The Microsoft Access 2010 version of Total Access Analyzer is close to shipping and we are pleased to offer a FREE preview for you to try it.

Total Access Analyzer is the most popular Microsoft Access add-in and the winner of every Best Microsoft Access Add-in award ever. With Total Access Analyzer, you can truly understand what's going on in your database. Generate comprehensive documentation of all your database objects, get detailed table and field lists, module code printouts, form and report blueprints, and much more. Get detailed cross-references for how objects are linked to each other so you know exactly where each table, query, form, report, macro and module procedure is used. The Application Flow, Data Flow, and Object Flow Diagrams show how code and objects flow across your entire application. Over 300 professional quality and customizable reports are available.

Almost 300 types of issues are uncovered to pinpoint errors, suggest design improvement, and recommend performance tips. Find unused objects, missing field references, unused code and many other things that should be fixed before your deploy your applications. Many of the tips are recommended Best Practices for Access development, so you'll learn how the pros improve their design and development techniques.

We've added many new features to support Access 2010, generate more useful documentation, identify more errors, and suggest more design improvements and best practices. We've also improved the user experience with the ability to open a cross-referenced item in design mode while viewing the information, previewing multiple reports at once, and adding color to all reports. Here is a description of new features.

Take this opportunity to learn what Total Access Analyzer can do for you. See how it documents your databases and identifies errors and opportunities for improving them at the object and code levels. Discover why so many Access users and professionals rely on the program to deliver and create more robust solutions.

The preview version is available for immediate download and is fully functional. It expires March 15, 2012.

We are very pleased to announce that Total Access Detective for Microsoft Access 2010 is now shipping with support for the 32 and 64 bit versions of Access 2010.

Ever wonder what changed between your database versions or the difference between two similar objects or tables? Total Access Detective is the premier program to detect differences between Microsoft Access databases, objects, code, and data.

Available as a Microsoft Access add-in, Total Access Detective lets you easily find differences between objects in your currently opened database. Easily find changes in your table and field definitions, object properties, controls, report sections, embedded macros, regular macros, modules, and data. The results are available to you in reports and on screen which can be copied or exported.

You can also compare any two databases to easily find exactly how they changed. Your databases can be an ACCDB, MDB or ADP database format. The new version lets you create separate databases for each comparison so you can easily manage multiple databases and changes over time.

We've added many new features to make Total Access Detective more powerful than ever:

• Supports Microsoft Access 2010, 32 and 64-bit versions
• Compares All Database Types Supported by Access 2010
• Compares the new Microsoft Access 2010 enhancements including new object properties, macro syntax, and VBA commands
• Performs Line-by-Line Comparisons of Embedded Macros
• Procedures that Did Not Change are Listed
• New Data Comparison Option to Ignore Case Differences
• When Comparing Modules, Optionally Ignore Blank Lines and Comments (also applies to text block comparisons)
• Exclude Properties from Comparison
• Create and Manage Multiple Database Comparison Results. You are no longer limited to one set of comparison results!
• Command Line Launching of Total Access Detective Can Now Specify Storage Database Name
• Improved User Interface with Office/Access 2010 Theme Support
• New Reports and Improved Selection Screen
• New User Manual and Context Sensitive Help

Manually comparing databases for design and data differences is prone to error. Discover why so many Microsoft Access professionals rely on Total Access Detective to improve their productivity by quickly identifying the changes in their work.

Total Access Components 2010 Ships with 32 and 64 bit ActiveX Controls

Create dazzling forms with Total Access Components, the only collection of custom controls designed specifically for Microsoft Access.

With little or no code, add advanced menus, rotated text, bitmap animation, resizer and splitter bars, progress meters, gauges, dials, sliders, spin buttons, pop-up notes, Windows dialogs, clocks, fancy buttons, borders, rotated tabs, cursors, etc. A sample database includes examples of every control and how to customize them.

The 2010 version is rebuilt using C++ version 10 and supports both 32 and 64 bit platforms without having to make any changes to your forms or code.

Total Access Components 2010 supports Access 2000 through 2010. It includes a royalty-free distribution license and a deployment program to easily distribute it to your users. Here are the new features. You can also download a free trial version.

