adds error-handling to the selected procedures in one automated operation. You can also optionally add global error-handling to your database at the same time.

Version 1.3 fixes these issues:

1. In some rare cases depending on the existence of pre-existing error-handlingcode and/or Access incorrectly returning the last line of a procedure, the error-handler was not added to the last procedure in a module.
   
2. Due to Access incorrectly returning the procedure type for a Function in certain instances, the line "Exit Sub" was inserted instead of "ExitFunction" in the error-handler.
   

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample Code

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: Outlook Snippets This download contains IntelliSense code examples for developing custom add-ins for Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. (November 7, 2005)

Jet vs MSDE vs SQL Server Express

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Overview This MSDN article discusses the integration of SQL Server Express with Visual Studio 2005 and compares this product with the existing free Microsoft databases like MSDE and Jet.

Microsoft Office 12 Open XML Formats Guide

The White Paper, Microsoft Office Open XML Formats Guide, provides detailed information on Microsoft Office 12 Open XML Formats, the new XML-based file formats for Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The new file formats will be made available not only to customers who adopt the next release of Microsoft Office products, but also to customers using previous versions of the Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Office 2003 Security White Paper

The Microsoft Office 2003 Security White Paper addresses the most troublesome security threats to Office 2003, and how Microsoft deals with these threats.

Microsoft Jet Database Engine Programmer’s Guide

Today I found tucked way in the SQL Server 7.0 section of the Microsoft TechNet site, the very useful Microsoft Jet Database Engine Programmer’s Guide - URL corrected 2:00 PM 11/25/2005

Demos of Ezy Filter PLUS and Ezy Reporter PLUS

You can now download a demo of the Ezy Filter PLUS and Ezy Reporter PLUS Data Analysis Pack for Microsoft© Access.

Two tools for the price of one:

• Ezy Filter PLUS - Easily filter any data form in any Access database.
• Ezy Reporter PLUS - Easily create output for any Access database.

An add code options allows developers to add each tool to their applications.

Download from aadconsulting.com

Latest Office Articles and Resources at Office Developer Portal

The Future Of Microsoft Office: Office 12 Preview Site During the coming months Microsoft will be announcing new capabilities that will be part of Office 12. Get the latest news and register to get the beta when it's available.

Repurpose SharePoint Services Data Using Excel's SpreadsheetML Microsoft has opened up the file formats of Excel and Word through the Microsoft Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas. These schemas free developers from using the Excel and WordObject Models to create documents on the fly and provide anyone with knowledge of XML a powerful method for building reports inside Excel. This article shows how to retrieve data from a SharePoint list to build a formatted report using Excel's XML Schema.

Updated Infopath Developer Portal InfoPath 2003 is a new application in the Microsoft Office System for gathering enterprise information in rich, dynamic forms. Learn how to share, re-use, and re-purpose information throughout your team or organization to improve collaboration and decision-making.

Over 600 Links to MS Access and MS Office Articles, Software, Tools, and Sample Code.

I have just updated my Access Resources page at aadconsulting.com with another 50 links. There are now over 600 Links to MS Access and MS Office articles, software, tools, and sample code on the page in the following categories:

• Access Projects and SQL Server
• Access/Office Automation
• Access/Office Deployment and Migration
• Access/Office Runtime & ODE
• Access Security
• ADO
• Forms and Reports
• How To...
• InfoPath
• Jet SQL and_Queries
• SDKs
• Smart Tags
• VBA Language References
• Visual Studio for Office
• Web and Research Services
• XML
• Microsoft Support Site Map
• Useful Links and Downloads
  

Improve the Performance of InfoPath 2003 Forms

Improve the Performance of InfoPath 2003 Forms Avoid performance issues when designing an InfoPath 2003 form template and troubleshoot existing form templates that display poor performance.

Free Book Chapter On Advanced Access 2003 Reports

Download this sample chapter from Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries, which discusses various useful methods for controlling report output. Learn about sorting and grouping, adding calculations, launching reports using command buttons and macros, and more.

Latest Downloads from Microsoft

Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0 MSXML6 has improved reliability, security, conformance with the XML 1.0 and XML Schema 1.0 W3C Recommendations, and compatibility with System.Xml 2.0.

