[AccessD] Fwd: Re: Changing Column Width and Order in mde or accde

[Bill Benson]

On Nov 1, 2017 5:58 PM, "Bill Benson" <bensonforums at gmail.com> wrote:

The original challenge or problem for Rocky was, how to store user settings
from session to session, when the front end is a MDE or ACCDE.

All I meant to do in showing him my two examples was to prove it can be
done.

Next he asked about how that table of preferences could be kept in
subsequent versions of the database. First of all, I think the whole notion
of retaining preferences between versions is a mistake, though I did not
want to tell him so. That is because if I am modifying the front end, I
might very well be changing the exact thing that the tool is using to store
the prefs. I might have changed sourceobjects, parent forms (and their
code)... all kinds of things that invalidate the previous storage
mechanism. And, I don't like having to support legacy preference devices
like user settings tables, nor raise expectations for such.

I think the method of doing upgrades, is easily automated by access to
access, access to uni and/or csv or text or xml or html, it really doesn't
matter... but in general I always try to train my users that an upgrade is
an upgrade. The same happens with Excel. When MSFT puts out a new version
of their tool, you have to load the quick access toolbar items  all over
again. Yes they have an export tool and they have an import feature in the
customize quick access toolbar region, but there is no guarantee the
settings will be consistent from office 2007 to office 2013. I think most
users can take the few minutes to set up their environment a second time,
without the developer having to figure out how to drag legacy preferences
into their new releases.

It is a time suck for the developer to do so, it is a rarely expected
inherent "feature", and most of the time people care about being able to
set up a new version and have it work like the old version, they don't
expect all their former settings are retained from a previous version. This
gives the developer time to focus on new features and enhancements and/or
better workflow, and worry less about inter-version dependencies.

Just from my experience.