ID vs Code

There are cases where a table’s primary key is referred to often in the code. In fact, it might have some special meanings in code. It is highly encouraged to avoid the use of IDENTITY or AutoNumber (or any auto-incrementing schema) for those keys because it is also usually desirable to create a VBA Enum…

Use controls, not fields

Sometimes we need to use fields from a RecordSource that aren’t shown on the form. It is legal to reference them directly even if they don’t have a control. For example, we can have a form bound to a RecordSource like so: SELECT c.CompanyID, c.CompanyName FROM Companies; And only display CompanyName in a textbox but…

Use properties instead of constant or magic numbers

A common programming mistake is to hard-code literals that corresponds to some property. That is particularly true with certain controls like tab controls & pages. The tab control exposes a Value property that indicates the current tab and the pages contains a PageIndex property that indicates its position in the tabs of the control. Thus,…

Access Developer Extensions

Access 2007: Access Developer Extensions

The Microsoft Office Access 2007 Developer Extensions make it easy to deploy and manage solutions built using Microsoft Access. The Access 2007 Developer Extensions provide packaging and deployment tools and licensing and distribution agreements to make it easier for developers to bring solutions to market. Whether you are working in a small business or a…

Using Custom Functions in Calculated Controls

Custom functions work the same way as MS Access built-in functions such as DateAdd, DatePart and DSum, but are instead created ourselves as database developers.  We do this by creating a public function with the VBA programming language and save it inside a global module within the database. Today I am going to explain how custom functions can be…

“Too Few Parameters” error fix

Symptoms Whenever you run a SQL statement you get a “Too Few Parameters, expected X.” Cause Most common cause is misspelling or missing fields in the SQL statement. Resolution Check the SQL statement. If necessary, copy and paste to an Access query and test in the query to get it to highlight which part of…

Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Access

Access crashes and slow performance Error: “Automatic configuration of the current version of Microsoft Access has failed.” occurs when you try to start Microsoft Access after updating to Version 1802 [FIXED] ISSUE You may get the following error when start Access after updating to Monthly Channel Version 1802 (Build 9029.2167 or higher): “Automatic configuration of…

#LateBind Constant

In standard code, we make use of #LateBind conditional compilation constant, which is typically defined via project’s Conditional Compilation Argument in the dialog: NOTE: The dialog can be found via Tools → <project name> Properties, which is located below the Options menu item. The menu item caption will be different as it includes the project…

MODULE LEVEL VARIABLES

Module level variables

It is common to create a big wall of declaration in a module such as this: Private strCompanyName As String Private dteOrderDate As Date Private lngOrderID As Long Private objEmail As Object Private objOutlook As Object While the code will compile and work fine, the discoverability and naming of the module level variables does become…

Access IIf() function to SQL Server equivalent

What is the SQL Server equivalent to Access IIf() function? Access SQL IIf([ResultValue]>=1, [Result Value], Null) SQL Server CASE WHEN [Result Value]>=1 THEN [Result Value] ELSE NULL END