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: Outlook Business Contact Assistant Sample This download accompanies the MSDN article "Creating an Outlook Business Contact Manager Add-in with Visual Studio Tools for Office"

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Sample: My.Blogs Outlook Sample This download accompanies the MSDN article: "Creating an Outlook My.Blogs Managed Add-in"

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Evaluation Edition Download or order the SQL Server 2005 180-day Trial Software. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is a data management and analysis solution that enables companies of all sizes to gain greater insight from their business information, apply that insight to enhance their decision-making process, and achieve faster business results for a competitive advantage.

Free Visual Studio Express Editions Available for Download

The following products will be free for ONE YEAR ONLY:

• Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition
• Visual C# 2005 Express Edition
• Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition
• Visual J# 2005 Express Edition
• Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition
• SQL Server 2005 Express Edition

A new Express Editions web site has also been launched by Microsoft.

The Express Editions are lightweight tools for hobbyists, students, and novice developers who want to build Windows applications, Web sites, and Web services. There are no licensing restrictions for applications built using the Express Editions.

Microsoft Office 12 BETA Leaked







Microsoft Office 12 BETA Leaked Microsoft has made the first beta version of Office 12 available to testers, which has been leaked. There are a few torrent files floating around the web.

Microsoft Previews Office Live Microsoft will in 2006 launch on-line services that can be used independently but also integrate with Microsoft Office application. Rajesh Jha, General Manager of Information Worker Services at Microsoft says: “A key objective of Office Live is to provide small businesses with the power to easily and inexpensively manage their business in a way that large enterprises already enjoy today. With Office Live services, we make complex technology affordable and easy to use for small businesses, empowering them to reach their business goals.”.

The standard package, Office Live Basics, helps a small business establish an online Internet presence including a domain name, a Web site with 30 MB of storage and five Web e-mail accounts at no charge through an advertising-supported model. Office Live also provides a set of subscription-based services with more than 20 business applications to help automate daily business tasks such as project management, sales and collateral management, customer management, expense reports, time and billing management, and secure internal and external collaboration. Built on Windows SharePoint® Services, these applications can be customized and extended to specific customer needs by an extensive Microsoft partner ecosystem.

Office Live services initially will be released via an invitation-only beta in the U.S. in early 2006. Small-business customers can sign up at officelive.com.

Ezy Filter PLUS and Ezy Reporter PLUS Data Analysis Pack
for Microsoft© Access

The easy way to analyze data in MS Access with my latest Access Add-Ins:
Ezy Filter PLUs and Ezy Reporter PLUS.

Download from aadconsulting.com

Two tools for the price of one:


Ezy Filter PLUS
Easily filter any data form in any Access database. An add code options allows developers to add Ezy Filter to their applications.

Ezy Reporter PLUS
Easily create output for any Access database.
An add code options allows developers to add Ezy Reporter to their applications.

Overview of Office 2003 Developer Technologies

Download the official Microsoft® Office 2003 Editions: Overview of Developer Technologies
White Paper

New Office Articles and Webcasts at Office Developer Portal

Courtesy of DevX.com

Articles
Creating Smart Documents with Visual Studio 2005 Visual Studio 2005 Take away the pain of creating smart documents that run inside of Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003. How the smart document apparatus has been improved inside Visual Studio 2005.

Five Things You Must Know About Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 VSTO 2005 introduces some big concepts, with big implications, like the separation of code from view. It also gives Office application developers some new features and tools to work with, including improved Smart Tags, easy-to-make Actions Panes, and the new Object Test Bench. Learn more by using these code examples to build the ultimate killer app.

Easy Time & Billing with SharePoint, Outlook, Excel and VSTO These popular office system applications reduce the pain of recording and reporting your time, with very little code required.

Automating the Deployment of an Office InfoPath Form Template Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 enables you to publish form templates to a specific location, such as a Web server or a network file share. In this article, learn how to update part of a previously-published form template and move it to a new location.

Convert VBA Code to Visual Basic .NET Read this article for a review of the major code conversion issues and the benefits of migrating your VBA code to Visual Basic .NET and Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office.

Create Excel Solutions for Users in More than One Country or Region Learn which issues you should consider when using Visual Studio Tools for Office to create Excel 2003 solutions for end users in more than one country or region.

Get the Most from the Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies Learn how to get and install the Office 2003 primary interop assemblies (PIAs), and how to reference and troubleshoot them.

Create an InfoPath Custom Control Using C# and .NET Check out the InfoPath Team Blog-and learn how to create a custom control that can bind to fields in an InfoPath form using managed code and COM interop.

