Category Archives: MS Access VBA Programming

MS Access VBA Programming

MS Access VBA – Not In List Event

The On Not in List event in Microsoft Access is triggered when a user types a value into a combo box that doesn’t currently exist in its list of available options if the Limit To List property (on the Data tab of the Property Sheet) is set to Yes. This event allows you to manage how the application responds, most commonly by offering the user a way to add the new value directly to the combo box’s data source which is most often a table.

For instance, imagine you have a combo box that lists available product categories from a Categories table. When a user enters a new category say, “Eco-Friendly” that isn’t already in the list, the Not In List event can prompt the user to confirm whether they’d like to add it. If they agree, your VBA code can insert the new category into the Categories table and then requery the combo box so that the new option appears immediately.
This approach helps maintain consistent data while giving users flexibility to expand predefined lists dynamically, improving workflow and usability.
 
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Running Command Prompt Commands from VBA

As someone who works extensively in Microsoft Access and Excel, I often need to execute Command Prompt commands from within VBA. The standard WScript.Shell.Run method can run commands easily, but it does not capture or return their output.

To fill that gap, I created CP_GetOutput a VBA function that executes any Command Prompt command and retrieves its textual output, ready to be used in your VBA project.

Today I’m sharing both the code, a brief explanation of how it works and a few examples of who it can be used.
 
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Mastering Loops in VBA for Office Developers

Loops form the backbone of iterative programming in VBA for Microsoft Access, allowing developers to process recordsets, validate form inputs, or manipulate arrays efficiently without writing repetitive code. VBA provides four primary loop structures, Do loops (with While/Until variations), For Next, and For Each, each designed for specific scenarios such as conditional repetition or fixed-range traversal. Selecting the right loop depends on factors like whether the iteration count is known upfront, the need for early exits, or the data structure involved, such as DAO recordsets common in Access databases.
 
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Making Invisible Internet Explorer Instances Visible

While investigating behavior I had previously documented in which SuperAntiSpyware spawns hidden iexplore.exe processes. Rather than terminating them blindly, I wanted a way to make every existing Internet Explorer instance visible so I could see exactly what was going on.

Internet Explorer is not just a browser. It is also a COM automation server. This allows applications, scripts, and services to create Internet Explorer instances in the background for tasks such as report generation, authentication flows, or legacy system integrations. When those instances are created with their visibility turned off, or are never explicitly shown, they can remain running long after their original purpose has passed.

Task Manager will show the process, but it offers no insight into why it exists or what it is doing. Ending the process may remove the symptom, but it does not explain the behavior and can potentially disrupt the software that created it.

What I wanted was simple.

If Internet Explorer is running, I wanted to see it, see what it was up to.
 
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How to Terminate a Windows Process Using VBA (Shell, WMI, and API Methods)

Following my previous post on working with Windows processes, specifically:

Using VBA to List Active Processes
Because of some recent work I’ve been doing trying to embed applications within an Access form (so far I’ve managed to embed Brave, Edge, PowerShell ISE, Excel, Word, …) I’ve been working with listing the active computer processes. So I thought I’d share a few procedures I’ve developed to aid me with that task. I tried a couple different approaches to get the process listing. Initially, I was using the cmd: tasklist /fo csv /nh and although it did work, it was slow and created unnecessary lag in my process (no pun intended). Eventually I turned to my tried, tested…

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this article explores different techniques for terminating a Windows process using VBA.
 
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How To Add a Custom Icon To ‘Pop Up’ Form and ‘Overlapping Windows’ Forms

Designing a professional Microsoft Access application often comes down to the small details like the icons that appear on your pop-up forms and overlapping window forms. By default, Access displays a generic icon, which can make even a well designed database feel unfinished.

Adding custom form icons in Microsoft Access not only enhances the visual appeal of your application, but also improves usability by helping users quickly identify open forms in the Windows taskbar or Alt-Tab view. For client-facing databases, custom icons also reinforce branding and professionalism, especially when distributing Access front ends.

In an ideal world, Microsoft Access would expose a simple, built-in property that allows developers to specify a custom icon for each form. Unfortunately, no such property exists. Despite Access offering extensive control over form appearance and behavior, the form icon remains hard-coded to the default Access icon, leaving developers with no native way to change it. As a result, implementing custom form icons requires working around this limitation by leveraging Windows APIs and graphics libraries approaches that are powerful, but far from obvious. Fortunately, with a bit of Windows API magic, we can still achieve exactly the result we want.

In this article, you’ll learn multiple techniques for setting custom icons on Access forms, including:

  • Using native Windows APIs with .ico files
  • Supporting PNG, JPG, and other image formats with GDI+
  • Loading icons dynamically from table attachments

All examples work with Popup forms and databases using Overlapping Windows (not Tabbed Documents), and are compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit Access.
 
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Get a Directory Listing Using VBA

Mastering Directory Listings in VBA: Exploring Folders and Subfolders with the Dir Function and FSO

Automating directory listings in VBA is a common requirement for Excel, Access, and other Microsoft Office solutions. Whether you need to list folders, enumerate subdirectories, or recursively scan an entire directory tree, VBA provides multiple ways to interact with the Windows file system each with distinct strengths and limitations.

In this article, you’ll learn how to generate directory listings in VBA using several proven techniques, including the built-in Dir function, the FileSystemObject (FSO) model, Shell.Application, WMI, and even PowerShell integration. We’ll explore when each approach is appropriate, how to handle recursive folder traversal safely, and why certain methods, especially Dir!, fail in nested scenarios.

If you’ve ever searched for “VBA list folders and subfolders”, “VBA recursive directory listing”, or “Dir vs FileSystemObject in VBA”, this guide walks through real-world, production-ready examples you can drop directly into your projects. By the end, you’ll know exactly which technique to use for simple folder scans, deep recursive listings, or advanced system-level automation.

Methods covered in this guide include:

  • Dir function (non-recursive directory listings)
  • FileSystemObject (FSO) for recursive folder traversal
  • Shell.Application for Windows-based folder enumeration
  • WMI for system-level and remote directory queries
  • PowerShell integration from VBA

 
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Using VBA to List Active Processes

Because of some recent work I’ve been doing trying to embed applications within an Access form (so far I’ve managed to embed Brave, Edge, PowerShell ISE, Excel, Word, …) I’ve been working with listing the active computer processes. So I thought I’d share a few procedures I’ve developed to aid me with that task.

I tried a couple different approaches to get the process listing.

Initially, I was using the cmd:

tasklist /fo csv /nh

and although it did work, it was slow and created unnecessary lag in my process (no pun intended). Eventually I turned to my tried, tested and true friend WMI!
 
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Simple & Reliable Methods to Check Internet Connectivity in VBA Using Ping

While working on a client project, I needed a way to check their Internet connection before running any further operations. My goal was to provide a helpful message if no connection was detected, avoiding unnecessary errors during execution.

The first approach that came to mind was the reliable PING command. This long-standing DOS utility checks if a host is reachable, making it perfect for detecting connectivity issues. With Ping, you can:

  • Verify whether a device (server, PC, printer, etc.) is accessible
  • Test if a website or URL can be reached
  • See if there is an active Internet connection

 
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