New Access 2007 Articles on MSDN

• Performance Tips To Speed Up Your Access 2007 Database
• Error Handling and Debugging Tips for Access 2007, VB, and VBA
• Tips and Techniques for Queries in Access 2007

New MS Access (Sub) Blog

I have just come across a new blog, Cyrpis' Lookout, from Renaud that has an MS Access section. So far Renaud has posted some very elegant Access solutions complete with sample databases:

• Checking network paths without freezing your application
• Enhanced Message Box Replacement
• Restarting the database programmatically
• Changing the Access 2007 colour scheme programmatically
• Modal Dialogs with transparent background

Latest Access Knowledge Base Articles

Courtesy of KBAlertz.com:

Access 2007

• 941877 Description of the Access 2007 hotfix package: February 26, 2008
• 948950 Description of the 2007 Office hotfix package: February 26, 2008
• 949946 Description of the Access 2007 hotfix package: March 15, 2008
• 943249 Description of the Access 2007 hotfix package: January 28, 2008
• 950277 Description of the Access 2007 hotfix package: March 22, 2008
• 949585 How to obtain the latest service pack for the 2007 Office suite
• 950488 Description of the Access 2007 hotfix update: March 31, 2008
• 951182 Error message when you try to install the Access 2007 Runtime: "Access 2007 Runtime: Another version of this product is already installed"
• 951339 Error message when you try to open the Office Customization Tool: "Files necessary to run the Office Customization Tool were not found"
• 950812 Description of the Office Access 2007 hotfix package: April 16, 2008

Access 2003

• 951646 Description of the behavior changes that occur after you install post-Office 2003 Service Pack 3 updates
• 950753 Description of the Access 2003 hotfix package: April 16, 2008
• 952609 Description of the Access 2003 hotfix package: May 19, 2008

Latest Access Knowledge Base Articles

Courtesy of KBAlertz.com:

Access 2000

• 913178 Description of the Jet 4.0 Database Engine post-837001 hotfix package: February 17, 2006
• 943509 Description of the Jet 4.0 Database Engine hotfix package for Windows XP SP2, for Windows Server 2003 SP1, for Windows Server 2003 SP2, and for Windows Vista: October 23, 2007

Access 2003

• 938792 Issues that are fixed in Office 2003 by Office 2003 Service Pack 3
• 923618 Description of Office 2003 Service Pack 3
• 943967 After you install Office 2003 SP3, you encounter various problems in an Access project when you work with a Bit data type column in a linked SQL Server table.
• 943509 Description of the Jet 4.0 Database Engine hotfix package for Windows XP SP2, for Windows Server 2003 SP1, for Windows Server 2003 SP2, and for Windows Vista: October 23, 2007.
• 945674 Description of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: December 18, 2007.

Access 2007

• 946621 Security-related Group Policy settings in the 2007 Office system do not work as expected.
• 938888 Description of the 2007 Office hotfix package: June 17, 2007.
• 924739 Error message when you try to add an existing Windows SharePoint Services list to an Access 2007 database: "You do not have the necessary permissions to use the '. Describes a problem that occurs when you try to add an existing SharePoint list that contains a column name that has more than 64 characters to an Access 2007 database. Provides a workaround.
• 937999 Error message when you run a macro that calls a VBA function in an Access 2007 database: "Action Failed Error Number: 2950". Discusses a problem that occurs after you use the ADE 2007 Package Solution wizard to package an Access 2007 database application. After you install the packaged application, a potential security concern message appears when you open the application.
• 935370 Issues that you may encounter when you open or are using a Microsoft Office Access database on a computer that is running Windows Vista.
• 895456 How to change the product key for Office 2003 and for Office XP.
• 932994 You receive an error message when you run a query that includes a field name that begins with a double-byte Arabic number in Access 2007 or Access 2003.
• 937998 The Access 2007 Developer Extensions command is missing from the Microsoft Office Button in Access 2007 .
• 936748 Issues that are fixed in Access 2003 by Office 2003 Service Pack 1. Discusses a problem in which you receive error messages when you use wizards and Visual Basic for Applications commands in Access 2003 on a Windows-Vista based computer when the computer has both Access 2003 and Access 2007 installed.
• 938809 Error message when you try to install an Access 2003 add-in for all users by using the Add-In Manager on a Windows Vista-based computer: "There was an error adding to the registry" .
• 924460 How to manage templates in 2007 Office programs. Describes the different template categories and the locations of templates in 2007 Office programs. Also describes the registry settings that control where to find your custom templates.

How do I… Transfer data from a Word form to an Access database?

This is an excellent article from TechRepublic.com blogger, Mark Kaelin, on how to use a Word form to collect data for an Access database, even when the user's PC does not have Access installed.

Access Files Security Warning

From www.infoworld.com:

Online criminals are exploiting a flaw in the Microsoft Office Access database to install unauthorized software on computers, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) warned Monday.

In its brief warning, US-CERT offered few details on the attack, saying simply that the organization is "aware of active exploitation" of the problem by criminals who have sent specially crafted Microsoft Access Database (.mdb) files to victims.

These files are "designed for the sole purpose of executing commands," so they should not be accepted from untrusted sources, Microsoft said in a note on its Web site.

Run by the U.S. Department of Defense, US-CERT is charged with coordinating the nation's response to cyberattacks.