As a resource for the Microsoft Access community, we've updated our comprehensive list of Microsoft Access Error Codes and Descriptions for Microsoft Access 2010.

There are PDF reports of the error codes and descriptions, and a database containing a with each error code and its different descriptions access MSAccess versions 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000.

Here's the detailed HTML page that lists every Microsoft Access 2010 error code with its description and for some of them, hyperlinks to resources that address the error and/or provide more information on the topic. Since this page is so large, please be patient while it loads.

This resources is part of our Microsoft Access Developer Help Center where you'll find lots of other information to improve your skills. Hope this helps!

We are very pleased to offer a Free Preview of Total Access Detective for Microsoft Access 2010.

Ever wonder what changed between your database versions or the difference between two similar objects or tables? Total Access Detective is the premier program to detect differences between Microsoft Access databases, objects, code, and data.

Available as a Microsoft Access add-in, Total Access Detective lets you easily find differences between objects in your currently opened database. Easily find changes in your table and field definitions, object properties, controls, report sections, embedded macros, regular macros, modules, and data. The results are available to you in reports and on screen which can be copied or exported.

You can also compare any two databases to easily find exactly how they changed. Your databases can be an ACCDB, MDB or ADP database format. The new version lets you create separate databases for each comparison so you can easily manage multiple databases and changes over time.

We've added many new features to make Total Access Detective more powerful than ever.

Manually comparing databases for design and data differences is prone to error. Discover why so many Microsoft Access professionals rely on Total Access Detective to improve their productivity by quickly identifying the changes in their work.

Tell us how it works for you!

We've enhanced our Microsoft Access Query Help Center with a new paper describing Microsoft Access Append (Insert) Queries, and how to use them to add multiple records or a single record to a table.

We also discuss why rather than using a Make Table query, it's preferable to use an existing table, empty it, then fill it with an Append query.

Total Access Startup lets you centrally manage and guarantee that all your users always launch the right version of Microsoft Access with the right version of your MS Access database (ACCDB, MDB, or ADP). Simply distribute a shortcut to your users to start your application. When you post an updated database, your users automatically get it installed on their machine the next time they launch your program. They don't need to know the name of the database. You manage all of that in one place and can change it at any time. A runtime version lets you control the Access version launched for users not on your network.

Total Access Startup 2010 is now shipping. It supports both 32 and 64 bit versions of Microsoft Access 2010 letting you control which version your application requires. It also supports all legacy versions of Microsoft Access. Learn more about the new features and try out the free trial version.

Microsoft Office 2010 has a new feature that makes it easier than ever to insert screenshots into your documents. The Screenshot feature is available in MS Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word 2010. On the Insert tab of the Ribbon, just click “Screenshot” and choose any of the windows that you have open:

For more details, read our Microsoft Office tip: Quickly Insert Screenshots in Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and Word 2010

FMS is pleased to announce the release of Total Visual CodeTools 2010, the most popular commercial Visual Basic for Application (VBA) and Visual Basic 6 (VB6) coding product for the Microsoft Office/Access community.

Total Visual CodeTools is an add-in that is integrated with the module editor of all VBA platforms such as Microsoft Office, Access, Excel, Outlook, Word, etc. It offers a wide range of utilities to help developers become more productive when creating new code, taking over existing projects, and delivering more robust solutions.

"Total Visual CodeTools is by far my favorite third-party product," says Alison Balter, author of Mastering Access Desktop Development, instructor and developer. "Total Visual CodeTools helps you get your job done more quickly and allows you to focus on the fun and exciting aspects of application development. My favorite feature is the Code Cleanup. If you've ever inherited a code-intensive database, you'll appreciate this feature."

Total Visual CodeTools 2010 includes many enhancements over its predecessor for Office 2007. In addition to supporting VBA in Office 2010, there are new options and better performance for Code Cleanup and Delivery, enhancements to many Code Builders including the Message Box Builder, Recordset Builder, Select Case Builder, and SQL Text Builder. New features simplify the replacement of existing error handling code, and the user interface is enhanced to support Windows 7. There’s also improved support for international languages and operating systems.

"We are very pleased to ship Total Visual CodeTools 2010," said Luke Chung, President of FMS. "This version represents our seventh major release of this product and our continued support of the VBA and VB6 developer communities."