Webcasts

VSTO--Open Forum with Office Team Members Join host Mike Hernandez and members of the Visual Studio Tools for Office team for this open forum. Hear answers to questions that have been on developers' minds.

MSDN: Best Practices for Designing InfoPath Forms This popular talk demonstrates the basics and the best practices for designing InfoPath forms.

MSDN: Creating Custom Controls for InfoPath Get up to speed quickly as we discuss the steps needed to write an ActiveX control, which works in InfoPath as a custom control.

Microsoft Builds Business Intelligence Into Office 12

Microsoft Builds Business Intelligence Into Office 12 Availability of Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 and major business intelligence investments in Office 12 will make BI more accessible to employees and valuable to organizations.

Excel At Your Server

Office 12: Excel At Your Server As part of Office 12, Microsoft will add the ability to store and manage spreadsheets from a central server, allowing companies to create business rules around how different workers can access the data.

NEW Windows Vista-Style Switchboard Demo
for Microsoft© Access 97/2000/2002/2003
















I have just launched my latest Access Switchboard Demo Database featuring Windows Vista-style application navigation. Get the Windows Vista and Office 12 look now!

• Seamlessly uses the native Switchboard Items table created by the Access Switchboard Manager
• Office 12 style navigation with icons
• Uses only native Ms Access controls

Linked Excel Worksheet Update for Access 2002

Update for Access 2002 (KB904018) Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Access 2002. This update removes the functionality in Access 2002 that lets users add new data to or edit existing data in a linked Microsoft Excel worksheet.

New Office 2003 Web Add-In

Office 2003 Add-in: Web Parts and Components Office Web Parts and Components is a collection of Web Parts, Web Part Page solutions, templates, and data retrieval services that work closely with Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0.

From Excel to Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office via .NET

Redesigning an Excel VBA Solution to .NET Using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Learn about redesigning an Excel VBA solution to take full advantage of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office and the .NET Framework. This article looks at the re-architecture of the Trey Research Internet Information Services (IIS) Log Analyzer solution.

New Articles on Visual Studio Tools for Office

• Office COM Add-Ins Find developer information about Microsoft Office applications, servers, and technologies. Use Visual Basic to develop COM Add-Ins for Outlook.
• IntelliSense XML Files for Visual Studio Tools for Office Developers Adds summary descriptions of types, members, and parameters to IntelliSense ToolTips in code and in the Object Browser for Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Outlook, and Microsoft Office Shared PIAs in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 and Visual Studio 2005.

Latest Articles from DevX.com Office Developer Portal

• New Product Introduction Process with InfoPath and SharePoint Learn to use an InfoPath form and Windows SharePoint Services to capture new product ideas, route them for review, and then assign a team to get to work.
• Using XML Spreadsheets to Create Reports Does your organization rely on Excel to create reports that are used by customer, clients, and managers? Creating these reports by hand is a lot of work, and often results in errors. These reports can easily be automated using the XML Spreadsheet format and some managed code,
• Resume Tracking with InfoPath, Excel, and SharePoint Most organizations use a combination of Microsoft Office documents and e-mail to create informal document tracking processes that require manual updating. This article shows you how to to automate this process.
• Outlook the Way You Want It—Build Custom Outlook GUIs with WinForms & VSTO Learn to build your own custom form for Outlook appointment items.

Malware: Unpatched hole in JET

Symantec has warned that a trojan, named Backdoor.Hesive, arriving as a Microsoft Access file and run on a vulnerable system, gives a remote attacker full access to a compromised computer, but notes that it is not widespread. More

Recent Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

Access 2000

• 905726 You are unexpectedly prompted to restart the computer after you install an Office service pack or an Office update

Access 2002

• 902349 How to change the source for a client computer from an updated administrative installation point to an Office 2003 or Office XP original baseline source

Access 2003

• 887616 Description of Office 2003 Service Pack 2
• 906600 The fixes that are included in Office 2003 Service Pack 2 that require a registry key
• 906323 When you try to install Office 2003 Service Pack 2, you receive a "The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the windows installer service" error message, or the Setup program may not be completed, and you do not receive notification
• 906460 Issues that are fixed in Access 2003 by Office 2003 Service Pack 2
• 905476 You cannot update the data in a view that you created in Office Access 2003
  

aadconsulting.com On-Line Access Knowledge Base Upgraded













I have upgraded the on-line Access KB Articles database for direct search results for over 3,000 article links. The search page now supports OR & AND boolean operators.

