Latest MS Office 2003 Downloads: Fabrikam, Outlook API's, and the Excel XML Toolbox

Office 2003 Tool: FabriKam – The Microsoft Office System Solutions Learning Platform Get a single compiled help file that describes how FabriKam incorporates tools, processes, and technologies that developers can use to build powerful solutions on the Microsoft Office System.

Outlook 2003: Integration API Reference Get reference materials for the Outlook 2003 Integration APIs, including the Account Management API, the Data Degradation Layer API, the Free/Busy API, the MAPI-MIME Conversion API, the Offline State API, the Replication API, and the Store API.

Excel 2003 Tool: Excel XML Toolbox for Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Learn how to use the Excel XML Toolbox to help you work with custom-defined XML schemas, XML and the Excel object model, and SpreadsheetML.

Checking, Resolving, and Fixing Broken Library References in your MS Access Applications

Access versions 97, 2000, and 2002/2003 resolve broken references differently, so you need conditional code for each run-time environment.

The following Access KB articles are a good starting point for this difficult topic:

• How Access 2002 resolves VBA references
• How Access 2000 resolves VBA references
• How Access 97 resolves VBA references

This article from trigeminal.com is the best I have read on the topic: How to guarantee that references will work in your Access Applications

Do-It-Yourself VB Script Center Kit

I have just come across this MS download containing sample scripts and documentation enabling you to create your own version of the TechNet Script Center, either as stand-alone Web pages, stand-alone .vbs files, or as a .chm Help file. The Kit also includes instructions for using these helper scripts, and the really great thing about it is that it contains an MS Access database with 2,214 sample scripts for the Windows Scripting Host!

Latest MS Excel Tools and Resources

Using the Excel XML Toolbox for Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Read this article to learn how to use the Excel XML Toolbox to help you work with custom-defined XML schemas, XML and the Excel object model, and SpreadsheetML.

Understanding Security for Add-ins and VBA Macros in Excel 2003

MS Office Version 12 out in 2006

New Microsoft Office in 2006 11 May 2005 Microsoft will release the next version of Office next year, Bill Gates said yesterday...

Code Sample: Shutdown Word from MS Access

Shut Down an Instance of Microsoft Word From Advisor.com. When an Microsoft Access application that uses Microsoft Word crashes, it doesn't always close the instance of Word. Find out how to shut Word down from within Access.

Excel 2003 XML Toolbox

Excel XML Toolbox for Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Just released and provides many useful tools for working with XML in Excel:

Working with Custom-defined XML Schema

• Reload schema into workbooks while preserving cell mappings.
  
• Build a schema or add to an existing schema, directly from Excel.
  
• View the schema for XML maps stored within workbooks.

Working with XML and the Excel Object Model

• Quickly refresh all XML maps with bound data sources.
  
• Refresh XML maps with bound data sources and persist cell formulas for
  mapped cells.
  
• Use a new XML Range Properties tool to view XML mapped cell properties and
  to copy the XPath or Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) statement
  to the Clipboard.
  
• View the exportable XML data without exporting.

Working with SpreadsheetML

• Quickly save the workbook as SpreadsheetML.
  
• View the SpreadsheetML for the active workbook.

Shortcuts and More

• Quickly open and close the XML Source task pane.
  
• Turn on and off the borders for XML mapped cells.
  
• Import and export XML.

Latest Service Packs

Windows SharePoint Services Service Pack 1 Windows SharePoint Services Service Pack 1 provides the latest updates to Windows SharePoint Services.

Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8 SP1 Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8 SP1 contains core Data Access components such as the Microsoft SQL Server™ OLE DB provider and ODBC driver.

New Tool for Viewing MS Access Object Dependencies

I have just launched my latest Add-In and Wizard for MS Access.

MS Access Object Dependency Browser (ODB): the easy way to explore all objects, objet 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:

1. Supports Access 97, Access 2000, Access 2002, and Access 2003
   
2. The two dependency views are integrated in the one treeview: for example in the screenshot below, 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.
   
3. Full dependency details are also displayed in the adjacent properties pane.
   
4. Each object can be fully documented in a formatted Access report by clicking the Document button.
   
5. Copy of all object details from the properties pane to the Windows clipboard by clicking the Copy to Clipboard button.
   
6. Open database objects in design view with a click of the Design button.

Latest MS Access 2003 Knowledeg Base Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

• 898469 The Office 2003 Setup program unexpectedly quits, and you do not receive an error message.
• 898512 You receive a "Microsoft has not been installed for the current user" error message when you try to start an Office 2003 program for the first time.
• 896865 You may receive a "The OLE server may not be registered" error message when you try to create a blank data access page in Access 2002 or Office Access 2003.
• 887971 Description of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: November 1, 2004.
• 885259 Description of the French version of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: September 30, 2004.
• 896013 Description of the Microsoft Office Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: March 26, 2005.

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 Now Available

May 06, 2005 SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) adds platform support for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, allowing 32-bit SQL Server 2000 applications to run on 64-bit platforms using the Windows on Windows emulator (WOW64).

SP4 also addresses specific issues discovered in SQL Server 2000 since its ship date and the first service pack to service the 64-bit edition of SQL Server. Because SQL Server service packs are cumulative, SP4 includes all fixes from previously released Service Pack 1 (SP1), Service Pack 2 (SP2), Service Pack 3 (SP3), and Service Pack 3a (SP3a). SP4 can be applied to an original SQL Server 2000 installation or to one where SP1, SP2, SP3, or SP3a was previously applied. This service pack includes the MS03-031 security bulletin released in July, 2003.

Installation of the update to MSDE 2000 is not straightforward, and details are available from the link above.

XML ADO and all that...

Beyond Tables: Dealing with the Convergence of Relational and XML Data Developers are under increasing pressure to work with heterogeneous information. The advent of XML provided a data representation suitable for both regular (database tables) and irregular content, and was a significant step forward, but representation alone is not enough. We need a powerful standardized method for querying that data as well. XQuery fulfills that need (from the DevX.com XML Zone).

ADOMD.NET is a .NET object model, used for building client applications that access an XML for Analysis 1.1 compliant data provider, such as that provided by the XML for Analysis 1.1 SDK.

Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Utility: Component Checker Component Checker utility has been redesigned to provide XML support. The new tool includes updated snapshots for MDAC 2.7 SP1 on Windows XP SP1 and MDAC 2.8 SP2 on Windows Server 2003 SP1.

