Myths about Visualization

Since much of people's work in Access and Excel ultimately leads to trying to visualize your data in some way to understand your business or research better, this post is really insightful:

http://flowingdata.com/2011/09/23/5-misconceptions-about-visualization/

Google Docs - The start of a database offering?

Who knows these days what Google is serious about, versus a passing fancy.  But Google Fusion Tables may just be a new competitor to Zoho and Access 2010 SharePoint Services if they keep adding features to it.

Excel Resources

Of course this is a blog mostly about Excel, but frankly, Excel and Access are like close cousins that have their own special strengths.  Here's a resource that can help with how to choose between using Excel or Word tables, and what is Excel used for.

Making Excel Easier

After years of working with Excel, you start to just "live" with some of it's shortcomings related to usability.  How often have you had to toggle between sheets to see what the value of an important cell is after making a change? How often have you wished you could go straight to a chart without wading through your sheet tabs to find where it is?

Suffer no more!  Give this Microsoft Excel tool a test drive and you'll be hooked....

Publishing Access Dashboards to the Web

Very exciting news!  Have you always felt like your Access data was trapped on the desktop?  We've just completed and released our newest addition to the Dashboard Builder family - Web Edition.  The Web Edition lets you create rich, interactive HTML charts and graphs on the Internet from your Access database!

Imagine seeing your Access data anywhere, any time, on any web-enabled device!  Without installing any special apps on the device.

You can download an evaluation from our site here:
MS Access Dashboards on the Web

Access Query Tips

New article available on Access Query design and use to summarize and analyze your Access data.

What are those gray "MSys..." tables!?!?

Over the years I've talked to users that panic because they see grayed out tables starting with "MSys" in their database. Virus?  Trojan?  Spyware?  An add-in that hasn't uninstalled?

Fear not, it's a normal part of Microsoft Access.  At the very least you can hide them.  And they can even make your work easier in some cases.  Learn more about Microsoft Access System Tables here.

How to Package and Deliver Your Access Database

Many people using Access need to deploy their databases in such a way that they can upgrade their forms/reports/queries/code/macros without disrupting users or losing data.  This article can help:  Delivering Your Access Database - Best Practices

Access Forms - 10 Ways to Improve Your Forms

New article available on 10 ways to create more dynamic user experiences with Access Forms

Moving from Excel to Access

New resource available for anyone that is new to Access and looking for a high-level process to move from Excel to Access.