Power Tip: Update front-end database files that have been “pinned” to the taskbar

Today’s guest blogger is Tony Toews, a Microsoft Access MVP since 1999. Tony is owner of Tony's Main Microsoft Access pages, Tony's Microsoft Access Blog, and developer of Auto FE Updater and Granite Fleet Manager.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have some very interesting UI features including the ability to pin files, such as Word .docx, Excel .xlsx, Access .accdb or even Notepad .txt files to the taskbar.   Fellow Access MVP Glenn Lloyd wrote an excellent article describing this feature at Windows 7 – Pinning Applications to the Task Bar. Taskbar pinning works well for user-created files including Access database files, but it will cause problems for Access database front end (FE) database files created and distributed by developers.

Front end (FE) database files are frequently distributed as .MDE, .ADE, or .ACCDE files in order to keep users from making too many changes to the forms, reports, macros, and VBA code. Developers can use a wide variety of means to distribute the FE database files from the server to the users workstation.  Taskbar pinning means users can then start the Access FE file directly, but unfortunately this can bypass any Access FE file version updating logic you may have.

Bob Larson's free Front-End End Auto-Update Enabling Tool helps solve this problem. His code is imported into your Access FE and is executed on the Access FE database file startup.

My free Auto FE Updater tool now handles this problem with some VBA code that you import into your Access FE database file and run in your startup routine.

Whichever solution you use to distribute your front end Access databases, you’ll likely want to find some way handle this situation as Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 is rolled out into your workplace.

-Tony Toews

Send your Power Tips to Mike and Chris at accpower@microsoft.com.