Edwin Blancovitch of Advanced Developers in Puerto Rico adds, "I really recommend it. This tool definitely increased my productivity, allows for code optimization and quality, and best of all reduced my costs."

"I really love Total Visual CodeTools," said Peter Weinwurm of Axium Canada. "I am completely blown away by how much the products in the Total Access Developer Suite can do, and how much time they will save me."

Product Information

Total Visual CodeTools supports all Visual Basic 6.0 and VBA development environments including all versions of Microsoft Office from Office 2000 through 2010. Additional information is available on these web pages:

• Main product page
• New features
• Free trial

Licensing and Pricing

Total Visual CodeTools is available via ESD and also comes with a professionally printed 164 page user manual and CD.

Total Visual CodeTools is licensed on a per developer basis. A single license is $299. Existing customers can upgrade for $199. It is also included as a standalone product and is part of the Total Access Developer Suite, Total Access Ultimate Suite, and Total Visual Developer Suite.

Total Visual CodeTools can be purchased directly from FMS, corporate resellers, and international distributors. All FMS products include a 30-day money back guarantee.

Press Release

We are very pleased to announce the creation of our new (and free) Microsoft Access Developer Help Center. It contains our many popular papers with tips and techniques for becoming a better Microsoft Access developer, programmer, and administrator. It covers the whole life cycle from strategic planning of how MS Access fits, database and table design, form and report tips, programming do's and don'ts, deployment, best practices, performance tips, etc.

This follows our recent Microsoft Access Query Help Center that's been well received, and our Microsoft Access to SQL Server Upsizing Help Center. 

We welcome any feedback on what we've put there and suggestions for additional content that would be helpful.

In Access 2010 and 2007 databases (ACCDBs), the Attachment field type lets you attach files (documents, files, etc.) to records in your database. When you open the table in Datasheet view, the attachment fields display a paperclip as the column header.

Read our paper to learn how you you can Replace the Paperclip Icon of Attachment Fields with a Column Name in Microsoft Access Tables in ACCDB Databases .

Microsoft released service pack 1 (SP1) of Office 2010 late June 2011. Information on the update and download instructions are in their Knowledgebase article 2460049. The KB article was last updated yesterday.

Unfortunately, we and some of our customers have encountered problems after installing the update. While we haven't had exhaustive testing with SP1 and tentatively believe everything is okay with the 32 bit version, there are definitely compatibility problems with the 64 bit version of Access 2010. In particular, ACCDE files created in the original release of Access 2010 64 bit no longer run under SP1. This error message appears:

The database cannot be opened because the VBA project contained in it cannot be read. The database can be opened only if the VBA project is first deleted. Deleting the VBA project removes all code from modules, forms and reports. You should back up your database before attempting to open the database and delete the VBA project.

Obviously, with an ACCDE file, unlike an ACCDB file, you can't modify the VBA project. It requires rebuilding the ACCDE from SP1.

So far, we have not experienced problems with our 32-bit ACCDE files between the original and SP1 Access 2010 versions. Some of these issues have been noted in these articles:

• Microsoft Access Development Team Blog: Using 64-bit Access 2010? You may want to wait on SP1
• TechNet report: Access 2010 - Wizards not working after installing SP1

This is a Microsoft KB article discussing the problem which impacts ACCDE, MDE, and ADE files created with Access 2010, 64-bit. For us, when we create MDE and ADE files for use across multiple versions of Access, we've used Access 2003 so that still works fine. The only time we use Access 2010 64-bit version is when we're creating an ACCDE specifically for Access 2010 64-bit users.

This issue impacts two of our products' Access 2010 64 bit versions:

• Total Access Emailer 2010
• Total Access Statistics 2010

We have created new builds of these products and are undergoing internal testing and QA to verify they work with SP1. When ready, we'll release free updates of these products to existing customers. If you need it earlier, please contact our support team. Note that this does not impact the Access 2010 32 bit version.

Regardless of whether you are using our products or not, please be aware of the compatibility issues if you're using the 64-bit version of Access and deploying ACCDE files. You will need to make sure your Access version is in sync with your users' version. Unfortunately, this bug occurs before any of your code can run to provide instructions to your users or offer a graceful exit.

