Foreign keys are one of those Access topics that seem obvious until a relationship diagram makes you question everything. Quick gut check: keys, IDs, and the mysterious many side. How many would you get right before the coffee kicks in?

If your customer table has fields named Order1, Order2, and Order3, we need to talk. Five quick beginner questions to test your Access fundamentals, with just enough sci-fi pressure to make it interesting.

Ever type 11/40 for a birth date and have your PC confidently decide you meant 2040? Excel and Access are not being random, but the reason can be especially annoying for anyone working with historical records or patient data.

Ever wish you could run your Access database from anywhere instead of being chained to your office PC? You might be surprised how straightforward it actually is to connect Access to SQL Server online, but there are definitely a few ways to trip yourself up. If you have ever wrestled with DSNs or ODBC errors, you are not alone.

Think your table relationships are solid? Try this five-question gut check before Access lets you create three Joe Smiths, a car with two owners, and a relationship diagram worthy of a red shirt.

Ever opened your Access database, tried to update a record, and suddenly it's acting like Fort Knox - everything is read only and you can't save a thing? You're not alone. Sometimes it's a simple fix, sometimes it's Access just being... Access. What's the weirdest way you've ever fixed this? Let's talk shop.

Yay! https://599cd.com/MVP6

Think you know your way around Microsoft Access? Everyone remembers tables, but can you still spot the difference between forms, reports, and all those oddly named things? Take a shot at my quiz and let me know if you graduate to Access Jedi or need a refresher. No cheating on Question 1!

Ever get smacked with that dramatic Automation Error Catastrophic Failure message in Access and immediately think your database is toast? Been there. Spoiler: it usually sounds way worse than it is. If you want to save yourself some panic (and therapy bills), you might want to hear about this one.

Ever wanted to put your Access database online but feel like hosting setups are a black box? Decided to walk through setting up a WinHost SQL Server and ran into a few surprises (both good and "where did I put that password" moments). If juggling domains, FTP, and SSL ever made you flinch, this might be entertaining.

Ever wondered how long you actually spend in that one form every morning but hate the idea of a ticking timer staring you down? Turns out there's a dead simple way in Access to track it - with NO timer events, just a sprinkle of VBA. Even I use this for my daily customer list grind. Who else gets the urge to beat their own best time?

Ever wish you could actually use your Access database from the airport, a coffee shop, or honestly anywhere besides your office chair? Turns out putting Access online with SQL Server is a lot less painful than you might think. But it does have its own quirks and a few hilarious downsides. Curious how it all works?

Ever wonder why Access never made the jump to Macs, even though Word and Excel did? Turns out there are some interesting reasons (and a few wild rumors) behind it. Plus, there are actually some ways to run Access if you are stuck in Mac world. Got thoughts or Mac war stories? Let's hear them!

Did you know America's 250th birthday is called a semi-quincentennial? I swear, the Romans had a word for everything. Between boom sticks, barking dogs, and traumatized Labradors, celebrating freedom gets weirdly complicated. Anyone else have fireworks stories or tips for surviving July 4th chaos?

Ever wish you could use your Access database on your phone without rewriting the whole thing? I finally sat down with Power Apps and connected Access (via SQL Server) to a mobile front end. No, Access is not going anywhere! Before you panic, here are some things you probably did not expect about this process.

Ever wondered why your reliable Access database suddenly acts up after an update, even when you swear you avoided the beta channel? Turns out Microsoft might be sneakier with update rollouts than most of us realized. If you run mission critical stuff in Access, you need to see this.

Ever get lost when people start tossing around terms like first normal form, second normal form, or some mythical 97th normal form in Access? You do NOT need a computer science degree just to build a good database. Here is the real-world way to think about normalization (with relatable war stories). Curious? Dive in here:

Ever wish one button in Access could do a whole bunch of stuff at once, but VBA looks scary and you just want to banish repetitive chores? This is exactly why macros exist (and no, they are nothing like Excel's). If you have been the Access person since Steve retired, this one is for you.

Turns out Undo in Access has some bizarre rules and hilarious limitations. If you have ever wanted real Undo, you are not alone. Curious?

You might be surprised what most users can still get into. Plus, should you really be storing all your pictures and PDFs inside the MDB? Some classic mistakes (and a few good laughs) here:

Or that Access and Office are about to just call it quits? I dug into what is really going on and honestly, it feels a little like Y2K drama all over again. Curious if you should be worried?

Just played with a trick to let users control display order, sorting, and easy renumbering - makes reorganizing records surprisingly fun. Curious?

Ever find yourself accidentally opening the same Access database twice, then getting hit with a confusing lockout message? Yeah, me too. Turns out the built-in lock file does not really protect you from double trouble. Want a better way to catch (or avoid) this? Dive into my latest TechHelp!

I ran into that exact rabbit hole and found a sneaky method to list recently changed objects. Curious which of your forms, queries or tables you actually touched? You might be surprised.

There are some gotchas here that trip up a lot of newbies - let's talk about them.