Sunday, January 16, 2011

AccessHosting.com Adds New Features in 2011

Chris Downs posted Go ahead, click the button! to the Microsoft Access Team blog on 1/14/2011:

Most of you are already aware that Access 2010 lets you create "web-enabled" databases that can be published to a SharePoint server that is running Access Services. Of course, many of you don't have such a server just sitting around, so that's where hosting services such as AccessHosting.com come in. They have their own blog where you can learn more about the service.

AccessHosting has announced some improvements for 2011, such as a new control panel for administration of account passwords, support for SharePoint Designer outside of Access Web Databases, and the "Access Services 2010 Virtual Appliance" which provides a turnkey cloud-based solution for customers requiring dedicated server performance and features. All their plans are offered on a free trial basis for 30 days, so if you've never clicked the Publish to Access Services button, you should give it a try. More information about web-enabled databases is also available in the Office.com article Build an Access database to share on the Web.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Received My Author Copies of “Microsoft Access 2010 In Depth”

I received two heavy boxes containing 15 author copies of Microsoft Access 2010 In Depth this afternoon and gave the printed copy the once-over.

I estimated that the print chapters would total 1,000 pages with 600 pages of advanced material to be made available for downloading from Que Publishing’s Web site.

It turns out that the text of the print chapters (1 through 25) runs 1,006 pages and the online chapters (26 through 33 plus two appendices) occupy 521 pages.

Moving less-frequently used content online saved 33% of the paper required by the preceding edition.

The book’s inside back cover provides the URL for downloading the PDF version of the entire book, which is free to print purchasers, plus the 77.7-MB *.zip file of the sample databases.

Purchasers also are entitled to 45 days of free access to the full online version from http://www.informit.com/safarifree with the provided coupon code:

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I’m pleased with the clarity of the screen captures and other illustrations. This edition marks the change from 800x600-pixel to 1,024x768-pixel resolution, which is more representative of today’s displays for PCs, laptops and netbooks.

If you have any problems downloading your PDF copy or the sample code, add a comment to this post.