Handling Image Storage in MS Access Databases

Interesting articles with many references from ammara.com, the makers of DBPix, an Image Control for building database applications with picture handling capabilities, such as photo databases and other image management systems:

Images - Access image storage Avoiding overhead and loss when storing images in Microsoft Access.
Pictures in Access Forms & Reports Common Access OLE Object Photo & Image Problems including Access 2003.
Access Image Database Techniques Access image-handling approaches compared.

Multiple Column Reports Sample MS Access Database

Access 2003/2002/2000 Sample: Multiple Column Reports Sample Database The Multiple Column reports sample database for Microsoft Access contains sample reports that demonstrate creating telephone book style multiple column reports.

Download the Latest MS Office Language References

Discover 15 New MS Office 2003 VBA Language References Customise and integrate Office programs with the new Office 2003 language references for Access, Excel, FrontPage, Office 2003, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Visio and Word. Also, refences for Office XP And Office 2000.

Related Resources:

• Online MSOffice Developer Reference
• MSDN MS Office Developer Center
• Subscribe to MSDN
• Office Online
  

Ditch that Tired and Boring native MS Access Switchboard!

My latest Access Demo Database featuring cutting edge application navigation:

Maximizes available application space by using these dynamic features:

• Uses Switchboard Items table created by the MS Access Switchboard Manager
• Outlook-style navigation
• Custom combined graphical buttons/hyperlinks
• Users can hide the Switchboard to maximize form size
• Users can adjust the width of the Switchboard on the fly...

You can use the demo as a Contacts Manager or buy the source code to use the GUI in your own Access applications.

Download the free SideBar Switchboard Demo
(sidebarswbdemo.zip - 4mb includes MSI Installer)

New Free Office 2003 Add-In

Office 2003 Add-in: Microsoft Outlook SMS Add-in (MOSA) Send SMS text messages through most Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) mobile phones connected to your PC using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003.

Database Design: The Danger of NULL values

Does allowing NULL values in fields introduce a whole new degree of uncertainty into your database? Article

Get up to Speed on New MS Office Technologies #2

Creating an Estimate Solution Using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Learn about a basic order entry system that uses Excel 2003 for data entry, calculation, and charting capabilities, and Word 2003 for the generation of a report.

Enhancing Office 2003 Research Services with Graphics and Fancy Fonts how to jazz up a Microsoft Office 2003 research service by displaying results using graphics and special fonts.

Get up to Speed on New MS Office Technologies:

New DataSet Features in ADO.NET 2.0 Get performance enhancements and improved functionality in the .NET Framework 2.0 DataSet class, and in the closely related DataTable and DataView classes.

Enhancing Office 2003 Research Services with Graphics and Fancy Fonts How to jazz up a Microsoft Office 2003 research service by displaying results using graphics and special fonts.

Creating an Estimate Solution Using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Learn about a basic order entry system that uses Excel 2003 for data entry, calculation, and charting capabilities, and Word 2003 for the generation of a report.

Latest Articles and Sample Applications for MS Office Developers

Excel 2003 Sample: Microsoft Excel 2003 Inside Out Sample files from the book Microsoft Excel 2003 Inside Out.

Excel 2003 Sample: Microsoft Office 2003 Inside Out Sample files from the book Microsoft Office 2003 Inside Out.

Access 2003 Sample: Inside Out Sample Files Sample files from the book Access 2003 Inside Out.

MSDE 2000 Deployment Toolkit (Sample Application) Automates the process of creating an integrated package with both the application and the MSDE database.

From MS TechNet:

• SQL Server Express, Encrypting Data, And More
• Information Rights Management In Office 2003
  

Microsoft Word Help Center

TechRepublic's MS Word Help Center for one-stop tips and tricks for mastering Word's myriad features.

Microsoft Office 12 is coming... Sources close to Microsoft indicate that the next version of Office is coming to beta in August of 2005 with general release by July of 2006. According to the sources, the next Office will have both desktop and server components, including the "Excel Calculation Server" and the "InfoPath Forms Server" along with updated version of Content Management Server and SharePoint Portal Server.

