Office 2007 Ribbon XML File Reviewer Freeware

Click on the image to zoom in...

My new Access freeware tool provides advanced Office 2007 Ribbon XML file review features. Open your Ribbon XML file in the Reviewer to review the Ribbon's full menu hierarchy in a tree-view with all control attributes detailed in an adjacent panel. Extensive reference resources are also incorporated into the GUI.

Download (Requires Access 2007)

You can also try the free BETA 2 of Access 2007 RibbonX Reviewer and Builder Add-In

The Future of VBA?

A reading through this post, VBA in Office 14, on the Access Team Blog, seems to confirm that Office 14 will mark the beginning of the end for VBA.

This should be no surprise. Bill Gates in the months preceding the release of Office 2003, flagged that VBA would be demoted if not dumped in the version of Office after Office 12.

I have added my 2 cents to the debate in a comment to the post.

New Access Downloads Portal

Check out the new MS Silverlight Downloads Center. This is a link to the Access portal on the site.

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.

Support WebCast:
Introduction to the Access 2007 Outlook Add-in for Data Collection and Publishing

Friday, February 15, 2008 10:00 AM Pacific Time

This Support WebCast from Microsoft will help you understand the features and capabilities provided by the Microsoft Access Outlook Add-in for Data Collection and Publishing. Register

Collect Data for an Access 2007 Database Using Outlook Emails

TechRepublic.com Office blogger, Mary Ann Richardson, has posted a very useful article on how to use the new Access 2007 Collect Data Through Outlook E-mail feature to automatically log data submitted by email direclty into an Access 2007 table.

SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer (January 2008)

This download is the January 2008 release of SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer (BPA), which gathers data from Microsoft Windows and SQL Server configuration settings.

BPA uses a predefined list of SQL Server 2005 recommendations and best practices to determine if there are potential issues in your SQL Server database environment.

Access Team Blog: For the Latest on Access 2007

The Access Team Blog from Microsoft has over recent weeks been receiving
some serious attention from the Access team at Redmond. I highly recommend that all
Access 20007 developers subscribe to the feed for tips and sample code from the guys who build Access.

A sample of recent posts:

• VBA in Office 14
  17 January 08 12:27 PM


• Four new video demos about reports
  16 January 08 10:40 PM


• Rich formatted text that includes data from fields
  16 January 08 12:45 PM


• Easy Drill Through with Macros
  14 January 08 11:18 PM


• Interactive chart/form filtering code sample
  13 January 08 10:38 PM


• Tips and tricks designing forms and reports
  11 January 08 01:02 AM


• My favorite keyboard commands
  10 January 08 10:28 AM


• New Vehicle Maintenance and Expense Reports database available
  09 January 08 09:15 PM


• Using Hyperlinks in Access: Display As Hyperlink and Is Hyperlink
  09 January 08 08:47 PM


• New Ribbon Reference: RibbonX for Dummies
  06 January 08 02:12 AM

Access 2003 Post-Service Pack Hotfix

The Access 2003 Post-Service Pack 3 Hotfix Package (18-Dec-07) fixes issues that may arise in Access 2003 after installing SP3.

Access 2007 SP1 Problem: "This database is in an unrecognized format"

A user of Access 2007 without SP1 will get an error when trying to open an ACCDE or MDE made using Access 2007 SP1:

This database is in an unrecognized format. The database may have been created with a later version of Microsoft Office Access than the one you are using. Upgrade your version of Microsoft Office Access to the current one, and then open this database.

The only fix is to install SP1.

Details: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/946205

SQL Server 2000/2005 Management Pack
12/21/2007 - updated version 6.0.6247.5

The SQL Server Management Pack monitors the availability and performance of SQL Server 2000 and 2005 and can issue alerts for configuration problems. Availability and performance monitoring is done using synthetic transactions. In addition, the Management Pack collects Event Log alerts and provides associated knowledge articles with additional user details, possible causes, and suggested resolutions. The Management Pack discovers Database Engines, Database Instances, and Databases and can optionally discover Database File and Database File Group objects.
Feature Summary:

• Active Directory Helper Service
• SQL Server Agent
• Backup
• Databases and Tables
• DBCC
• Full Text Search
• Log Shipping
• Clustering
• DB availability
• Replication monitoring
• Agent jobs
• Backup Query Engine
• Replication
• Web Assistant
• SQL XML

Access SideBar: New FREE Access Add-In
for Access 2000/2002/2003
Uses only native Access controls: no DLLs or OCXs to install.

I have just uploaded my latest free Access Add-In.

The Access SideBar is the easy way to navigate objects in your Access MDB.

After opening an object the SideBar is hidden, and pops-up again by moving your mouse to the left edge of the screen.

The SideBar window size is independent of the size of the Access application window, so you can locate all objects without resizing the application window. A custom right-click pop-up menu gives easy access to useful Access Menu commands that are otherwise in disparate locations.

Office 2003 Developer Content on MSDN

Microsoft MSDN staffer, Erika Ehrli in her Adventures in Office Development and .NET blog has published a very useful image map of all the Office 2003 Developer content on the MDSN portal in this post: Where in the World is all the Office 2003 Developer Content?.

This is a screenshot of the image map:

Tips On Using Office 2007 Help

Video: Quick Tips on using VBA Help with Office There are some quick and easy things you can do to make sure you are getting the optimal VBA Developer Help experience when working with the 2007 Office System. Watch this three minute video to learn more. From the Office Client Developer Content and Resources portal.

Guide to Migrating from Microsoft Access to SQL Server 2005

This white paper from Microsoft covers migrating Access databases to SQL Server 2005, and discusses the differences between the two platforms.

SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access (SSMA Access) is recommended as the best tool for this type of migration, and the paper tells you how to use it to mitigate potential problems in database conversion. For additional information, also see the white paper Microsoft Access or SQL Server 2005: What's Right in Your Organization?

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.

Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Now Available

You can now download the just released Office 2007 SP1. Get more information from Description of the 2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 1.

I recommend you go to the Microsoft Update site to get all updates required for Windows, IE, and all Office versions, as MS has today also released a swathe of updates for Windows, IE, and other Office versions.

Also Secunia Site Inspector will provide direct links to security updates it identifies as being needed.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview

Microsoft has released a white paper summarizing what is new in Windows XP SP3.

Access Junkie: THE Access 2007 Portal

Jeff Conrad, MVP Alumni and Software Development Engineer at Microsoft, has recently updated his uber cool Access 2007 portal, Access Junkie, with a swathe of new resources:

• Access 2007 FAQ Page
• Access 2007 Help Articles Page

For anything Access 2007, this site must be your first stop.

Office 2007 Office SP1 to be released Tuesday December 11th

Next Tuesday, December 11th 2007, the Office System team at Microsoft expects to announce the availability for download of the 2007 Microsoft® Office System Service Pack 1 (SP1). This is sooner than previously announced.

SP1 is said to deliver significant stability and performance improvements to Office applications.

The use of Automatic Update (AU) Deployment has been an issue for MS customers in recent months, and SP1 will not be released to AU immediately.

For more information go to the Office Download Site.