Using the latest Technology in MS Office

These recent articles from MSDN will give you a head start on the new features of Office 2003:

Word 2003: Importing XML Data to Word 2003 Using Visual Studio Tools for Office Download this code sample to learn how to import XML data from a database into Word documents using Visual Studio Tools for Office 2003.

Office COM Add-Ins Use Visual Basic to build COM add-ins and then use them to extend your Outlook applications. These techniques can also be applied to developing COM Add-Ins for Access.

Begin Web Part Development in Windows SharePoint Services Introduce yourself to Web Part programming using prewritten Web Parts, Web Part Pages, custom lists and libraries, browser-based editing, FrontPage-based editing, Data Sources, Data Views, Web Part connections, and Microsoft Office connectivity.

For the Serious Office Developer

Valuable Access developer resources from MSDN:

• Microsoft Office 2000-Visual Basic Programmer's Guide
• How to Use Command-Line Switches in Microsoft Access
• Basics for Building Microsoft Office Access 2003 Runtime-Based Solutions

Get Started on Access VBA Error-Handling

These overview articles from MSDN on implementing error-handling in Office applications are a good starting point for new developers:

• Elements of Run-Time Error Handling
• Basic Error Handling

Get A Handle on MS Access Security

A collection of articles on Access security from MSDN:

• About Protecting a Microsoft Access Database
• Access Users and Groups
• Creating Secure Data Access Pages

Deploying Your MS Access Database Applications

Three new articles from MSDN:

• Preparing Your Access 2003 Database for Deployment, Part 1
• Preparing Your Access 2003 Database for Deployment, Part 2
• Packaging Access 2003 Solutions

New BETA 2 of Access Table Links and Connections Manager:
Manage MS Access Table Links and Project Connections More Easily

The BETA 2 is now available for free download. The Links Manager will find all the MS Access files in the location you select and an Access report will display all table links and base string connections, and any connect errors grouped by:

• Jet Version
• File Type: mdb/mde/mda or adp/ade
• Linked Database Paths and linked tables: for mdb/mde/mda's
• Base Connection String: for adp/ade's
• Separate reports will be produced for .mdx files and .adx. files

BETA 2 adds a new dependents of report, after feedback on the first BETA.

MS Office 2003 Service Pack 2 Out








Office 2003 SP2 was realeased on 27 Sep:

• Download
• What Is In SP2?
• Access 2003 Fixes in SP2

Ezy Reporter PLUS Add-In for MS Access BETA

The easy way to create data output from MS Access - including XML - with my latest Access Add-In, Ezy Reporter PLUS. An add code options allows developers to add Ezy Reporter PLUS to their applications. Download from aadconsulting.com

Ezy Filter PLUS Add-In for MS Access BETA

Easily filter any data form or report in any MS Access database, with advanced sorting options using my latest Access Add-In, Ezy Filter PLUS. An add code options allows developers to add Ezy Filter PLUS to their applications. Download from aadconsulting.com

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of KBAlertz.com:

Access 2000
905726 You are unexpectedly prompted to restart the computer after you install an Office service pack or an Office update

Access 2002

906680 Description of the Microsoft Office XP Proofing Tools Kit hotfix package: September 1, 2005
906886 Description of the proofing tools for the Dutch version of Office XP post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: September 1, 2005
902349 How to change the source for a client computer from an updated administrative installation point to an Office 2003 or Office XP original baseline source
904948 A document may take a longer time than expected to print or the print spool file may be larger in Office 2003 or in Office XP

Access 2003

907339 Description of Photo Editor support with Office 2003 programs
905476 You cannot update the data in a view that you created in Office Access 2003
902988 How to perform a chain installation of Office 2003 and Office 2003 updates

NEW Contemporary Switchboard And Transaction Log Demof or Microsoft© Access 2000/2002/2003

















I have just launched my latest Access Demo Database featuring a new look sidebar application navigation with bonus comprehensive transaction logging code.

Kids Programming Language (KPL)

Morrison Schwarz have also developed a free and really cool development language especially designed to gets kids started in programming. KPL is an easy-to-use VB-like language to make learning to program fun. Download from Kid's Programming Language. Read the wrap on KPL from MSDN's CoolApps on the Coding4Fun portal.

Morrison Schwartz: Free Developer Tools

I just discovered this excellent resource. Morrison Schwartz offer a wide range of free Developer Tools.