New MS Office Small Business Release to include New Payroll Functionality

Microsoft is set to launch on November 8 its small-business solutions strategy, one element of which will be a new version of Microsoft Office designed expressly for the small-business manager/owner. The new Office release is expected to include new payroll functionality, an updated version of Microsoft's business-contact-manager technology, and new Web services, according to sources close to the company. Microsoft already sells a small-business version of Office, Office Small Business Edition 2003. That product bundles together Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and the current release of business-contact manager. From microsoft-watch

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Inside Out: Using VBA in Outlook Introduction to the VBA environment. Provides examples of simple ways to use VBA within Outlook 2003 to automate common tasks.

100 Microsoft Office Tricks:

100 MS Office Tricks: Part 1

100 MS Office Tricks: Part 2

Tip: Add (All) to a LookUp Combobox

To add (All) as the first item in the droplist of an unbound combobox, replace the RowSource property with the following SQL string:

SELECT City FROM tblRegions
UNION SELECT "(All)" FROM tblRegions;

XML and Other Resources for Microsoft Office Developers

XML on the Desktop

• Microsoft Office System and XML: XML in Action
• Technical Articles

XML Reference Schemas for Documents and Templates

• Download the Office 2003 XML reference schemas and documentation: Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas
• Learn to generate Excel 2003 workbooks with XML: Using Visual Basic and ASP with XML to Generate Excel 2003 Workbooks

Custom-defined XML Schema Support

• Learn more about the XML schema standard: Understanding XML Schema
  Word
• Follow a basic walk-through using custom XML with Word: Microsoft Office Word 2003 XML: Memo Styles Sample
• Read a technical article on the new Word XML features: New XML Features of the Microsoft Office Word 2003 Object Model
• Download the Word XML Toolbox to help with Word XML development: Developing Word XML Using the Microsoft Office Word 2003 XML Toolbox

Excel

• Follow a basic walk-through using custom XML with Excel: XML and Microsoft Office Excel 2003: Creating an Expense Report Template
• Learn how Excel makes importing data easier with XML: Importing XML Maps, XML Lists, and Dynamic Chart Sources in Excel 2003
• Read a technical article on the new Excel XML features: Using the Excel 2003 Object Model to Add XML Data Integration

Access

• Learn how to import and export data using schemas with Access 2003: Importing and Exporting XSD Data in Microsoft Office Access 2003
• Read one way to transfer XML data from Access 2003 to Excel 2003: Transfer XML Data to Microsoft Office Excel 2003 with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET

InfoPath

• Learn how XML standards are used in InfoPath 2003: How XML Standards Are Used in Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003

Smart Documents

ISmartDocument

• Download and begin using the Office 2003 Smart Document Software Development Kit (SDK): Office 2003 Smart Document Software Development Kit (SDK)
• Follow a "Hello World" managed smart document tutorial: The Definitive "Hello World" Managed Smart Document Tutorial
• Easier managed smart documents using the Vertigo Managed Smart Documents Wrapper: Smart Documents Made Easier for .NET Developers

Visual Studio Tools for Office, version 2005 (Beta 1)

• Visual Studio Tools for Office, version 2005 (Beta 1)

Information Bridge Framework

• Information Bridge Framework

Research Services

• Download and begin using the Office 2003 Research Service SDK: Office 2003 Research Service Software Development Kit (SDK)
• Download and begin using the Research Services Development Extras: Office 2003 Toolkit: Research Service Development Extras
• View a Web seminar on building research services: Research Library Service in Microsoft Office 2003
• Follow a "Hello World" tutorial to build a custom research service: The Definitive "Hello World" Custom Research Service Tutorial
• Learn how to use smart tags with research services: Using Smart Tags with Research Services for the Microsoft Office System
• Walk-through building a research service to search Google.com: Build Your Own Research Library with Office 2003 and the Google Web Service API

Smart Tags

• Download and begin using the Office 2003: Smart Tag SDK: Office 2003: Smart Tag Software Development Kit (SDK)
• Learn how to use regular expressions with smart tag lists: Regular Expression Support in Microsoft Office System Smart Tags
• Learn how to use smart tags with Access 2003: Developing Smart Tag Solutions with Microsoft Office Access 2003
• Learn how to use smart tags with research services: Using Smart Tags with Research Services for the Microsoft Office System
• Walk-through an example of using smart tags to enable data drill-down in Excel: Use Smart Tags to Enable Data Drill-Down in Excel

