Denver Area Access Users Group

One strategic advantage that Microsoft points to in its battle for the cloud, is Azure's superior integration with on-premises Windows environments, often referred to as the "hybrid cloud". For example, in a September article in Forbes, analyst Bob Evans lists three reasons why Microsoft is winning the cloud wars, the third being, "Microsoft's end-to-end creation of hybrid technologies that allow customers to move seamlessly from the cloud to on-premises technology."

So, does Access have a part to play in all this? Well, while Access has no native web or mobile offering like other core Microsoft Office applications, it actually plays magnificently well in the cloud-first, mobile-first world. In this presentation, we'll look at specific real-world examples -- and show how they're done -- of an Access front-end using a cloud backend migrated from Access, of Access running in a cloud virtual machine or desktop, and of the backend hooking up to various cloud services, like Power BI and Azure Web Apps. As a bonus, we'll demonstrate an ASP.NET MVC version of Access Web Apps!

You'll come away with a vision of Access in the brave new world, and step-by-step instructions for making these examples happen. Join us to ring in the New Year with a look at how Access can thrive in a 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-five years, half of that time 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

Last month, in Part One, we looked at getting the data out of Access and into SQL, locally and in the cloud. This month, we'll wrap up with how putting the Access front-end in the cloud gives us simplified single-machine management and cross-platform access, and how other services, like Power BI and web/mobile apps, can easily interact with the same back-end database that Access uses.

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One strategic advantage that Microsoft points to in its battle for the cloud, is Azure's superior integration with on-premises Windows environments, often referred to as the "hybrid cloud". For example, in a September article in Forbes, analyst Bob Evans lists three reasons why Microsoft is winning the cloud wars, the third being, "Microsoft's end-to-end creation of hybrid technologies that allow customers to move seamlessly from the cloud to on-premises technology."

So, does Access have a part to play in all this? Well, while Access has no native web or mobile offering like other core Microsoft Office applications, it actually plays magnificently well in the cloud-first, mobile-first world. In this presentation, we'll look at specific real-world examples -- and show how they're done -- of an Access front-end using a cloud backend migrated from Access, of Access running in a cloud virtual machine or desktop, and of the backend hooking up to various cloud services, like Power BI and Azure Web Apps. As a bonus, we'll demonstrate an ASP.NET MVC version of Access Web Apps!

You'll come away with a vision of Access in the brave new world, and step-by-step instructions for making these examples happen. Join us to ring in the New Year with a look at how Access can thrive in a 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-five years, half of that time 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

Power Query is a component of Excel and Power BI. It has a unique approach to preparing data that reduces manual manipulation and does not require learning to write code. This presentation will introduce you to Power Query and demonstrate how it can be used to transform data from many formats into a clean table structure useful in Microsoft Access. This will be a live demo packed with examples.

Ben Sacherich is a software developer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with over 18 years of experience with VBA, Access, and Excel. He is a charter member of the international Professional Access Developer’s Unit, and attendee at multiple Portland International Database Conferences.

Watch the recorded video of Power Query For Access Developers on our YouTube channel

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 20-minute presentations, with Q&A.

Watch the recorded video of Member Show and Share on our YouTube channel

Aaron will be presenting a utility he built that uses Office automation to fill from Access a Word document form that has been "locked" (i.e. password protected and the password is unknown) and thus is not able to edit fields or field names. The form uses a combination of form fields and "content controls."

Aaron Kogan got his start with IT in the late 1900's using GPS & GIS to map Haleakala National Park on Maui, where he currently lives. He started using Microsoft Access when it was still installed using 24 3.5" not-so-floppy disks. During the early part of his database software development career he worked in the conservation sector for The National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy and several other Hawaii-based agencies. Since 2003, Aaron has been the owner/operator of SLM Data LLC, developing database software for clients across many industries. Aaron was a DAAUG board member while he lived in the Denver area from 2008 until 2012.

Watch the recorded video of Automating Microsoft Word through Access on our YouTube channel

Phil will be discussing and demoing MZ Tools, an add-in to the Microsoft Access VBA IDE that includes tools that improve upon the coding environment. Join us to see how to take your VBA skills to the next level!

Phil is a database software developer and founder of AFL Enterprises, LLC, located in Denver, CO. Phil's been developing in Access for almost 20 years and designs software database applications for all industries. A member of DAAUG since the early 2000s, Phil is an occasional presenter to the group and learns something new about the Access environment at every meeting. When Phil isn't coding a superb database app, he's either spending time with his family or training for a marathon.

Watch the recorded video of Better VBA coding with tools - A review of MZ Tools 8.0 on our YouTube channel

This month we will have Denmark’s Anders Ebro showing us how to effectively and efficiently use the layout view when designing Access forms and reports. First introduced with Access 2007, developer acceptance of layout view has been tepid. In it’s latest incarnation, Anders will show us just how powerful and fast this approach to Access development can be, while providing your applications with a design consistency.

