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  Welcome To Access Unlimited - Edition 20
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Access Unlimited is an email newsletter that provides free tips,  help and information for skilled Microsoft Access users and related software disciplines.

Produced by Garry Robinson from Sydney, Australia.

In this edition, 

WINDOWS KEY - IT'S A HOT KEY WHEN USED WITH OTHER KEYS
VB123 IN THE USA
FINDING A FIELD IN ACCESS DATASHEET VIEW
SEARCH YOUR ACCESS HELP FOR THE FOLLOWING PHRASE
HAS A TABLE BEEN CREATED TODAY ???
SAVING THE CURRENT ACCESS RECORD
AND YET THERE IS MORE ...
And the popular GOOD READING AND USEFUL SITES

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WINDOWS KEY - IT'S A HOT KEY WHEN USED WITH OTHER KEYS

That windows key at the bottom left and bottom right of most newer keyboard has some really useful functionality when combined with other keys.  The windows key is the one with the picture of a Window on it.    To make these work, hold the Windows key and the other key down at the same time.

WinKey+E  - Starts Windows Explorer   
WinKey+D  - Minimises all the open applications and shows the desktop
WinKey+D  - The second time around, it returns the application back to normal
WinKey+F1  - Windows Help
WinKey+R  - Start the run window.
Winkey+M  - Minimises all windows as well
WinKey+F  - Open the find files Window
WinKey+Break - Shows the system properties.  (Really useful if you are running short of memory)

So in summary, I stumbled across these key sequences by accidentally reading the help manual for my new laptop.  And who says that I cannot read anymore.  Now I use WindowsKey+E and WindowsKey+D all the time.   To find out more,  hit  WinKey+F1 and search for the following phrase   "using windows key find"

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FINDING A FIELD IN ACCESS DATASHEET VIEW

Sometimes when you have 30+ fields in a datasheet view, it is hard to find the field that you are looking for.   As an alternative, click on the format menu and choose Unhide Columns.   This will give you the list of fields in a easy to read format.

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SEARCH YOUR ACCESS HELP FOR THE FOLLOWING PHRASE

"ColumnHeadings Property"

This will explain how you can set up your columns in a Crosstab query when the sort order of your column headers do not come out in the order that you would like.   Be warned that you must know the names of ALL the fields or that data will not turn up at all in the crosstab query.   This could also have its uses for fields that you do not want to show at any time.

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HAS A TABLE BEEN CREATED TODAY ???

If your Access system uses make tables queries and you want to test if the procedure has already been run today, then try the following function.   I had to write this for a system that I was called into rescue to help prevent a certain table being rewritten inadvertently.

Function TableCreateToday(tabName As String) As Boolean

' Returns true if a table was created today

Dim dbs As DAO.Database, ctr As Container, doc As Document
Dim TableDate As String
Dim prp As Property

Set dbs = CurrentDb
' Set Container object variable.
Set ctr = dbs.Containers("Tables")
' Set Document object variable.
Set doc = ctr.Documents(tabName)
doc.Properties.Refresh
' Loop through Object properties to find date created
For Each prp In doc.Properties

  If prp.NAME = "datecreated" Then
    TableDate = prp.value
    Exit For
 
  End If
 
Next

TableCreateToday = Format(TableDate, "yyyymmdd") = Format(Date, "yyyymmdd")
  
End Function

So in your own application,   you might write the following under a command button

if TableCreateToday Then
  msgbox "This table has already been created today."
Else
  Docmd.runsql "Insert into ...... etc
End if

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SAVING THE CURRENT ACCESS RECORD

Did you know that a lot of users will actually click on the floppy disk icon on the Form view toolbar thinking this will save the current information.   Well it won't.   It saves the form instead (if changes have been made).

I suggest adding a save button on the form so that users can save the record themselves.   For this you can use the Save Record visual basic builder found in the command button wizard.  Unfortunately this generates visual basic code as follows

DoCmd.DoMenuItem acFormBar, acRecordsMenu, acSaveRecord, , acMenuVer70

The Access help on "DoMenuItem" recommends that you use the RunCommand method instead.  So in most of the Access forms that I write, I will add the following subroutine to save the current record.   This allows me to save the current information on the screen before running other  Access visual basic code that might use that information.  

Public Sub saveRecord()
On Error Resume Next

  RunCommand acCmdSaveRecord
 
End Sub


You may have noted that I have declared the function as a public subroutine.  This allows you to save the current record from elsewhere in your Access application by running the subroutine as a form method.   The following code would save the current record on a form called  "Time Cards" from another form

[Form_Time Cards].saveRecord

Happy Saving

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A VITTLE BIT OF FUN
Check out the flag on the following very popular web site that is used as a guide to select "the English language" for web sites. 
http://translator.go.com/

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AND YET THERE IS MORE ...

One of the readers sent this follow up to the CE environment.

Regarding developing on Windows CE, things have changed a little with Windows CE 3.0 (aka PocketPC).

Rather than releasing toolkits for VB, VC++, Microsoft have released a
package called Microsoft eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0, which includes eMbedded
Visual Basic and eMbedded C++, as well as SDKs for PocketPC, Palm-size PC
and Handheld PC.

Have a look at
http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/developer/BeginnerDev/tools.asp for more
details.

Martin Pot
Applications Specialist
Honeywell Industrial IT Services (IAC WA)

CORRUPTED ACCESS 97 DATABASE - AN UNLIKELY REPAIR IDEA

One of the Access Unlimited readers mentioned the following notes on his company's web site on the same topic.

http://www.microbusnet.com/Common/Tricks.asp


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GOOD READING AND USEFUL SITES

Credit Cards online is getting riskier and MasterCard and Visa are going to charge e-retailers heavily for chargebacks.  
http://www.b2bnow.com/123696505/centers/ebusiness/editorial/4-21-Misc-ht3.html

Looking for a start up page on user interface design.  Either search MSDN for

"Composition: The Look and Feel of an Application"

or head to
This Micrrosoft Page

Designing a Gui interface.  Some preliminary thoughts follow including Vbcolor Constants
http://www.vb-world.net/controls/gui/

Building XML files from web forms
http://www.asp101.com/articles/michael/htmlxml/default.asp

Self joining tables in Access using queries.  Good to know.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/periodic/period00/ima1100.htm

Things to know if you are upgrading Outlook to the latest security patch.  It may effect other programs that you have written.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/periodic/period00/ima00a1.htm


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WRAPPING THIS EDITION UP

When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

Many people quit looking for work when they find a job.

24 hours in a day ... 24 beers in a case.....coincidence?

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

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So thanks for reading our popular newsletter.
Feel free to make comments, copy the email to a friend
or maybe even contribute to the next edition.


Garry Robinson - Software Consultant


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Published  2001-01