Companies typically block the use of .mdb files, but criminals could be using this attack in a targeted strike against an organization that is known to use this particular file-type, said Ben Greenbaum, senior manager for Symantec security response. Symantec itself has seen no evidence of the .mdb exploitation that prompted the US-CERT alert.

Automatically Schedule Access Reports For Printing

If you say need to print an Access report by 10:00 every Friday morning, you don’t have to do it manually. Follow this great tip from Tech Republic's Mary Ann Richardson.

Protect Your Access MDE's

I was reminded today of the security leaks that exist in MDEs. While the VBA code is stripped, declarations and procedure stubs are retained in the MDE file, and object designs can be hacked.

There are some on the Web, who should know better, selling so-called MDE unlockers and protectors. Ethically, there are two issues here:

1. These apps are marketed as protection aids, but they can also be used by the unscrupulous to do the opposite: get past MDE protection of someone else's database.
   
   
2. How these apps do what they do is not a secret and can be done by anyone with retail Access. If you want to improve the protection of your MDEs or you genuinely need to get into one of your MDE's, before spending any money on these products, read on.
   

On 1 May 2004, I posted on the MDE security issues and protection. The post has been updated and is set out below. Please note that the following does not apply to Access 2007 and ACCDE's, but can be applied to Access 2003 MDB's secured in Access 2003 and then compiled as an MDE in Access 2007. For reasons unknown Microsoft removed Access security from Access 2007.

Did you know that:

1. You can access the Start-Up properties (such as disabling the Shift key bypass) of an MDE through another MDB and change each property.

2. You can open an unsecured MDE with the Shift key, press Ctrl+G to open the Debug window, press F2 to open the Object Browser, and then search all the code modules for procedure stubs, declarations, and constants.

3. You can import all the form and report objects but not the code from an unsecured MDE into an MDB.

Securing An Access Database

To effectively secure an Access MDB you MUST demote the Admin user from the Admins group. Otherwise your database will not be secure, as Admin cannot be removed from the Users group, and anyone using the retail system.mdw file logs on automatically as Admin.

1. Use the Access Workgroup Administrator (AWA), wrkgadm.exe, to create a new workgroup (.mdw) file.

2. Join the new workgroup using the AWA.

3. Make a backup copy of your MDB.

4. Open Access and the database to be secured.

5. Using Tools, Security, User and Group Accounts..., in the User and Group Accounts dialog:

5.1 Create a password for Admin user.

5.2 Create a new user account. This account will be the new database owner account. For example, call the owner account DBOwner. Add "DBOwner" to all groups, including the critical Admins group.

5. Close and re-open Access, logging on as "DbOwner", and leaving the password blank, as you have not assigned one yet.

7. In the User and Group Accounts dialog, demote the Admin user account by removing it from the Admins group. Now Admin is only a member of the Users group and will have only those permissions assigned to that group by "DBOwner".

8. Create a password for "DBOwner".

9. Close and re-open Access, logging on as "DBOwner" using the password you created in step 8.

10. You can now start to secure the objects in you database.

11. In Access 2000 and later, you also need to additonally secure your code by using Password Protection in the VBA Editor.

Special Notes:

• You don't have to distribute your MDW file with your MDE to protect it using this method
  
  
• A User account inherits the permissions of the Group to which it belongs.

Testing:

I have tested an MDE protected with Access security and Password Protection in the VBA Editor with the demos of these two products: Access MDE Unlocker and Access MDE Source Protector, and both products failed to unlock the MDE.

You should test your own MDEs before distribution.

Caveat:

There is no bullet-proof protection against an expert hacker.

New Version of Ezy Documenter Premium

Ezy Documenter Premium Edition New v6.1
Add-In for Microsoft© Access 97 - 2007

Standard Edition featured in Woody's Access Watch

Ezy Documenter Premium 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. Users can customize of each Ezy Documenter Database Report.

New in v 6.0:

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

New in v 6.1:

• Updated GUI
• Users can now select the export folder

Only US$39.95 including free upgrades to new versions.

Automated Access Front-End Database Management

Access MVP, Tony Toews, has developed a free tool for helping to manage and publish front-end Access databases. Download Auto FE Updater. Tony also explains why you should front-end.

Keep Your Custom Access Application Icon Loaded

The Access StartUp dialog file path entry for a custom icon is hard-coded, so if you distribute your application and the absolute path is not be replicated in the user's PC, your custom icon will not load with your database.

The following code in a module will allways load your custom Icon provided the ICO file is in the same folder as your application database:

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit

Public Function fnAddAppIconProp()
'Call this function from the OnLoad Event of your StartUp form

Dim intX As Integer
Const DB_Text As Long = 10
intX = AddAppProperty("AppIcon", DB_Text, CurrentProject.Path & _
"\myapp.ico")
Application.RefreshTitleBar

End Function

Function AddAppProperty(strName As String, varType As Variant, varValue _
As Variant) As Integer

Dim dbs As Object, prp As Variant
Const conPropNotFoundError = 3270

On Error GoTo AddProp_Err

Set dbs = CurrentDb
dbs.Properties(strName) = varValue
AddAppProperty = True

AddProp_Exit:

Exit Function

AddProp_Err:

If Err = conPropNotFoundError Then
Set prp = dbs.CreateProperty(strName, varType, varValue)
dbs.Properties.Append prp
Resume
Else
AddAppProperty = False
Resume AddProp_Exit
End If

End Function