Originally an engineer with a degree in Applied Physics and hundreds of hours spent in a hi-tech clean room, Anders started working with Access in 2008 and hasn’t looked back since. Anders has made applications ranging from Requirement Management Tools, document management, and tools to calculate financial depreciations. Anders has been an Access MVP since 2014. On his blog TheSmileyCoder.com, you can find several code samples for treeviews, change tracking (similar to MS Word’s track changes), and error/crash reporting.

Watch the recorded video of Using the Layout View in Microsoft Access on our YouTube channel

Synopsis:

• Introduction
• Brief overview of Microsoft Access and its Timeline
• Current State of Access
• Plans for Microsoft Access in the future
• Demos of various Access applications, including new and improved features
• Q&A

Ebo is a Program Manager at Microsoft and has recently become the product lead for Access in July. Prior to this role, Ebo spent two years at Microsoft in a rotational program, rotating throughout four teams in different organizations, including the Netherlands subsidiary and Machine Learning teams. Ebo received his Bachelor's degree from Princeton University as an Operations Research and Financial Engineering major, which focuses on big data and complex system optimization, with a heavy emphasis on building algorithms, understanding how they work, and applying them to real-world situations. Ebo has always been very passionate and energetic about creating the best experience for our customers, especially from his time in the field, and he feels more than excited to play an active role in Access and help make the Access experience the best that it can ever be across our millions of customers.

Shane started programming on a TRS-80 in 1979, and after getting a BSc degree in Mathematics from the California Institute, came to work for Microsoft in 1989 as a software engineer. He has worked on every version of Microsoft Access since version 1.0, and feels quite some fondness for the product. He is glad to have been able to contribute to the success of all the people who have used Access over the years to solve their own complex problems.

Download the presentation materials

Watch the recorded video of The Lifecycle of Access: What’s Old, New & Improved, and In the Works on our YouTube channel

Making your Access applications consistent, powerful and easy to use.

Topics will include:

• One line of code that can demystify your debugging
• Elegantly handling inactive lookup values
• Providing special selection options like "" in filter comboboxes
• Adding instant keyboard date incrementing (day, month, year) just like accounting systems
• A better record finder for your user (instead of the confusing Access dialog)
• Custom high-performance record navigation buttons
• A performance “gift” you can leave for the next time a report is run
• And several more!

Whether you are an experienced or beginning developer, you’re sure to learn something new that you can apply to your applications immediately. Example code will be available to attendees.

Armen Stein is the founder and president of J Street Technology, a Microsoft Partner located near Seattle. J Street is a team of developers with expertise in building custom Access desktop and ASP.NET web applications. Armen is a Microsoft Certified Professional, an Access MVP since 2006, and has spoken at many user groups and conferences, including Microsoft TechEd, Office DevCon in Australia, Denver Dev Day, the PAUG Conference, and the UK Access User Group in London. Armen is co-author of Access 2007 VBA Programmer's Reference (Wrox). His other interests include travel, photography, Kauai, backgammon, movies, and driving his 1969 Ford Bronco in the sun.

Watch the recorded video of Access Tips and Tricks on our YouTube channel

Are you still using Access 2007-A2019 and frustrated with the built-in Access Linked Table Manager? Microsoft finally created a new one, but it is only available in Office 365. Dale will demonstrate his Access add-in "LTM for Access and SQL Server".

Dale Fye is US Army Retired, with 25 years of experience using MS Access in the military (6 years), the corporate world (14 years), and as an independent software consultant (7 years). He was a Microsoft Access MVP from 2013-2016, and is the owner of Developing Solutions, (Dev-Soln, LLC) since 2012.

Watch the recorded video of Linked Table Manager replacement (Access 2007-2019) on our YouTube channel

Face it. No one has ever gone through every menu item and Access option just to see what our favorite Microsoft application can do. It is rumored that four Access MVPs claim to have done that, and the Internet chatter is that at least four of them are lying. Join Jim Pilcher, DAAUG VP and database guru, for a wild ride through the Access user interface. Explore seldom-used and often-overlooked capabilities on your way to becoming a true Access power user. Admission is free, and there will be a quiz at the end of Jim's presentation; seriously.

Jim Pilcher, the current DAAUG Vice-President, is a prominent Microsoft Access developer in the Colorado Front Range, having worked with Access professionally since its introduction in 1992. Jim’s company, DataOne, Inc., maintains a broad clientele base providing database solutions for local and state-wide enterprises, as well as large international companies. A frequent presenter at the Denver Area Access Users Group, Jim has served eight terms as its President, and five terms in other DAAUG capacities. Visit his web site at www.dataoneinc.com.

Download the presentation materials

Watch the recorded video of Hiding in Plain Sight - The Access You Never Knew on our YouTube channel

No General Meeting in December. We will have a members dinner at Maggiano's at 6:00 PM. Details and RSVP instructions coming soon via email. See you there!