Outlook APIs, Price-Cut for Visual Studio, and a Better Inputbox

Outlook 2003: Integration API Reference This reference contains conceptual overviews and reference topics to guide you in developing solutions based on the MS Outlook 2003 Integration APIs.

New Pricing for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Microsoft has cut the price of Visual Studio to encourage upgrades. Microsoft has announced pricing and licensing terms for Visual Studio 2005, its application development tool set, as well as Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscriptions, the program through which most developers buy Visual Studio.

Smart Access: Access Answers: Hide Your Input, and it's Pretty Common How to enhance the built-in InputBox, as well as how to programmatically call a couple of the standard Windows dialogs (the Color and Font dialogs).

MS Office 2003 SP1 Whitepaper

Office 2003 SP1 Whitepaper Documentation regarding installation of Office 2003 SP1 update to various corporate scenarios.

Free MS Office VBE Tools Pack

Mz-Tools MZ-Tools is a freeware 'all-in-one' add-in for the Access/Office 2000 and later Visual Basic For Applications editor (ie. module window) which adds several features missing in the IDE. It provides a main menu, a toolbar, handy context menus or customizable shortcuts to access those features.

Upcoming Microsoft Office Events

MSDN Webcast: Overview of Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 In this session, you will discover new features that enable developers to construct powerful business solutions using Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft Office. Check out this on-demand Webcast.

Microsoft Workshop: Building Smart Clients DevX.com is hosting a one-day, demo-driven, technical ISV event on Smart Client solutions using XML, Web services, and the Microsoft Office System.

Office 12 and XML: Future Direction

Microsoft XML guru sees power for the people Jean Paoli, a co-creator of the XML data formatting standard, and senior director of XML architecture at Microsoft, speaks about the future direction for XML on the next version of MS Office, scheduled for release in 2006. "In general, the work flow business is going to use a lot (of XML), and there will be more simplicity for more users because the actual document is richer" Paoli said. Users can expect closer ties between server and Office desktop Microsoft products. Databases, such as the forthcoming Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and those from IBM and Oracle, will be able to save data in XML format ...

Updated Common Controls for VB6 and MS Office ODE Editions Released

Updated Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 and MS Office ODE Common Controls The latest and probably last update for the Common Controls: mscomctl.ocx and comctl32.ocx is now available for download from MS:

Each .ocx contains the following controls:

• Image Combo Control (mscomctl.ocx only)
• Image List Control
• ListView Control
• ProgressBar Control
• Slider Control
• StatusBar Control
• TabStrip Control
• Toolbar Control
• Treeview Control

The mscomtcl.locx is the later and less error-prone incarnation.

Advanced MS Office Topics: .NET, SQL Server, ASP.Net and ADO.Net

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO2005) Redistributable Package Beta 2 Language Pack VSTO2005 beta Language package is the most recent update to the VSTO Language Pack and includes everything you need to run localized applications developed using the .NET Framework and Microsoft Office Word 2003 and Microsoft Office Excel 2003.

Data Points: Data Access Strategies Using ADO.NET and SQL Data Access Strategies Using ADO.NET and SQL

.NET Rocks! - Kimberly Tripp on SQL Server 2005 USB Key demonstration of SQL Server 2005 partitioning.

Extreme ASP.NET: A Little Bit of Control for Your Controls

New MS Access and MS Office Knowledge Base Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

896950 ACCESS: You receive a "The field is too small to accept the amount of data you attempted to add." error message when you run a query in Office Access.

897646 ACC2003: Update - Redistributable Primary Interop Assemblies is available for download.

896865 ACC2003: You may receive a "The OLE server may not be registered" error message when you try to create a blank data access page in Access 2002 or Office Access 2003.

887971 ACC2003: Description of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: November 1, 2004.

885259 ACC2003: Description of the French version of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: September 30, 2004.

290230 ACC2003: You receive a "The MST file does not correspond to the MSI file" error message when you use the Custom Installation Wizard.

895089 OFFXP: Very few clip art items are available in the results box of the Clip Art task pane in Office 2003 or in Office XP.

891298 OFFXP: When you try to open or to save a file in an Office XP program that is running in a Terminal Server session, the Office XP program may unexpectedly quit.

822170 OFFXP: Office Shortcut Bar Remains on Top When the Start Menu Has Focus.

839656 OFFXP: Generic icons appear in the Web Collections folder of Clip Organizer in Office XP programs.

873379 OFFXP: Description of the security update for Office XP WordPerfect 5.x Converter: September 14, 2004.

Extending Office 2003 with SQL Server

Extending Office 2003 for Enterprise Reporting and Analysis Extended Microsoft Office Excel 2003 functionality and use Web services to access discrete backend SQL Server databases.

SQL Server Express Utility SSEUtil is a tool that lets you easily interact with SQL Server:

• Connect to the main instance or user-instance of SQL Server.
• Attach, detach, and list the databases on the server.
• Upgrade database files to match the version of the server.
• Execute SQL statements via the console (similar to SQLCMD).
• Retrieve the version of SQL Server running.
• Enable and disable trace flags (for example, to trace SQL statements sent to the server by any client application)
• List the instances of SQL Server on the local machine or on remote machines.
• Checkpoint and shrink a database
• Measure the performance of executing specific queries.• Create and playback lists of SQL commands for the server to execute.
• Log all input and output.

Resources for Deploying and Installing MS Office 2003

Office 2003 Update: Redistributable Primary Interop Assemblies The Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies (PIA) redistributable is a Microsoft Windows Installer package that contains the Primary Interop Assemblies for Microsoft Office 2003 products.

New Spreadsheet Reveals Office 2003 Setup Defaults A new spreadsheet, Office 2003 Setup defaults.xls, documents the default installation settings for Office 2003 and the Office family applications FrontPage®, OneNote®, Project, and Visio®. For each feature, the spreadsheet indicates the default installation state and gives a description. You can use this spreadsheet to view the entire Setup feature tree and plan how to configure your Office applications.

Recent Articles on Cutting-Edge Tools for and Features of The Microsoft Office System

Office 2003 Tool: FabriKam – The Microsoft Office System Solutions Learning Platform A compiled help file (CHM) for use with the FabriKam sample files.