Web Services Support

• Learn how to access Web services in Excel using Visual Studio Tools for Office, version 2003: Accessing Web Services in Excel Using Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System
• Understand more about PIAs: Primary Interop Assemblies (PIAs)

Network Deployment and Updating Models

• Learn about smart documents, InfoPath 2003 and Visual Studio Tools for Office
  Access 2003

Office Runtime

• Learn the basics for building Access 2003 Runtime-based solutions: Basics for Building Microsoft Office Access 2003 Runtime-Based Solutions
• Understand how to obtain and deploy the Access 2003 runtime: Obtain and deploy the Access 2003 runtime

Solution Guidance

• Get the Smart Client Offline Application Block: Smart Client Offline Application Block
• Read about Occasionally Connected Smart Clients: Chapter 4— Occasionally Connected Smart Clients
• Read more about COM Add-ins and Automation Add-ins: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 291392: INFO: Excel COM Add-ins and Automation Add-ins

Smart Documents

Designing SmartDocuments in Office 2003 A comprehensive overview with samples from DevX.com.

Legacy Code Analysis

Does this sound familiar:

"Aargh! I just inherited a mess of projects from a team who left the company 3 years ago. I can't even touch that code without breaking anything. What do I do know?"

Read this article to learn techniques for understanding legacy apps: http://www.aivosto.com/vbtips/legacycode.html

More For Developers in Microsoft Office 2003

Overview of Office 2003 Developer Technologies Overview article for an understanding of the new development techniques around Office 2003 Editions and the types of solutions you can create with them. Then use the Solution Guidance and List of References to learn even more.

What's Updated for Outlook Developers in Office 2003? Office 2003 SP1 includes a number of enhancements for developers designing forms and programming with the Outlook object model in Outlook 2003.

Building a Status Report Application with Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Compare the process of creating a solution that supports schema-based programming and the actions pane in Visual C# with the Microsoft Smart Document API.

New Microft XML Parser Service Pack

The Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 Service Pack 5 (SP5), which includes a number of security and bug fixes over the previous MSXML 3.0 SP releases, has just been released.

If you are developing in XML I recommend XMLSpy from altova.com, a comprehensive tool for XML document creation and management, and which includes an XHTML editor. Their web site also offers comprehensive XML resources.

Check out also the XML Resources on the AccessExtra Access Resources CD:

Access 2002 Add-in XML Spreadsheet
Access New XML Features Sample
Add XML Functionality in Excel 2003 from VB.NET
Alternatives to XML
Introduction to XML
Clearing the confusion about XML databases
Create Editable XML Documents Using XPath and the TreeView Control
Create XML Web Reports from Access 2002
Exporting Access2002 schema using XML
Extract XML from a TreeView control
Immediately convert a Recordset into XML
Import XML Data Into Microsoft Access
The Great XML-Access Database Exchange
Keep XML Simple
Learn your way around XML
Load XML into a TreeView control
Microsoft NET XML
MS Word XML Sample
MS XML Spreadsheet Add-In for Access2002
MS XML SS AddIn for Access2002
Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas
Office Developer Center: Bind an Access Form's Record Source from an XML File at Runtime
Office Developer Center: Using Visual Basic and ASP with XML to Generate Excel 2003 Workbooks
Remedial XML
Save Recordsets as XML
Save time and prevent errors by converting data to XML format
Simple XML Retrieval Class
Taking Outlook and XML to Task
Create XML Web Reports from Access
Use XML in Access 2002 to generate Web-enabled Reports
Use XML in Access 2002 to Share All Types of Data
Using ADO to exchange data as XML
Using Complex Data Types with XML Web Services in Microsoft
Working with Microsoft Office Word 2003's XML
XML and Related Standards-based Technologies Simplify Communication
XML Path Language (XPath)
XML Spreadsheet AddIn for Access2002
XML support for Excel 2002 provides new data-sharing opportunities
XML COM - XML and Visual Basic
XML Programming Sample Chapter Using the MS XML Parser and DOM

MS Office Updates

What's New in Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2005 Separation of data and view elements, server-side and offline scenarios, and seamless integration with the Visual Studio tools set...

Office XP Update: KB837253 This update provides fixes based on the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Initiative, and the latest fixes for customer-reported issues. It is recommended for all Office XP users. This update may require a reboot.