More on Office 12


TechRepublic.com has some feature articles on Office 12:

• FAQ: Looking into Office 12 Here's what you can expect from Microsoft's radical revamp of Office, due next year.
• Office 12 makeover takes on 'feature creep' Microsoft's radical Office 12 overhaul, due next year, aims to counteract "feature creep" and wake users up to the suite's hidden treasures.
• Photo gallery: New looks for Vista, Office The September 2005 edition of Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference got under way with a keynote address by Bill Gates and a "live preview" of the next version of Office.
• Blog: Microsoft Office 12--The rise of smart applications? Find out why TechRepublic's Jason Hiner is ambivalent about Bill Gates' statement at the Professional Developers Conference that Office 12 will attempt to automatically adapt its interface to the type of work that a user is doing. However, he adds, "This makes me think that we may be seeing the beginning of the smart applications of the future--applications that will be able to anticipate and help streamline rudimentary tasks."
  

Diving Into the New Office 12

A 40 minute video demo of the new Office GUI.

Links to Free Microsoft Access and Microsoft Office Training


I have added a new Free Access Training page to aadconsulting.com, with many links to free MS Access and MS Office Training, eBooks, and Book and Tutorial Downloads. There also links to Office, SQL Server, Web Development, VB, and XML material.

Office 12: Goodbye to Menubars and Toolbars...

Instead of the menubar and toolbar, Office 12 users will navigate a new user interface referred to as a ribbon. This new navigation bar consists of a tabbed command bar, which will open galleries in place of the venerable toolbar by hovering over command items. Full review and screenshots.

Office 12 Previews

Office "12" XML Schema Reference - PDC 2005 Preview This download contains DRAFT documentation on a selection of Microsoft Office 12 XML Schemas.

Video: Brian Jones on New Office XML Format Brian Jones, program manager on the Microsoft Word team, demos the new Office XML format.

Automating the Deployment of an Office InfoPath Form Template

Automating the Deployment of an Office InfoPath Form Template How to update part of a previously-published form template and move it to a new location, such as a Web server or a network file share.

Plenty of MS Office Hype But Where is the Support?

For Microsoft's fiscal year ended June 30, the unit that includes Office had operating income of nearly $8 billion, on revenue of $11 billion. The company's overall revenue was $40 billion. It is fair to say that Office is the flagship earnings product for Microsoft, but as an Office developer I feel short-changed.

While massive resources and support are available for VB.Net, Visual Studio, and SQL Server, Office Developers get short shrift. Most Office applications are deployed in small businesses and within corporate units, so the fancy but complex and costly-to-maintain enterprise interfaces offered by VSTO and SQL Server are not relevant, yet the support focus is on these enterprise tools. All the talk about supporting Office Developers is just that.

A case in point: I applied for an MS Office ISV "buddy" under the ISV Microsoft Buddy Program, where an MS specialist is assigned to you as a direct MS support contact. Nothing happened for 6 months, and on enquiry was told a match could not be found! I suppose they were embarrassed and soon came up with a "match", who turned about out be an evangelist for VB.Net with no real interest in Office...

New GUI for Office 12

At this week's PDC05 the new UI for Office 12 was showcased. A Q&A article on the new design is available at the Office Developer Center on MSDN.

Easily Build Custom Controls for Your Office Applications

In Visual Studio Tools for Office, Windows Forms makes creating a custom control as easy as building a form. From DevX.Com.

Office 12 Screenshots

Go to http://bink.nu/Article4818.bink

Visual Studio for Office: MSDN Webcast

Visual Studio for Office: MSDN Webcast Forum with MS Office Development Team Explore the new features of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System, such as hosting Word and Excel as full-fledged designers within the Visual Studio development environment, programming directly against data and view objects, and creating a custom Document Actions Pane. Developers can utilize these new features to build solutions that work with the current and upcoming versions of Word and Excel.

Use MS Office to Track Your Stocks

A simple way to achieve this is to use Excel and Access in MS Office 2002 or Office 2003.

Excel's Web Query feature allows a spreadsheet to be automatically updated by data from the Web each time you open the file. You can set up a Web query in a spreadsheet that will give you the latest stock prices from a web site:

1. Open a blank worksheet and click in cell A1.
2. From the Menubar click Data Import External Data New Web Query. Excel will then prompt you for an Internet connection if you're not already connected.
3. In the Address box, enter the URL of the Web page that contains the stock statistics and then click Go. For example the live stock statistics on the freerealtime.com site are easily linked.
4. Click the yellow boxes with arrows next to the blocks of text you want to import. When clicked, the yellow boxes turn into green boxes with check marks.
5. Click the Import button.

