Hi FullName,

This is a reminder about resources and opportunities at ProgrammingMSAccess.com.  Despite our name, we have for a long time served the interests of both SQL Server and VB.NET communities as well as traditional Access and VBA developers.  If you take a moment to look over the content of this message, I am confident that you will find material that supports this assertion.  In fact, my earnest hope is that you find some material that will help you right away or lead you to some help that you seek.  Some of the opportunities in this message are time sensitive.  Therefore, please scan the message to make sure you are aware of any opportunities that you would not want to miss.

We have comments in four areas.  First, you will learn about some new content at the site.  This includes a new slide deck for a presentation as well as a related code sample.  Both the presentation and the code sample are free.  Next, we tell you about an updated listing of the DDG (Database Developers Group)  library.   If you like the free content at the site, you are bound to like the content in the DDG library.  There is a modest fee for joining, and you gain many excellent benefits, including access to the library.  Third, we tell you about the availability of four prizes for new and renewing DDG members during April and May.  If you create solutions with Access or SQL Server, it is highly likely that one of these prizes could help you a lot.  Finally, we announce the posting of a new set of spam filters for SPAM Blocker -- this site's solution to blocking spam.  It is our belief that no one has a better solution for blocking spam.

 

New Content at our Site

ProgrammingMSAccess.com has long been valued by site visitors for its code samples.  Another popular reason for visiting the site is our excellent series of presentations.  Our presentations mostly consists of slide decks from presentations by the ProgrammingMSAccess.com webmaster.  This month we are adding content in both areas.  In fact, the content is related.

 

I was recently invited to make a presentation before the Chicago Access Users Group (actually, this is the third consecutive year that I have had the privilege of presenting to its members).  I offered them several topics for this year's presentation, and they selected one on SQL Server Express and SQL Express Manager.  The most recent slide deck at ProgrammingMSAccess.com is the one that I recently presented at the Chicago Access Users Group.

 

As you may know SQL Server Express is the replacement for MSDE with SQL Server 2005.  Microsoft didn't just keep SQL Server Express free like MSDE, but the firm added a lot to it, including an installation wizard, graphical configuration tools, and a tool for writing, debugging, and running T-SQL scripts.  This tool is called SQL Express Manager.  The presentation delivers a good introduction to SQL Server Express as well as SQL Express Manager along with a feel for a couple of T-SQL innovations introduced with SQL Server 2005.

 

The latest code sample page at the site contains two SELECT statements referenced in the presentation.  These samples illustrate a pair of new ranking functions introduced with SQL Server 2005.  If you download SQL Server Express (and the AdventureWorks sample database), then you can run the latest code samples at our site.

 

You can find the link to our most recent presentation and previous ones at:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/Presentations/

 

Our full collection of SQL Server samples, including the most recent one is at:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/Samples/VBAProcs#SS_Samples

 

The Database Developers Group Library

We offer an extensive collection of free online content.  However, we offer an even richer collection of content that is reserved for those who pay to join our Database Developers Group (DDG).  If you really like the free content at the site, we invite you to join the DDG.  The DDG serves the needs of professional developers as well as others who want to support the site and get something valuable in return.  Our DDG slogan is that "membership has its privileges."  Access to the online library is one of those privileges.

 

As just mentioned, one of the prime benefits of DDG membership is a private library of white papers and presentations, along with associated code samples.  We now have over 51 downloadable files in our sample library.  These library items address an exceeding broad range of topics.  I just updated the library's listing for your review.  Some titles for the entries in the library follow to convey the breadth of its coverage.

You can find the full list of 51 library items at:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/DatabaseDevelopersGroup/PaperSampleListing.htm

 

April and May Prizes for New and Renewing DDG Members

We strive to offer outstanding prizes for new and renewing DDG members each quarter.  We are offering four prizes for new and renewing members in April and May.  Since we announced the availability of the April prizes a little late in the month, we are continuing to offer the April prizes for new and renewing DDG members through May 11 midnight Eastern time.  As a result, those joining the DDG from May 1 through May 11 are eligible to win two prizes from April and two other prizes from May.  This is just one more example of why we say DDG "membership has its privileges".  The first link in this section takes you to the general page for DDG members at the ProgrammingMSAccess.com site, and the section's second link takes you to the page for joining or renewing.

 

You can learn more about each of the four prizes for April and May new and renewing DDG members from the links in this section.  Each link takes you to a page describing the prize and includes an additional link that navigates directly to the sponsor's site for that particular product.  If you are an Access or a SQL Server developer, you are bound to find something of interest in this quartet of prize opportunities.  We remind you that without the generosity of our sponsors, we would not be able to offer these exceptional prizes.  Our page of favorites includes direct links to the home pages of our prize sponsor sites as well as other information sources that we believe will be of interest to you.  Our favorites page was recently updated to give you our best input about sites that can benefit you.

 

DDG members page at ProgrammingMSAccess.com and how to join the DDG:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/DatabaseDevelopersGroup/

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/DatabaseDevelopersGroup/HowDoIJoin.htm

 

Four links for learning more about April and May prizes for new and renewing DDG members:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/Contests/ProgrammersPack.htm

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/Contests/ShrinkerStretcher.htm

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/Contests/OfficeWriter_prize.htm

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/Contests/AccessWorkbench_prize.htm

 

Our favorites page:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/favorites.htm

 

New SPAM Blocker Filters Posted

In our opinion, spam is a plague on computer users -- especially, anyone using email.  The webmaster's personal solution to spam has been to create a product called SPAM Blocker.  The first version of this application is nearly three years old.  This is a VBA program that runs in back of Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2003.  The program checks each piece of incoming mail against its spam filters.

 

Because spam keeps on changing, we soon discovered that it was essential to update our filters on a regular basis.  Starting with the release of SPAM Blocker 2.0, we issued updates to the SPAM Blocker filters on a monthly basis.  More recently, we have been issuing updates twice per month.  This practice gives you fresh filters whether you get our Standard Edition, which lets you download the program once, or our Upgraded Edition, which lets you download the program over the life of your subscription, for example, over 1, 2, or 3 years.

 

If you have an Upgraded version of SPAM Blocker 2.0, now is a great time to download the most recent version.  These brand new filters may curtail the amount of spam that you have to personally examine.  If you do not have SPAM Blocker, this is an excellent time to consider getting it.

 

You can learn more about SPAM Blocker at:

http://www.programmingmsaccess.com/SpamBlocker/

 

Thanks for reading this message through to the end.  Please take a moment to share this message with your favorite newsletters as well as your friends and colleagues.  Consider forwarding this message to several of your colleagues right now.  One of your friends is almost surely going to thank you for passing along the good news about our site’s content and prizes.  Others may really appreciate learning about our solution to blocking spam.  If you no longer wish to receive messages from ProgrammingMSAccess.com, just reply with Remove in Subject field.

 

Rick

www.programmingmsaccess.com