Security Update for Excel 2002 (KB873366) and Security Update for Excel 2000 (KB873372 A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel that could allow arbitrary code to run when opening a maliciously modified spreadsheet. This update resolves this vulnerability so that Excel spreadsheets are handled appropriately.

New Access Knowledge Base Articles

Use this URL:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;xxxxx
where xxxxx is the Article No.

209229 ACC2000: Update Query on More Than One Table Gives Wrong Data
207763 ACC2000: You Cannot Sum Calculated Controls in Forms or Reports
210098 ACC2000: Same Named Module and Procedure Causes Errors
207784 ACC2000: MS Access Behavior When Importing Data to Fields with Default Values
209261 ACC2000: Showing All Records (Including Null) in a Parameter Query
207836 ACC2000: Error "Operation Is Not Supported" with OldValue Property
209482 ACC2000: Error Previewing Subreports That Call Filter Macro
207878 ACC2000: Cannot Import Spreadsheet If Field Name Begins with Space
209098 ACC2000: Using the AllowZeroLength and Required Properties
197373 ACC2000: You Cannot Follow Hyperlinks in Totals Query
209106 ACC2000: Table Field Validation Rule Causes Error
197384 ACC2000: Static Hyperlink on Disabled Subform Appears Enabled
209185 ACC2000: Options Dialog Box Items Are Not Visible
209193 ACC2000: How to Return Records in a Many-to-Many Relationship
207751 ACC2000: OLE Objects Do Not Appear in Output File
207755 ACC2000: Subform Field Linker Builder Error Creating Links
294198 ACC2002: Data is unchanged when you change dates on calendar control
294202 ACC2002: How to enumerate selected form records in Access 2002
290133 ACC2002: How to create a "Please Wait" message in Access2002
295194 ACC2002: ADO help does not work if you reference ADO 2.6 object library in Access 2002
295225 ACC2002: You receive a write conflict error when you add a record in multi-table view in Access 2002
884457 ACC2003: How to deploy an Access 2003 project that connects to an existing SQL Server 2000 database
884998 ACC2003: You may receive a security warning message when you use the SendObject macro action or the SendObject method in Access 2002 and in Access 2003

Overview of Office 2003 Developer Tools and Programs A compehensive overview article for MS Office Developers from Microsoft.

My AccessExtra MS Access Resources CD, which contains over 650mb of MS Access sample applications, source code, articles, and Access tools, includes 27mb of specific Access 2003 resources:

• A Developer's First Look at Office 2003 Web Parts
• Access 2003VBA Languag Reference
• Access Fundamentals of SQL Access 2003 Sample Database
• Access 2003: Managing State Transitions
• Signing Access 2003 Projects
• Access2003 Sample Using Automation with Outlook
• Add XML Functionality in Excel 2003 from VB.NET
• Creating Your Own Research Service for the Microsoft Office 2003 Research Library
• Five things every tech should know about Microsoft Office 2003
• Getting Started Developing Smart Tag Solutions with Microsoft Office Access 2003
• Relationships Your Key to Data Integrity in Access 2003
• Leverage Office 2003 Resource Kit's Custom Installation Wizard to speed Office 2003 deployments
• Listing Button Faces in the Command Bar in Office 2003
• Making the decision to upgrade to Office 2003
• Upgrading the Office 2003 core
• Microsoft bundles Office 2003 Developer Tools
• Office 2003 Web Services ToolPak
• Office 2003 and Visual Studio NET Business Solutions
• Office 2003 Critical Update KB828041
• Office 2003 Editions: Compare them to Previous Versions
• Office 2003 Pro FAQ
• Office 2003 Should you upgrade?
• Office 2003 Web Components Toolkit
• Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas
• Office Developer Center Using Visual Basic and ASP with XML to Generate Excel 2003 Workbooks
• Office Developer Center Working with HTML DOCTYPE Declarations in FrontPage 2003
• Office 2003 SharePoint Integration Guide
• Office 2003 Review Guide
• Uncovering what's in the Office 2003 Resource Kit
• Using Smart Tags in Office 2003
• Using the Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office 2003 System
• What's New for Office 2003 Developers (from Office Talk)
• What's New in Office 2003
• Where to Get Tools and Help to Develop With Microsoft Office 2003
• Working with Microsoft Office Word 2003's XML features