Not sure what version you have installed? Run Access, select the File menu, and click on Help. The version informing is shown on the right side and will show (SP1).

Many people deploy Microsoft Access database applications and neglect to provide the system administration necessary to properly support and maintain them over time. This becomes critical as the data it contains grows and becomes mission critical. Often, when something goes wrong, IT "professionals" are brought in to discover basic system administration are not in place. Rather than blaming the people involved, the Microsoft Access technology is considered at fault. We can do better.

Here's a repsonse I recently provided related to this issue:

First, I hope you have a disaster recovery plan in place. You may want to read my paper for what we consider best practices:Creating a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan for Microsoft Access Database Applications.

Second, Access/Jet databases need to be periodically compacted to minimize corruption and bloat, and for optimal performance. The back-end database with the data is what needs to be compacted. You can do that manually. We created a commercial program Total Visual Agent: that does it on a schedule with auditing and email notification if something goes wrong.

Third, if you are experiencing corruption after regular database maintenance, it's often caused by a suspect connection/user who disconnects in an improper manner. That can be very difficult to detect and replicate. We have a commercial product, Total Access Admin, that monitors the people going in and out of an Access database, logs that activity, and flags the people that exit improperly. If it's happening with the same person, there may be a hardware or network problem causing the corruption.

Finally, it may be possible that the corruption and performance problems are due to the front-end application. Bad code and techniques, corrupt objects, and other issues may be causing crashes and problems that lead to corruption. We address this in a few ways:

1. We adopt, implement, and detect/fix deviations recommended by Total Access Analyzer: Microsoft Access Best Practices Techniques

2. We implement global error handling that records crashes by users to text files so we have evidence of what failed. In addition to the procedure call stack, current procedure, error number and description, we also want the line number: http://www.fmsinc.com/free/NewTips/VBA/ErrorHandling/LineNumber.html This makes it significantly easier and quicker to reproduce and fix bugs.

Overall, it's about having a solid and repeatable process and checklist in place that evolves over time as new experiences are encountered.

Luke

Download the free preview of Total Visual CodeTools 2010 for Microsoft Office/Access 2010. The Preview Version is fully functional through the end of July. Take advantage of this opportunity to see how Total Visual CodeTools can cleanup the code in your existing projects, let you deliver more robust solutions, and simplify your daily coding chores.

Integrated directly into the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Total Visual CodeTools gives you a rich set of tools to help you create, cleanup, and deliver better solutions. The latest version is enhanced for MS Office/Access 2010 and has many new features:

• Supports Microsoft Access/Office 2010, 32-bit version
• VBA Code Parsing Supports Access/Office 2010
• Code Cleanup and Code Delivery Allow Immediate Overwrite
• Code Cleanup Error Enabler and Handler Tags are Customizable
• Copy Control Builder Supports Multiple Target Controls
• Long Text/SQL Builder Supports Query Retrieval and Converts Tabs and Spaces
• Select Case Builder Supports Text Blocks and Numeric Ranges
• Recordset Builder Defaults to Current Database and Simplifies Selections
• Three Locations for Total Visual CodeTools on Your Menus
• Tools Available During Debugging
• Default 'Send To' is Remembered
• Screens are Resizable
• Redesigned Storage of Standards for Improved International Support

Visit these pages for:

• Complete list of 2010 enhancements
• Download the Preview Version

Total Visual CodeTools supports all VB/VBA hosts, including Visual Basic 6.0 (VB6) and Office 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002/XP, and 2000.

The purpose of the SQL UNION query is to combine the results of two or more queries into a single result set. The list contains all the rows belonging to all the queries in the union. This applies to queries in SQL Server or Microsoft Access. A common question is whether to use the UNION or UNION ALL syntax.

The main difference between UNION ALL and UNION is that, UNION only selects distinct values and sorts the results, while UNION ALL selects all values (including duplicates) without sorting. Read our revised paper on UNION versus UNION ALL SQL Syntax to learn more about the differences, see some examples, and understand why you would use one versus the other.

For more tips and using queries, visit our Microsoft Access Query Help Center.