Best Practices for Ensuring Application Reusability and Upgrade in Windows SharePoint Services Revisit key information in the Windows SharePoint Services SDK to understand best practices for writing code that will be reusable when you apply software updates, upgrades, or security updates to a deployment.

Smart Access: Eventful Formatting for Access Forms Dynamically changing your form's properties at runtime can often provide a better experience for your users. Access guru, Rick Dobson, shows you some secrets for dynamically changing your form's background as it gains and loses focus, keeping subforms in view, and providing colorful feedback for data.

Part 3: Replicating Excel 2003 Formulas to SQL Server In the third of a three-part series, learn how to use XML maps to automate a process for storing Excel 2003 formulas in a SQL Server database. Includes downloadable code.

Customizing the Data View Web Part in FrontPage 2003 Use Windows SharePoint Services and FrontPage 2003 to create custom views of data stored in your Web site or in custom data sources.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System (VSTO2005) Redistributable Package Beta 2 (x86) VSTO2005 beta redistributable package is the most recent update to the VSTO redistributable runtime and includes everything you need to run applications developed using the .NET Framework and Microsoft Office Word 2003 and Microsoft Office Excel 2003.

New MS Access and MS Office Resources Links

Part 3: Replicating Excel 2003 Formulas to SQL Server In the third of a three-part series, learn how to use XML maps to automate a process for storing MS Excel 2003 formulas in a SQL Server database. Includes downloadable code.

Managed Data Access Inside SQL Server with ADO.NET and SQLCLR Managed code can use ADO.NET when running inside SQL Server 2005 using the new SQLCLR feature. Basic scenarios of in-process data access, SQLCLR constructs, and their interactions, are covered.

Office 2003 Sample: Creating a Research Service using the Amazon Web Service API Download this sample to view the Amazon.com catalog directly from the Research task pane in Microsoft Office 2003 Editions. This sample accompanies the MSDN article "Creating an Office 2003 Research Service using the Amazon Web Service API".

Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 SDK 1.1 The Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 Software Development Kit (SDK) includes everything developers need to write, build, and deploy Microsoft Small Business Accounting integrated applications (5 April 2005).

Windows Auxiliary API Library This API library contains AuxKlibInitialize, AuxUlibInitialize, and related APIs (5 April 2005).

Business Intelligence Portal Sample Application for Microsoft Office 2003 This business intelligence portal sample application for Microsoft Office 2003 is an integrated, Web-based OLAP solution that enables employees in an organization to create and share OLAP/Relational/XML- based views, using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server, SQL Server Reporting Services, and Office Web components (6 April 2005).

Protecting Microsoft Access Command Bars And Menus From AcesssAdvisor.com Keep Microsoft Access users from closing or moving your command bars and menus with this technique.

"I Need to Organize My MS Access Databases Fast! "

As an Access developer, I have hundreds of Access databases all over my hard drive, and Access 97, Access 2000, Access 2002 and Access 2003 installed. Organizing my Access files not only means locating the files, but having a tracking system that classifies them by the Access version required to open them.

To this end I developed the Find Access Database Wizard, which I have incorporated in my Access Control Center application (ACC). The Wizard automatically locates all Access files in a location and adds them to the ACC database classified by Access version.

Smart Access Articles

In a section of the MSDN web site, you'll find sample articles for each month of the years 2000-2005 from SMART ACCESS, a publication designed especially for Office developers and power users of MS Access.

To sign up for a free 3-month trial subscription, visit the Smart Access Web site.

Tip and Code Sample: Switching Printers from within your MS Access Application

Fellow Access develepor, Mark Plumpton, of customdata.co.nz, has kindly provided sample code for easily switching printers on the fly while printing Access reports, with code as simple as this...

SaveDefaultPrinter
DefaultPrinter = "HP Laserjet (A3)"
DoCmd.OpenReport "rptTest", acViewNormal
RestoreDefaultPrinter

Download these demo Access97/2000 databases, which include a class module that performs the function of listing and switching default printers.

The code is also an excellent example of how you can use classes in your MS Access applications.

New Articles/Downloads on MS Office-related technologies

Desktop Deployment of Office Professional Edition 2003 This overview shows the business value Microsoft gained with the deployment of Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 (3/25/2005).

Introduction to the Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies Sample Launcher (OPSL) Learn how the OPSL provides code, samples, and a convenient launching program making it easier for developers to see how some of the most prominent methods they use can be coded.

Querying and Updating a Database Using Web Services in InfoPath and ASP.NET Learn how to create a Web service and consume that Web service in InfoPath 2003 SP1 and a Web application using ASP.NET.

Download: Better SQL Server performance with Profiler and Query Analyzer The overall performance of Microsoft's SQL Server can only be as good as the queries that are sent to it. In this download, learn how to use SQL Server's SQL Profiler and Query Analyzer to experiment with alternate constructions of SQL to get better performance.

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

How to import a Word table that contains carriage returns (290169) - When you import a Microsoft Word table that contains carriage returns in its cells, the table is not imported correctly because Microsoft Access interprets each carriage return/line feed as a new record delimiter. To avoid this problem, you can...

How to optimize Office Access and Jet database engine network performance with Windows 2000-based and Windows XP-based clients (889588) - Describes how to optimize Office Access and Jet database engine network performance with Windows 2000-based and Windows XP-based clients.

Cannot edit or update a record on an Access form (209571) - You may not be able to edit a record on a form even though the AllowEdits property of the form is set to Yes . When you try to update data on the form, you may receive the following error message: This Recordset is not updateable. If the form is...

MS05-005: Vulnerability in Microsoft Office XP could allow remote code execution (873352) - This update resolves a security vulnerability that could allow malicious code to run when you store or open Microsoft Office documents from a Web site.

HOWTO: Use TOP N Query from Microsoft Access 2.0 in VB (147724) - One of the new types of queries added to Microsoft Access version 2.0 for Windows is called a TOP N query. If you have Microsoft Access version 2.0 or higher, and Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows version 4.0 and higher, you can use this type of...

How to work with the Outlook E-mail Security Update in an Access database (263084) - Describes that you may receive "A program is trying to automatically send e-mail on your behalf" message when you run the SendObject macro action. Or, you may receive a "run-time error '2293'" when calling the SendObject VBA method in Access.

