FIGURE 14.1
A security warning when attempting to install an Access add-in for Access 2007 running on Windows
Vista.The Purpose of Access Add-ins..........................................................................................
An Access add-in is a library database (an Access database with the extension .mda for Access
97–2003, or .accda for Access 2007) containing the objects and modules needed to support the
add-in’s functionality, and a special system table called UsysRegInfo with the Registry key informa-
tion needed to install the add-in. Add-ins are typically stored in the default Microsoft AddIns folder
(C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns), which was also the
default Access add-ins folder for Access 2003). In Access 2007 the default folder for Microsoft’s
own add-ins is the ACCWIZ folder under the Office folder (on my system, this is E:\Microsoft
Office 2007 Beta\Office12\ACCWIZ). However, it is a good idea to keep your own add-ins in the
main AddIns folder (C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns for
Windows XP or C:\Users\User Name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns for Windows Vista)
rather than mixed in with the ones installed by Office.An add-in is installed using the Access Add-ins Manager (opened from the Add-Ins menu on the
Database Tools tab of the Ribbon), and once an add-in has been installed, it can be used in any
Access database.Access add-ins created in earlier versions of Access (as .mda library databases) will gen-
erally run in Access 2007 running on Windows XP, at least if they don’t have conflicts
with the new interface. For example, my LNC Rename.mda add-in, which renames database objects
and controls according to the Leszynski Naming Convention, works fine in Access 2007, although it
doesn’t process controls bound to fields of the new Attachment data type. An older add-in that cre-
ates custom menu bars, however, will definitely have problems, because the new Ribbon replaces the
old command bars interface. In Windows Vista, security features currently prevent add-ins that create
Wizards or Property Builders from running (this problem is scheduled to be fixed in an upcoming
Service Patch).Add-in Types ....................................................................................................................
There are three types of Access add-ins, with several subtypes, as listed in Table 14.1.All these types of add-ins are stored as wizards in the Registry. Sometimes you will see a Builder or
Menu add-in referred to as a wizard, but I will reserve the term wizard for the add-ins that are
invoked when a new object is created, as listed in the Wizard column of Table 14.1.NOTENOTE
Part III Adding More Functionality to Office