Denver Area Access Users Group

So, you’ve heard that Access front-ends with cloud-based SQL database back-ends are the future, but how does it all actually work out in a real-life enterprise application? Join DAAUG President Jim Pilcher and Vice-President George Young as we dig into the details on the real-life implementation of migrating a large all-Access database to an Access front-end using an Azure SQL Database back-end. We’ll go through the migration process, the challenges faced, and some general rules of thumb for a successful transition. We’ll have a live demo of the application, as well as a detailed look at some of the changes required in Access to optimize performance. We’ll also look at some additional benefits of having the database in SQL Azure, including a live web site and Power BI reports.

Download the presentation materials

See how to summarize data so it easier to read and understand using crosstab queries. We will start with the very basics of using the Wizard and Designer to create a simple crosstab. Then explore a half a dozen crosstab tricks and methods that you will want to know… some commonly known and 3 that are less common / more advanced. We will end with a real-life example of a review dashboard that uses a dynamic crosstab.

Paul Schnitzler if a fulltime Access & SQL Server developer serving a wide variety of business. He has over 17 year of experience with Access and SQL Server. Visit his web site at www.gearitservices.com

Have you considered developing an Access application for sale? If so then this is the DAAUG meeting for you. Come and learn the marketing, advertising and application maintenance issues that will help you operate a profitable company.

Christian Steppat, database developer and owner of the CRM (Customer Relations Management) application called SuccessControl (CRM) will talk us through the various aspects of selling your application to individuals and companies who need it. Christian sells his SuccessControl (CRM) to customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. His main marketing tool is a website where interested parties can download a trial version of his application. The website is also where his customers can watch instructional videos showing the benefits and functionality of the application, and learn about recent releases. He supplements the website with a newsletter that is sent to his customers.

To limit the use of the application to the trial period, Christian uses a sophisticated technique way that is similar to cryptography. Christian will also walk us through his process for securing the application from even the likes of the NSA. And you will also learn how to interrogate a user’s computer to determine which version of Access they have installed: 2007 to 2016, 32 or 64 bit.

Microsoft Access, SQL Server, and Excel all provide one function for rounding numbers called ROUND. This implements a rounding algorithm commonly know as the Banker’s Round (AKA Round Half Even). Excel also provides two other versions called ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN.

But there are many different ways to round numbers. If you are getting your data from another source and you need your calculations to match that source’s calculations, you may need to use a different algorithm. Indeed, you may need to contact the source to find out what algorithm they have used. Also, errors can creep in when you need to implement multiple rounds e.g. a further round of an already rounded value.

A sample database will be provided on the DAAUG website that contains a VBA code module which implements a dozen different algorithms. You can use this directly in your own projects by importing the module!

A ‘gotcha’ and work around will be discussed concerning using DoEvents inside (math) functions that are going to be called thousands of times at a pop.

Download the presentation materials

DAAUG President and Webmaster George Young will present how we created our new mobile-friendly daaug.org website from a set of Access databases. We'll walk through combining the databases into a single accdb, upsizing the database to SQL Server, auto-generating an ASP.NET MVC website from the database, and using Access forms to administer the site content.

Join us for this step-by-step journey into Access working in the brave, new cloud-first, mobile-first world!

George first encountered Microsoft Access when using the thirty-plus floppy disk versions of Office to teach Statistics and MIS in the early 1990’s. It’s been true love ever since. George has worked as a software developer for the past twenty years, including twelve at Microsoft (in just about every group other than Office). He is the founder and president of Dawson Butte Software, working primarily on .NET applications (often with Access somewhere in the mix). George still has a commercial site or two that is driven by an Access database sitting in the server file system.

Download the presentation materials

How can you bring the power of your database to users via the web browser? How can you bring the power of a web experience to MS Access desktop forms? In this session we'll look at several ways deploy solutions that are available to any user via responsive web application while still having the familiarity of MS Access desktop for your power users. We'll discuss the pros and cons of various approaches (file server front-end/back-end, Office 365, Amazon RDS) and some live case studies that include deployment, security, and maintenance. We'll also look at ways to revamp your existing MS Access applications to give users a more web-like experience on the desktop.

Brandon has been working with Access since 2.0, founding OpenGate Software in 2001 to offer MS Access tools that streamline development and make it easier for general business users to create powerful database applications without years of experience.

Due to our July meeting falling on July 4th, we have cancelled the July meeting this year. Enjoy your holiday, and see you in August!

Microsoft Access Program Manager Michal Bar and Senior Developer Jun Yong Kim join us to talk about the current state of Microsoft Access and plans for the future. They'll also demo some new and upcoming features in Access, and take your questions. Please plan to join us for this special occasion! (Note: this will be our first of four meetings at the Park Meadows Microsoft Store, while the Microsoft DTC offices are being remodeled).

Michal is a program manager in Microsoft and the product lead and champion for Access since 2014. Prior to Microsoft, Michal spent 10 years at Intel’s mobile division, mainly focused on SQL based solutions for microprocessors validation processes. She has served as a press non-commissioned officer in the IDF, and holds a B.Sc. in Information Systems engineering from the Technion institute of Technology in Israel. She feels honored to be part of the Access team, with the opportunity to make an impact on the product and millions of engaged customers all over the world.

Jun Yong is a Senior Software Engineer in Microsoft, joined Access team in 2013 and have spent most of his time to make Access Services on SharePoint Online work better with SQL Azure. He has been with Microsoft for 13 years and has worked on SharePoint Designer and Workflow before joining Access team. Jun Yong holds M.S in Computer Engineering from Seoul National University in Korea and Architecture and Performance are his topics of interests ever since then. His day to day mission, which he is proud of, is to keep Access Web App customers connected to their apps without concerning what’s happening behind the scene.

Come see what your fellow members have been up to with Access! Join us for an evening of folks sharing cool features of their Access applications. We'll have four or five 20-minute presentations, with Q&A.

DAAUG Treasurer Lee Milligan will show how one of the most recognized and relevant certifications for Microsoft Access can be obtained and the steps of preparing for the exam process, with related resources. We will also briefly cover Certiport, the main administrator of testing solutions, and its role in the overall process.

Lee entered the IT/Software Development market in 1999 with an emphasis on Microsoft Access database creation and support of existing network distributed database applications. He soon began VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), SQL Server, and .NET development as technologies evolved. Several of his Microsoft Access database applications are still deployed in production after 18 years and have stood the test of time through over five versions of Microsoft Access.

Download the presentation materials

One of the many reasons Access has been such a popular application development environment is the wealth of rich user experience options available to power users and developers. One example of this is the ability to draw charts and graphs directly in Access reports.

DAAUG Vice-President Jim Pilcher will present his development of data-bound Gantt charts. Jim developed the charts as part of an Access application for the City of Denver to track and report project progress over time. The application and charts were recently featured in a session at Microsoft's 2017 Ignite conference. Join us for an evening of camaraderie and cutting-edge Access charting!

Download the presentation materials

No Main Presentation - It's the Annual Christmas Holiday Party! The majority of the meeting is for members and visitors to meet, eat well, relax, and chat.