To have the Web query update the spreadsheet every time the file is opened:

1. Right-click a blank area of the main toolbar and select External Data.
2. Click the Data Range Properties button.
3. In the Refresh Control section, select Refresh Data On File Open. Click OK.
4. Add column headings (ie. field names) to each data column as needed.

Now the spreadsheet will automatically update the web data each time the file is opened, or accessed by another Office application such as Access.

If you need to take a snapshot of the data in Excel:

1. Select the data you want to copy. From the Menubar click Edit Copy.
2. Click on the cell where you want the snapshot of the data to appear.
3. From the Menubar click Edit Paste Special.
4. Click the Values And Number Formats checkboxes, and then click OK.
5. From the Menubar click Edit Paste Special.
6. Click the Column Widths checkbox and then click OK.

Finally you can use this date in Access by creating a new database in Access and then:

1. From the Menubar click File Get External Data Link Tables...
2. In the Link dialog, select Microsoft Excel (*.xls) from the Files of type combobox, and click Link.
3. Follow the the Link Wizard to finish, and you will have a table linked directly to your spreadsheet.

Data Access: Let Your MS Access Users Sort it Out

Data Access: Let Your Users Sort it Out Develop an MS Access solution that allows users to sort the data in their forms (or subforms) that you can add to your application easily, and along the way, the characteristics of a well-designed module.

Exclusive: A Better ZoomBox for Access

Exlcusive to readers of the Access Extra blog, is my new free tool for Microsoft Access versions 97 to 2003: A Better ZoomBox to edit the following control properties when designing Access Forms and Reports:

• Record Source
• Row Source
• Control Source

Features:

• Customization saved from session-to-session:
  
  - font (Arial/Courier New/MS Sans Serif/Tahoma)
  - font size (8-14) - font bold (y/n)
  - Enter Key behavior can be set to "Enter New Line" (y/n)
  
• Find/Replace functionality

The Better ZoomBox is invoked by clicking the <...> build button next to each of the above properties in form and report design view.

Office Online Training Courses Quick Reference

Office 2003 Publication: Office Online Training Courses Quick Reference Cards Content This download provides you with complete text and illustrations of all Quick Reference Cards in Training courses published before May 2005.

Tip: Shortcut to Check a Form's Name in MS Access

In the Query Design window, when invoked from within a form's design view in MS Access, you can't go to the Database Window to check the name of an object while designing a parameter query, and as I do, copy and paste the name into the query (using and then cancelling Rename). A workaround is to invoke the Startup dialog by clicking Tools, Startup... from the Menubar, where you can view all forms in database from the Display Form/Page combobox, select the form in the combox, copy the name, and then click Cancel.

Role Agent for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005

Role Agent for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 Role Agent is a sample Microsoft Windows service application that demonstrates the use of the Real-time Communications API 1.3 and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 to support role-based instant messaging (8/16/2005).

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

Access 2000

• 905248 Custom changes that you made in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT subtree are overwritten after you update or repair the Office installation

Access 2002

• 904411 Description of the Italian Proofing Tools for Office XP post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: July 15, 2005
• 903776 Office updates are not successfully installed on some client computers when you deploy updates by using Windows Server Update Services
• 905530 FIX: When you create a database or a table, an error occurs and Access unexpectedly closes in Office Access 2003 or in Access 2002

Access 2003

• 903772 You receive an "Error 80070643" error message when you try to update Office 2003 by using Software Update Services
• 03074 BUG: A record in a linked SQL Server 2000 database table is not correctly updated when you modify the record in an Access 2003 database table

Latest MS Office Downloads

Excel 2003 Sample: Populating Worksheets with Multiple Related Records from Windows Forms Use this sample to to display Microsoft Windows Forms from a Microsoft Office Excel 2003 workbook, display related records, and write that information into formatted worksheets.

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 Sample: Migrating a Word VBA Solution to Visual Basic Using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office VBA Migration Case Study based on Microsoft Word 2003, for experienced Office/Visual Basic for Applications developers who are taking their first steps with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office.

Tip: Use ADO wildcards in the Access Query Design Grid

In MS Access 2000 or later, if you're using ADO, there is a way to use ADO wildcards in the Access query design grid. Instead of using the Like operator, use ALike, which also works in SQL statements used in VBA code.

