If you're used to pasting Excel spreadsheet data into an Access table, you may have encountered this error recently: The data on the Clipboard is damaged, so Microsoft Office Access can't paste it.  Maybe you thought there was something wrong with your spreadsheet, data, or memory. It turns out this is caused by a Microsoft Excel 2007 security patch that was released December 9th. Click on the link to learn about the issue and a workaround.

FMS is excited to announce the launch of The HotMommas Project, a case study competition and social networking website for businesswomen and entrepreneurs. FMS developed this Microsoft ASP.NET and SQL Server based website for a GWU business school professor in Washington, DC. The HotMommas Project just announced their judging panel and the group is generating quite a buzz. Check it out, and we encourage you to tell anyone who may be interested to sign up and enter the competition.

If you're like most Microsoft Access users and developers, you've created databases with lots of objects. Over time, it's easy to lose track of which objects are still needed. A temporary query or report becomes permanent because you're not sure if it's being used by other objects. Same with macros and VBA code.  The annoying thing is that you may waste time maintaining objects and code that's not even being used. I've written a detailed article about the challenges of finding unused objects (you have to first determine where all objects are referenced before identifying unused ones) and one of the main benefits of using Total Access Analyzer.  http://www.fmsinc.com/MicrosoftAccess/UnusedObjects/FindingDeleting.html

The economy and financial markets are undergoing tremendous turmoil as this massive deleveraging unfolds. In response to discussions with our customers and the wider community, I published an article for things to consider when developing software applications during these challenging times. Minimize risk and maximize your potential by getting solutions into production quickly and let the market (users) decide what survives and dies. Application evolution and natural selection is most powerful during times like these. It's important to anticipate rather than be surprised by those forces. For more details, check out the paper (http://www.fmsinc.com/tpapers/budgets/ApplicationDev) which is referenced by Microsoft and other sites.

Wishing you the best and much success!