You receive a write conflict error when you add a record in multi-table view in Access 2002 (295225) - Explains that you cannot insert a record in a multi-table query and you receive a write conflict error if the primary key field of the primary table is an identity field or the query restricts the records to exclude some records from the primary table.

How to create a DSN-less connection to SQL Server for linked tables in Access 2003 and in Access 2002 (892490) - Describes methods for how to create a DSN-less connection to SQL Server for linked tables in Microsoft Access.

When you paste an Excel chart that contains an embedded arrowhead to a Word document, the appearance of the arrowhead changes in Office XP and in Office 2003 (889520) - Discusses a work around for an issue that occurs in Office XP and Office 2003 where an Excel chart that contains an embedded arrowhead does not appear exactly in its original form when it is pasted to a Word document.

No records returned in query between an Access 2000 table and a linked Access 97 table (244137) - No records are returned for a query that joins a Microsoft Access 2000 (Jet 4.0) table to a linked Microsoft Access 97 (Jet 3.5) table. This happens even though you are certain that there are matching records. This behavior can occur only when all...

ACC2000: How to Use a Query to Format Data for a Mail Merge (197520) - In a Microsoft Access table, if you've added formatting to the numbers in a Number field, and you send that data to Microsoft Word through a mail merge, the numbers will lose their formatting when they appear in Microsoft Word. In a mail merge,...

ACC2000: "CREATE TABLE Permission Denied" Error Message in Export to SQL (209656) - When you export a table from Microsoft Access to Microsoft SQL Server, you may receive the following error message [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server] CREATE TABLE permission denied, database , owner [#262] where...

ACC2000: SQL Server Security Administration Dialog Box Does Not Open (223220) - In Access 2000, if you have not installed the Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE), you can still create Microsoft Access projects and connect to Microsoft SQL Server databases on other computers through a network connection; however, the dialog box for...

ACC2000: Insert Data Permission Required to Modify Table Design (198915) - Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers. This article applies only to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb). When you try to open a table in Design view, you may receive the following warning message: You can't open...

How to optimize Office Access and Jet database engine network performance with Windows 2000-based and Windows XP-based clients (889588) - Describes how to optimize Office Access and Jet database engine network performance with Windows 2000-based and Windows XP-based clients.

Objects are removed when you convert partial replicas from Access 97 to Access 2000 (263171) - You convert a Microsoft Access 97 partial replica to Access 2000. Then you synchronize the Access 97 partial replica with a converted full replica or with Design Master. All the database objects are removed from the converted partial replica...

ACC2000: How to Set AllowZeroLength Property to Yes in All Tables (210278) - This article shows you how to create a user-defined function to set the AllowZeroLength property to Yes for all the Text and Memo fields in every table in a database. By setting the AllowZeroLength property, you can control whether a zero-length...

ACC2000: SQL Server System Administrator Cannot See System Tables (209179) - When a SQL Server System Administrator tries to import or link SQL Server tables to a Microsoft Access database, the administrator can see most of the SQL Server tables, but not the system tables. The System Objects check box in Microsoft Access...

How to work with the Outlook E-mail Security Update in an Access database (263084) - Describes that you may receive "A program is trying to automatically send e-mail on your behalf" message when you run the SendObject macro action. Or, you may receive a "run-time error '2293'" when calling the SendObject VBA method in Access.

OFFXPDEV: Setup Fails Silently When Password Is Changed for Account Running SQL Services (289516) - If you change the account password that SQL services are running under and then install the Workflow Services for SQL Server without changing the passwords that are stored in the computer's services, the Setup program of Microsoft Office XP...

Photo Editor Help topic refers to Office 2000 instead of Office XP (292124) - Explains that the Help topic refers to Office 2000 when you use Help for information about how to install or remove Photo Editor, but you expect it to refer to Office XP. To work around this issue, click Microsoft Office XP in step 4 of the Help...

The Office XP Shortcut Bar shortcut does not start the Office XP Bar (290744) - Explains that when you click the Office Shortcut Bar shortcut, the Office Shortcut Bar does not appear or the Office 2000 Shortcut Bar appears instead. You can add the Office XP Shortcut Bar through the Office XP CD-ROM in maintenance mode.

MS05-005: Vulnerability in Microsoft Office XP could allow remote code execution (873352) - This update resolves a security vulnerability that could allow malicious code to run when you store or open Microsoft Office documents from a Web site.

You receive an "Access denied" error message, and the program unexpectedly quits when you try to open or save a file in an Office program (891636) - Describes an issue where you receive an error message, and the Office program unexpectedly quits when you try to open a file that is located in a redirected folder or when you try to save a file to a redirected folder.

OFFXPDEV: Cannot Deploy Solution That Is Based on a Copy of the Issue Tracking Workflow Template (287069) - When you try to instantiate a template that you created from the Issue Tracking Workflow sample template, you see the following error in a window named DCOM Server modTBAD failure : [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]Invalid object...

You receive an "Error 1606" error message when you try to install or remove a Microsoft program (886549) - Discusses an issue where you receive an "Error 1606" error message when you try to install or remove a program such as Streets and Trips, MapPoint, Picture It!, Digital Image Pro, or Money.

Step by Step Interactive tutorials and Getting Started tutorials for Office products do not start (301535) - When you try to use Step by Step Interactive tutorials that is included in Microsoft Office XP, or Getting Started in Microsoft Visio 2002 Help, or Getting Started Tutorial in Microsoft Office Visio 2003, you may experience one of the following...

When you paste an Excel chart that contains an embedded arrowhead to a Word document, the appearance of the arrowhead changes in Office XP and in Office 2003 (889520) - Discusses a work around for an issue that occurs in Office XP and Office 2003 where an Excel chart that contains an embedded arrowhead does not appear exactly in its original form when it is pasted to a Word document.

XML, SQL Server, and Excel

Recent articles on these MS Office related technologies.

Excel 2003 Sample: Replicating Formulas to SQL Server Learn how to automate a process for storing Excel 2003 formulas in a SQL Server database. This allows access from the database to the calculated spreadsheet values available only in the worksheet.

Automating the XML Data Mapping Process in Excel 2003 In the first of a three-part series, learn how to use XML maps to customize Excel as a data input and display system.

XSH: Interactively Manipulate and Analyze XML Data from DevX.com's XML Zone. Most developers use some kind of XSLT engine to pick out and process data from structured XML files. Learn how XSH, an open source command-line XML shell, lets you interactively query and manipulate this data without the coding overhead.