Manage MS Access Table Links and Project Connections More Easily

My new MS Access tool, Access Table Links and Connections Manager V1.0 BETA, is now available for free download. The Links Manager will find all the MS Access files in the location you select and an Access report will display all table links and base string connections, and any connect errors grouped by:

• Jet Version
• File Type: mdb/mde/mda or adp/ade
• Linked Database Paths and linked tables: for mdb/mde/mda's
• Base Connection String: for adp/ade's
• Separate reports will be produced for .mdx files and .adx. files

Microsoft Releases XML 3.0 Update (SP7)

MSXML (Microsoft XML Parser) 3.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) The Microsoft® XML Parser (MSXML) 3 SDK includes header and .lib files, and documentation for the MSXML 3 Release.

Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 Service Pack 7 (SP7) The Microsoft® XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 SP7 release offers a number of bug fixes over the previous MSXML 3.0 SP releases.

The Deal on Deploying Windows XP and Office 2003

Business Dessktop Deployment Standard Download planning, building, and technical guidance, templates, and scripts to facilitate deployment of Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional and Office Professional Edition 2003.

Business Desktop Deployment Enterprise Download planning, building, and technical guidance, templates, and scripts to facilitate deployment of Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional and Office Professional Edition 2003 through Zero Touch deployment.

MS Office 2003 Sample: Smart Documents Development Overview

Office 2003 Sample: Smart Documents Development Overview Learn how to create customized, context-sensitive task panes that interact with XML-based files in Microsoft Office Word 2003 and Microsoft Office Excel 2003.

The Latest for Office Developers from MSDN

Register for the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 Join developers at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005, where the next waves of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office System developer capabilities will be unveiled.

Use Excel 2003 to Create and Manage Windows SharePoint Services Web Sites How various aspects of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office, Excel, and Windows SharePoint Services work together in a hypothetical business scenario.

Outlook from the Managed World Get started with building add-ins for Outlook 2003 using the Visual Studio Tools for Office.

New Revision Tool for Word

Office 2003 Add-in: Word Redaction By using the Word 2003 Redaction Add-in, you can mark sections of Microsoft Office Word 2003 documents for redaction. You can then create a new, redacted version of the document in which this marked text is unavailable. ReadMe file

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

Access 2000

• 903275 How to troubleshoot problems that you may experience when you try to activate an Office product

Access 2002

• 903773 No updates are displayed when you scan for updates by using Microsoft Update or Windows Software Update Services after you connect to a Microsoft Office administrative installation point to reinstall Office
• 903771 Information about the ability to uninstall Office updates
• 903097 The installation state of each Office XP program is shown as "Not Available" when you try to perform a custom installation of Office XP or of an individual Office XP program
• 904411 Description of the Italian Proofing Tools for Office XP post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: July 15, 2005

Access 2003

• 903772 You receive an "Error 80070643" error message when you try to update Office 2003 by using Software Update Services
• 904427 You receive a "Norton AntiVirus 2005 does not support the repair feature" error message when you start an Office 2003 program

Expense Reports Made Easy with MS Office Solutions and InfoPath

Expense Reports Made Easy with Microsoft Office Solutions Video overview of the MS Expense InfoPath client.

MSN Toolbar With tabs for Windows Explorer

If I am not the first to relate this, please excuse my ignorance...

As I became increasingly frustrated with multiple Windows Explorer windows on my Windows XP Desktop, and having to drill down anew to my usual folders in each Windows session, I thought there must be a better way to manage Windows Explorer folders. I thought that if you can have tabbed web browsing, why not tabbed file browsing.

So I started playing with the new tabbed windows browsing functionality in the new MSN Toolbar for Internet Explorer, and discovered that you can setup Windows Explorer folder tabs in IE and save them:

You proceed as follows:

1. Click the New Tab button to create a new tab in IE
2. In the IE Address Bar type/paste the root path of the folder, for example, g:\data, and hit Enter
3. The new tab will go to the folder and display a Windows Explorer window
4. Continue until you have added all your favorite folders as separate tabs
5. Click the MSN Toolbar Home button and click the Set Current Pages as My Tabs button:
   
   
6. In you next Windows session click Open My Tabs to load all your folder tabs... very neat :)

Free BETA of SmartForm ADP for Access2000/2002/2003 ADP Projects

Try the Free BETA of my latest MS Access Add-In: SmartForm ADP for Access2000/2002/2003 ADP Projects.