MS Access Code Samples
A collection of MS Access code samples, with articles, from Microsoft for Access 2003 and previous versions.

Access 2003

Create a PowerPoint Slide Presentation from Scratch Using Access Data Create a slide presentation, as well use an existing PowerPoint presentation inside an Access form.

Use Automation with Access and Outlook Demonstrates using automation to control one program from another program.

Animate Access 2003 Use the Animation ActiveX control, the Timer control, and the Office assistant to animate Access 2003.

Perform Mail-Merges Using XML Data How to use an external XML data file and the Mail Merge feature of Word 2003 to perform a mail merge programmatically from Access 2003.

New XML Features in Access 2003 This download contains several sample files that demonstrate how to import, export, and transform XML data programmatically into Access.

Access 2002

Write Setup Packages for Your Access Databases How to create a custom .msi setup program for your Access database and supporting files.

Program PivotTable Reports in Access 2002 How to programmatically build and manipulate PivotTable reports in Access 2002.

Program OLAP Databases from Access Using DSO How to use the DSO library to create and manipulate OLAP databases and cubes on an Analysis server.

Manage SQL Server Security with Access How VBA projects provide routines to manage SQL Server security settings.

Transform Access XML Files into HTML with XSLT Demonstrates the transformation of Access 2002 XML data into HTML.

Access 2002 Samples These samples demonstrate some of the new features in Access 2002, specifically in Data Access Pages.

Program Printer Settings in Access 2002 How to take a Word document formatted in Outline View and display it as a PowerPoint presentation slide show.

Access XML Import and Export This sample shows how data, schemas, and presentations can be imported to and exported from Access 2002 through the use of XML.

Access 2000

Develop Client/Server Solutions with Access 2000 Projects How to create and work with Access project (.adp) files. The samples accompany a series of articles from the online book, "Developing Client/Server Solutions with Access 2000 Projects," in the MSDN Library. (February 2000)

Access Workflow Designer Call-Tracking Sample Team Solution How to take advantage of the Call Tracking sample team solution. The sample accompanies the article, "Microsoft Access Workflow Designer Call-Tracking Sample Team Solution," in the MSDN Library. (January 2000)

Fundamental Microsoft Jet SQL for Access 2000 Demonstrates the basic mechanics of using Jet SQL to work with data in an Access 2000 database.

Intermediate Microsoft Jet SQL for Access 2000 Sample and article build on the concepts covered in the Fundamental SQL article and gives a much more detailed picture as to what can be accomplished with Microsoft Jet SQL in Access.

Advanced Microsoft Jet SQL for Access 2000 Focuses on the SQL syntax that is most often found in a multi-user environment.

Northwind Traders Direct Sample Application A simple e-commerce application that uses data access pages, frames, and cookies. It was created using Microsoft FrontPage 2000 and Microsoft Access 2000. (January 1999)

Get to Know the Lastest MS Office Technologies

Desktop Deployment—Office 2003 Overview of business value Microsoft gained with the deployment of Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003.

Using .NET to Boost Microsoft Office Developer Productivity From DevX.com. With Visual Studio Tools for Office, MS Office developers get access to the full power of Visual Studio .NET for building Office applications.

VBA Error Logging

AccessAdvisor.com has just published a timely article on The Value of VBA Error Logging. The article makes the point that any error handling scheme is incomplete unless it includes an error log, and provides some sample code.

My MS Access Add-In, 123 Error-Handler Wizard, can instantly add error-handling and error-logging to your Access 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 to, or you can opt for global error-handling using a global error-handling procedure and an error-log table.
   
3. The Wizard adds error-handling to the selected procedures in one automated operation.

Converting VBA to VB.Net in MS Office

Excellent overview articles on these new technologies:

Convert VBA Code to Visual Basic .NET When Migrating to Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Read this article for reasons to migrate your VBA code to Visual Basic .NET and Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office, a review of the major code conversion issues, and a list of additional resources.

Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework 1.0 The Microsoft® Office Information Bridge Framework 1.0 enables developers to quickly create and deploy flexible, custom solutions that adapt to an organization’s existing IT infrastructure and require little or no adjustment of back-end systems.

Roadmap to Microsoft Technical Resources and Support

Useful Microsoft links:

Product Solution Center Product support information, including common issues, frequently asked questions, helpful links, tips and how-tos, and latest downloads.

Public Newsgroups Including advice from Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs).

Managed Newsgroups MSDN managed newsgroups are available in English to MSDN Universal, Enterprise, Professional and Operating Systems subscribers to receive free technical support on select Microsoft technologies as well as to share ideas with other subscribers.

Support WebCasts Tune in and watch live technical presentations given by Microsoft technology experts, and participate in live Q&A sessions after each presentation.

Community WebCasts Get live and on-demand access to a wide range of technical and business guidance from industry experts.

Community Blogs Browse these Microsoft employee blogs to get insights and opinions about using Microsoft technology and software.

Technical Chats Microsoft provides you a forum to engage in discussions about Microsoft products or technologies in many languages.

Technical Community Sites Find online technical communities for the Microsoft products and technologies you use.

Regional Directors Regional Directors aren't Microsoft employees--they're independent developers, architects, trainers, and other professionals who provide a vital link between Microsoft and the developer community.

ISV Buddy Program Through this 1-on-1 relationship, your Microsoft buddy will be able to guide you to resources and to help you succeed in building solutions on Microsoft platforms.

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

895618 OFFXP: An Office XP update does not appear to be installed after you install the update.

895469 ACC2002: Description of the Access 2002 post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: March 3, 2005

888636 ACC2003 Documenter does not display the DELETE query in Microsoft Access

888696 ACC2003: How to print a check box without borders on a pre-printed form in Access

NATIVE SideBar MS Access Switchboard and GUI Demo
for Microsoft© Access 97 and 2000/2002/2003

My latest Access Demo Database featuring Outlook-style application navigation is now available. A special feature of the Native SideBar Switchboard is that it uses only native Access controls, so it is easy to implement. Just import three objects into your database: a query, a form, and a code module.

VBA vs VB.NET

This week Microsoft announced termination of mainstream support for VB6 at the end of this month, with extended support ending in March 2008. A petition by MVPs has been lodged seeking reversal of this decision, and has also raised the issue of support for VBA.