Using Excel 2003 to Manage Project Sites with Windows SharePoint Services 2003

Using Excel 2003 to Manage Project Sites with Windows SharePoint Services 2003 How to leverage Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office to create and manage Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Web sites.

MSDN Webcast: Visual Studio Tools for Office

MSDN Webcast: Visual Studio Tools for Office Get an overview of Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO) and how it supports building smart client applications for Office. This webcast will begin with a discussion of Microsoft Office-based smart client applications.

Start Time: Wed, Aug 03, 2005 9:00 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
End Time: Wed, Aug 03, 2005 10:00 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)

MS Access Keyboard Shortcuts

70+ Keyboard shortcuts to move faster in Microsoft Access A download from TechRepublic.com.

Create a Capital Expenditure Model with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office

Create a Capital Expenditure Model with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Learn how to take a sophisticated Excel 2003 spreadsheet model and turn it into an intuitive, easy-to-use, integrated application using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office. Article from MSDN.

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office—Outlook Beta

Download: Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office—Outlook (Beta) Outlook's add-in support for Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 provides tools to develop, debug, and deploy solutions simply and quickly—including a DLL to tie managed add-ins to Outlook. This provides a simpler framework for creating managed add-ins with improved security.

MS Access Database Mechanic

Further to my post of May 24, I have developed a new freeware tool, Access Database Mechanic, that automates the process of attempting to recover a corrupt MS Access database, using three operations: compact & repair , decompile, and completely rebuilding an .mdb. The applet also features a fail-safe mechanism that creates a uniquely named back-up copy of the .mdb before any recovery operation is attempted. The Beta 1 download includes versions for Access97/2000/2002/2003.

MS Access Scalable with Open Source MySQL

An interesting case study from clearmark.com on how the RAD capabilities of MS Access, and the scalability of the open-source MySQL databasse system, can be leveraged to create a low-cost enterprise-level distributed application.

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 IntelliSense Code Snippets

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 IntelliSense Code Snippets This download contains 71 IntelliSense code snippets for use with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2

Office 2003 Add-in: Outlook Calendar Views

Office 2003 Add-in: Outlook Calendar Views With the Calendar Views Add-in, you can easily create and manage filters to display subsets of appointments in Outlook Calendar. Filtered views are based on labels and categories that you apply to appointments (7/6/2005).

Office 12 to Make it Easier for Businesses to share Forms

At its three-day partner conference, which starts Friday in Minneapolis, USA, Microsoft is planning its first public demonstration of improved Infopath forms capabilities in Office 12. The Office 12 beta is scheduled for release later this year, and the final version is slated for release in the second half of next year. In the demonstration, an example of a loan application, a potential home buyer fills out a form via the Web. A loan processor is notified via e-mail and can work on the loan document from within the e-mail. InfoPath forms will be also be able to be edited and viewed from within a web browser. Source

The Deal on the New MS Reports Reporting Platform for Office2003

Extending Office 2003 for Enterprise Reporting and Analysis The new MS Reports reporting platform supports multiple Microsoft teams that require reporting by allowing end users to quickly consume and analyze data, using familiar tools and interfaces, without understanding the data sources and systems (6/20/2005).

Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Hands-On Labs

These download provide hands-on practice with developing Microsoft Word and Excel solutions using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2:

• Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 Hands-on Labs for Word 2003
• Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Beta 2 Excel Hands-on Labs

How to Integrate Flash with Office 2003

How to Integrate Flash with Office 2003 Combine the analytical power of Office with the display slickness of Flash.

Managing Access Applications Inside an IT Organization

On Demand MS TechNet Webcast: Managing Access Applications Inside an IT Organization Developers and IT organizations face a multitude of challenges in maintaining a healthy Access database ecosystem. Join this session to review tools and strategies for managing shared database applications in multi-user environment. Also discussed are recommended usage scenarios for Access, and when to consider a move to SQL Server, including options available to help make for a successful migration.

Latest MS Office 2003 Resources

Office 2003 Add-In: International Character Toolbar This add-in enables you to insert international characters from 26 languages into Microsoft Office 2003 programs.

Using the Visual Studio Tools for Office Application Manifest Editor Learn about the application manifest and the process of building the Application Manifest Editor tool, as well as common deployment scenarios supported by this tool.
Creating XML Mappings in Excel 2003 Walk through common XML tasks in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 to learn more about the new XML functionality in Office 2003 Editions.