The current product support life cycle for VBA is:

. Mainstream support ends 31-Dec-08
. Extended support ends 31-Dec-13

so there is some life left in VBA yet.

Also, Bill Gates is on record that VBA will be supported in Office 12 due out in mid-2006, but not after version 12. This should mean that the support life cycle for VBA will move well beyond these dates once Office 12 is released.

This provides some comfort for Office developers like me and, more importantly, users that are still using VBA and avoiding the unwelcome complexities of using the .NET framework.

I consider Microsoft will need to eventually backtrack and continue to support VBA for many years to come for these reasons:

1. The retail versions of Office in use for at least the next decade will directly support only VBA.
   
2. Office as well as a development environment is equally an end-user product, and I don't hear anyone talking about VB.NET macros...
   
3. The current .NET framework push ignores small business users, who don't want or need the complexities that come with VB.NET.

Documenter does not display the DELETE query in Microsoft Access

Microsoft recently issued a Knowledge Base Article on a documentation bug in Access versions 2000 and later: 888636 Documenter does not display the DELETE query in Microsoft Access.

The native Access documenter does not document DELETE queries in a database. Certain workarounds are suggested by MS, or you can use my Ezy Documenter Access Add-In to seamlessly document all objects in your Access database, including DELETE queries:



There are two versions:

• Ezy Documenter standard is free to buyers of any product from aadconsulting.com or for a one-off subscription fee of US$9.95, which also gives you access to 18 other Access tools.
  
• Ezy Documenter Premium allows user customization of each Ezy Documenter database object report and costs only US$29.95

I wish I could do this in MS Access...

There are things that Access users and developers often do in Access that could be a lot simpler or that they can't do at all. Over the years, I have developed some tools for Access versions 97 to 2003 to make up for some missing functionality. The following tools are available from my web site at aadconsulting.com:

1. Ezy Debug A frustration in debugging in Access 2000 and later is the clunky rigmarole required to turn error-trapping on and off. My free tool Ezy Debug is launched from the right-click popup menu in the code window of the Access VB Editor. The applet provides quick access to the Access error-trapping settings in the code window, and once invoked it is available both in the Access Database and VBE window. The current error-trapping setting is displayed and can be changed on the fly...
   
2. Ezy Access Launcher If you need to support multiple versions of Access, you know that opening an .mdb file in the correct version of Access in Windows Explorer is not straight-forward. My free tool Ezy Access Launcher automatically opens Access files in the appropriate version, and you can easily create Access shortcuts containing the full range of Access command-line switches.
   
3. Find Databases Wizard Want to to locate and document the location of all Access files in a particular location? My free applet, the Find Databases Wizard finds all the MS Access files in the location you select and classifies each file by Access version, lists all the files found in the location, and saves the data in a text-delimited file.
   
4. Ezy Exporter Wouldn't it be great if you could export Access objects in bulk in the same way Access natively allows you to bulk import objects into a database? My Access tool, Ezy Exporter allows you to do just that.
   
5. Ezy SQL Editor and Builder is a sophisticated tools for handling SQL in Access, but it also has some basic features that makes working with queries a whole lot easier by providing a Font... option when editing SQL strings, and adding find/replace functionality.

Latest for MS Office Developers

Customizing List Item Forms in Windows SharePoint Services Enhance and extend interaction with lists in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services when customizing forms used to work with list items.

Accessing FrontPage Commands Using VBA Discover how to access almost every FrontPage command from your VBA code—even commands that aren't available through the FrontPage object model.

Creating Excel Solutions for Use in Multiple Countries/Regions Using Visual Studio Tools for Office Learn which issues you should consider when using Visual Studio Tools for Office to create Excel 2003 solutions for deployment to end users in more than one country or region.

Enabling SSL Protection on MCMS Sites Learn how to set up Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for your Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) 2002 site.

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

889520 ACC2002 When you paste an Excel chart that contains an embedded arrowhead to a Word document, the appearance of the arrowhead changes in Office XP and in Office 2003

892490 ACC2002 How to create a DSN-less connection to SQL Server for linked tables in Access 2003 and in Access 2002

892608 ACC2003 You may receive the "Syntax error in INSERT INTO statement" error message when you use ADO.NET code to access Office Access 2003

887035 ACC2003 Your XML data may appear to incorrectly import when you try to import that data to Microsoft Office Access 2003

889186 ACC2003 Description of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: November 12, 2004

889490 ACC2003 Contents of the Memo field may appear as control characters when you use the GROUP BY clause on the Memo field in a query in Microsoft Access

873334 ACC2003 Description of the Italian version of Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: December 17, 2004

Latest Resources for MS Office

How Excel 2003 Infers XSDs When Importing XML Review the rules and instances where Excel 2003 infers schema from XML data during import and export.

Customizing Office 2003 Research Services: 15 Answers to Common Questions Common issues facing developers when customizing the Office 2003 Research Services including tips about formatting data, scaling images, and encoding data.

Customizing Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework for Microsoft CRM Learn to customize the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework for Microsoft Business Solutions CRM to meet the unique needs of your business organization.

Visual Studio .NET Developer: Introducing a New Data Grid The .NET 2.0 DataGridView supersedes the .NET 1.x DataGrid control. The DataGridView supports extensive customization and fine-grained formatting, flexible sizing and selection, better performance, and a richer event model.

Free MS Access Add-in Of The Month

I am making available free each month one of my subscriber Access Add-Ins, commencing with the Ezy Filter for March 2005. Users can easily filter any data-based form or report in any Access database on the fly. An add code options allows developers to add Ezy Filter to their applications.

Learn More about MS Office

Using the Excel 2003 XML Tools Add-in Version 1.1

Overview of Server Capabilities in Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Create a solution that uses Word 2003 and Excel 2003 on the server.

Word 2003 XML Software Development Kit (SDK) Download the SDK for an overview of the XL schema reference, a linked description of the schema structure, and tools and samples for developing your own Word solutions.

Transforming Word Documents into the XSL-FO Format XSL-FO and WordprocessingML, when used together, create an extremely useful tool for transforming Word documents into other standard formats such as HTML or PDF.

Automating Word Tables for Data Insertion and Extraction Learn some of the best ways to automate the creation and formatting of tables in Word.

New MS Office Sample Applications

Business Intelligence Portal Sample Application for Microsoft Office 2003 An integrated, web-based OLAP solution that enables employees in an organization to create and share OLAP/Relational/XML based views, using SharePoint Portal Server, SQL Server Reporting Services, and Office Web components.

Access 2003/2002/2000 Sample: Basing One Combo Box on Another sample database This sample database, for the Basing One Combo Box on Another column on Office Online , includes an example form that demonstrates how to limit what appears in one combo box based on the choice you make in another combo box.

Create a 30 Day Demo of an MS Access Database

I have just made available on my Access Tips page, free sample code that has the object of producing a fully protected 30 Day Demo of an Access database with the following features:

• Back-dating the system date does not overcome the 30 day trial limit
• Re-installation of the source file does not overcome the 30 day trial limit

with the caveat that no technique is hacker-proof. The technique is aimed at protection against most users.

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

873352 ACC2002: MS05-005: Vulnerability in Microsoft Office XP could allow remote code execution
893167 ACC2003: Description of the Access 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package: January 31, 2005
888634 ACC2003: You receive the "The database is in an unexpected state" error message when you try to open a database in Access 2000 or a later version
885828 ACC2003: Description of the Update for Office 2003: February 8, 2005
892301 ACC2003: The installation log file may incorrectly list the "Install return code: 0" error message when you install Office 2003 on a client computer

More XML

Using the Excel 2003 XML Tools Add-in Version 1.1 This new add-in makes working with XML maps, cells, and ranges much easier for developers.

Transforming Word Documents into the XSL-FO Format XSL-FO and WordprocessingML, when used together, create an extremely useful tool for transforming Word documents into other standard formats such as HTML or PDF.

Overview of Server Capabilities in Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Learn about the new server capabilities of Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 as you create a solution that uses Word 2003 and Excel 2003 on the server.

MS Office Automation and XML

Excel 2003 Add-in: XML Tools Add-in This add-in accompanies the MSDN article "Using the Excel 2003 XML Tools Add-in" available from the Related Resources box section of the page.

Overview of Server Capabilities in Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Beta 1 This download contains a Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Beta 1 server solution that uses Microsoft Office Word 2003 and Microsoft Office Excel 2003 on the server.

Word 2003 Sample: Automating Word Tables for Data Insertion and Extraction This download accompanies the MSDN article "Automating Word Tables for Data Insertion and Extraction" available from the Related Resouces section of the page.

Word 2003 Sample: Transforming Word Documents into the XSL-FO Format This sample accompanies the MSDN article "Transforming Word Documents into the XSL-FO Format" available from the Related Resources section of the page.

MS Excel Date Picker

Just discovered the coolest Excel Date Picker I have seen. It works seamlessly and it's free:

Smooth GUI for MS Access

You can get my Smooth Access GUI as a database template. Turn your Access 97+ databases into sleek applications using only native Access controls:

Latest Office Resources from Microsoft

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.

Smart Access: Access Interfaces: Handling Price Ranges Discover two methods for handling the common case of multiple prices for a given product, depending on the quantity ordered.

Developer's Take on Smart Tags A straightforward introduction to smart tags. What are they? What do all the different terms mean? What do they do?

Word 2003: XML Software Development Kit(SDK) The Microsoft Office Word 2003 Software Development Kit (SDK) provides information and assistance for making the best use of the expanded XML features and support available in Microsoft Office Word 2003.

Get Your Head Around ADO

Visit MSDN's ADO Programmer's Guide which provides an overview of how to use ADO objects to work with data from various data sources.

Latest MS Access KB Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

101084 ACC97: Storing SQL Database Login IDs and Passwords Locally
109829 ACC97: Sample Function to Provide Password for Attached Tables
120911 ACC97: Ability to Add Users Without Permission to View Design
128808 ACC97: Optimizing for Client/Server Performance
135378 ACC97: Connection String Is Accessible in Secured Databases
135379 ACC97: New SQL Records Appear Deleted Until Recordset Reopened
209656 ACC2000: "CREATE TABLE Permission Denied" Error Message in Export to SQL
223220 ACC2000: SQL Server Security Administration Dialog Box Does Not Open
889588 ACC2000: How to optimize Office Access and Jet database engine network performance with Windows 2000-based and Windows XP-based clients
198915 ACC2000: Insert Data Permission Required to Modify Table Design
209179 ACC2000: SQL Server System Administrator Cannot See System Tables
210278 ACC2000: How to Set AllowZeroLength Property to Yes in All Tables
836178 ACC2003: "Invalid product key" error message when you start an Office 2003 program after you install Office Professional Edition 2003

New Tool Makes Using MS Access a WHOLE lot Easier!

Access is intimidating for new users and the learning curve is steep. I have created a new free tool, Ezy Access 2000, that makes using Access a WHOLE lot easier: an Access database for retail MS Access that lets you easily create Access databases with little or no knowledge of Access:

Use Dynamic Control in MS Excel

Excel 2003 and Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Solution: Using Dynamic Controls and Views Use the .NET Framework in Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 to utilize managed controls that present and navigate data in ways that Excel does not support out-of-the-box.

A Fool-proof Way to Add a Library Reference in MS Access

From my MS Access Tips page at aadconsulting.com:

Those of you who develop Access add-ins or library databases, know that adding a reference to the addin or library database to the user .mdb can be tricky, as the library file may not be where it is expected to be. I use the following function, which is called each time the library file is loaded and uses the Name property of the CodeDb function to return the full path of the library file:

Private Function aad_AddLibraryReference() As Boolean
On Error GoTo AddLibraryReferenceError

Dim aad_refBuilderLibrary As Reference

Set aad_BuilderLibrary = References.AddFromFile(CodeDb.Name)
aad_AddLibraryReference = True
Exit Function

AddLibraryReferenceError:

If Err = 32813 Then 'Reference already exists
Resume Next
Else
MsgBox "Add LibraryDB Reference Error" & Err & ". " & Err.Description
aad_AddLibraryReference = False
Exit Function
End If

End Function

Major flaws in Microsoft Office file encryption

January 28, 2005 A major problem with the way Microsoft's encryption tool handles Word and Excel files has been discovered. This flaw could allow a cracker with basic cryptography skills to decrypt files. Details

EXCEL: Integrate Data into Your Spreadsheets

Integrate Data into Your Excel Spreadsheets with Office Web Services This MSDN Article discusses:

• How you can integrate data from several Web services using Excel & VBA
• The features of the Office Web Services Toolkit
• How you can manipulate your data in Excel and use it to create reports
• A sample application to get you started

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

The Easy Way to Parse Your MS Access SQL String for Insertion into Your Code

My MS Access Add-In and Wizard, Ezy SQL Editor & Builder, easily creates formatted SQL strings for your code. Ezy SQL automatically parses any SQL string, for example, from:

SELECT City, CompanyName, ContactName, "Customers" AS [Relationship] FROM Customers
UNION SELECT City, CompanyName, ContactName, "Suppliers"FROM SuppliersORDER BY City, CompanyName;

to:

strSQL = _
"SELECT City, CompanyName, ContactName, 'Customers' AS [Relationship] " & _
"FROM Customers " & _
"UNION " & _
"SELECT City, CompanyName, ContactName, 'Suppliers' " & _
"FROM Suppliers " & _
"ORDER BY City, CompanyName; "

Latest MS Access Knowledge Base Articles

Courtesy of kbalertz.com:

You may receive the "Method 'CurrentDB' Of object '_Application' failed" error message in Access 2000 or a later version (887033)

Slower performance in Access-based or Jet database-based programs after you upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 or to Windows XP (891176)

How to use TOP N Query from Microsoft Access 2.0 in VB (147724) - One of the new types of queries added to Microsoft Access version 2.0 for Windows is called a TOP N query. If you have Microsoft Access version 2.0 or higher, and Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows version 4.0 and higher, you can use this type of ...

How to work with the Outlook E-mail Security Update in an Access database (263084) - Describes that you may receive "A program is trying to automatically send e-mail on your behalf" message when you run the SendObject macro action. Or, you may receive a "run-time error '2293'" when calling the SendObject VBA method in Access.

Cannot edit or update a record on an Access form (209571) - You may not be able to edit a record on a form even though the AllowEdits property of the form is set to Yes . When you try to update data on the form, you may receive the following error message: This Recordset is not updateable. If the form is ...

ACC2000: How to Use a Query to Format Data for a Mail Merge (197520) - In a Microsoft Access table, if you've added formatting to the numbers in a Number field, and you send that data to Microsoft Word through a mail merge, the numbers will lose their formatting when they appear in Microsoft Word. In a mail merge, ...

Objects are removed when you convert partial replicas from Access 97 to Access 2000 (263171) - You convert a Microsoft Access 97 partial replica to Access 2000. Then you synchronize the Access 97 partial replica with a converted full replica or with Design Master. All the database objects are removed from the converted partial replica ...

No records returned in query between an Access 2000 table and a linked Access 97 table (244137) - No records are returned for a query that joins a Microsoft Access 2000 (Jet 4.0) table to a linked Microsoft Access 97 (Jet 3.5) table. This happens even though you are certain that there are matching records. This behavior can occur only when all ...

You receive a "Not a Valid Password" error message when you open an Access 97 database in Access 2000 (246033) - When you open a Microsoft Access 97 database in Microsoft Access 2000, and if the database password has 14 or more characters, you may receive the following error message: Not a valid password. To work around this behavior, follow these steps: ...

A newly created Access 97 database is not secure when you convert a security-enhanced Access 2000 database to Access 97 format (198986) - When you convert a security-enhanced Microsoft Access 2000 database to Microsoft Access 97 format, the newly created Access 97 database is not secure. Permissions are reset to their defaults in the newly created Access 97 database. This problem ...

Latest MS Office Stuff from Microsoft:

Smart Tags: Realize the Potential of Office 2003 by Creating Smart Tags in Managed Code Learn how to build and deploy managed smart tags, and how they work with Microsoft Office Smart Tag List XML schema, advanced managed smart tags for Office 2003, and Office XP.

Office 2003 Smart Document Software Development Kit (SDK) This download provides the software development kit (SDK) for creating smart documents with the Microsoft Office System (1/14/2005)

Installing and Using the Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies Find out how to get, install, and use the primary interop assemblies (PIAs) available for Office 2003.

Excel: Integrate Far-Flung Data into Your Spreadsheets with the Help of Web Services Make the most of the data returned from your Web services with the Office 2003 Web Services Toolkit API and take advantage of the latest capabilities to customize list views, graphs, and charts.

More MS Office Articles

Handy Tips for Working with Excel 2003 Make your applications more robust and provide more options for your users when you employ and modify these tips from the Excel newsgroups.

Working with PowerPoint Presentations from Access Using Automation Learn to use automation to work with Access and PowerPoint. This gives you the ability to work from inside Access to create a slide presentation as well as use an existing PowerPoint presentation inside an Access form.

Is Your MS Access Installation Fully Patched?

A summary of all essential service packs including download links for Access 2 through to Access 2002.

New MS Articles and Sample Applications

Office 2003 Sample: Working with PowerPoint 2003 Presentations from Access 2003 Using Automation Download this sample to work with PowerPoint 2003 presentations directly from Access 2003. This sample accompanies the MSDN article "Working with PowerPoint 2003 Presentations from Access 2003 Using Automation," available from Related Resources.

Smart Access: Access Interfaces: Building Explorer-style Forms This article and sample application looks at the surprisingly simple process of implementing an Explorer-style form architecture using the TreeView component that's part of the Windows XP Common Control Library.

Creating an Office 2003 Research Service Using the Amazon Web Service API Search for books at Amazon.com using the Amazon.com research service, then include the results returned in your sheet or document without leaving your Office 2003 application.

Creating a FrontPage Drop-Down Menu with JavaScript If you've ever tried to create a drop-down menu, you probably know it’s not always easy. This article provides the detail you need to start developing your own—as well as JavaScript for three kinds of drop-down menus.

Handy Tips for Working with Excel 2003 Make your applications more robust and provide more options for your users when you use and modify these tips from the Excel newsgroups for your own use.

New MS Access Tips Page

I recently posted a new Ms Access Tips page to aadconsulting.com with over 85 tips for Access users and developers. Check it out.

Getting Up to Speed: An Access Book Recommendation

Jak in a post asked for a recommendation on a beginner/intermediate Access book. My first Access book was Access 2 Developers Guide by Roger Jennings, and his latest is my recommendation Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Access 2003.