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Access Developer 52: File Drop System, Continued

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In this class, we continue developing the file drop system in Microsoft Access by adding image thumbnail previews and file type icons, building a function to open files or links directly from a thumbnail, and automating the opening of Excel and Word documents to specific locations. We will walk through adding a preview area to the form, launching various file types including Access databases, handling web links and folders, and using late bound automation with Excel and Word. This lesson builds on material from Developer 51.

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Prev: D52
Next: Lesson 1

Keywords

Access Developer, file drop system, image thumbnails, file type icons, open link, open file, command line parameter, open web links, File Explorer, Excel automation, Word automation, preview area, thumbnail image logic, media folder, open other databases,

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Intro

Transcript

Welcome to Microsoft Access Developer Level 52 brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com. I am your instructor Richard Rost.

In this course, we keep building out our file drop system into something that actually feels polished and useful in a real database. We start by adding better previews so you can see image thumbnails when they exist and clean file type icons when they do not.

This will build an open link or file function so clicking a thumbnail can launch whatever is attached, including opening another Access database which you can pass a command line parameter into. We will also handle opening web links, files, and folders using File Explorer.

Then we will add some automation to open Excel to a specific sheet tab and open Word to a specific header section or find text inside the document - a little Word and Excel automation for you there.

By the end of today's class, you will have a flexible, reusable system for previewing and launching just about anything from your forms with clean behavior and smart navigation built in.

Today's class is based on the file drop system that we started building in Access Developer 51. Parts 1, 2, and 3 are in Developer 51, so make sure you watch that class first before today's video. All of my classes are built one after the other, so I strongly recommend that you watch all the previous ones. There are beginner lessons, expert lessons, advanced, and developer lessons. Go watch all of them. My lessons are designed to be followed one after the other, so do not skip levels. Go see this page for details on why.

This class is recorded with Microsoft Access as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription, which I strongly recommend. It is currently February of 2026. If you are using the retail version, this is roughly equivalent to Access 2024. However, the lessons covered in today's class should work with just about any version of Access going back to about 2007.

If you have any questions regarding the material covered in today's class, just scroll down to the bottom of the page that you are watching this video on and you can post your questions there. Always take a minute to read through the other questions that have been posted as your question may have already been answered. Make sure you click the subscribe button to get notified if any other questions or comments are posted for this class.

If you have any other questions about Access not related to today's class, post them in the Access Forum. This way, other users who may not be signed up for today's class can join in the conversation.

I am doing something new starting with Developer 51. Every video is on its own page on the website now, so the forum questions and the conversations and all that are private just for the students who are taking this class. I did this because people are always posting code and all kinds of other screenshots and stuff. This way it is just for the students for each video. That way we know exactly what video you are talking about as opposed to before, when it was just one big forum page for the entire class.

If you have unrelated stuff that is not about today's videos, post it in the general Access forum so everybody can join in.

Let's take a closer look at exactly what is covered in today's class.

In lesson one, we add a preview area to the file drop form so images show as thumbnails when possible, and everything else shows a clean file type icon. We will build the thumbnail image logic and set up a simple media folder for your icons.

In lesson two, we start building the open link or file function and wire up the thumbnail click event so you can launch items from the list. You will also learn how to open other Access databases and pass in command line parameters.

In lesson three, we expand on the open link or file to handle web links, files, and folders, plus add icons for links and folders so they look pretty cool. We will also improve performance by loading thumbnails in the form's current event instead of recalculating for every row so that they do not load up when the form loads. It does not load all of the thumbnails; it just does one at a time in the on current event.

In lesson four, we will add late bound automation for Excel and Word so file drop can open Office documents and jump to a specific sheet in Excel, or a header one section in Word, or do a plain text search. We will also tighten up the cleanup for the exit code so objects and recordsets close properly.

That is all what is covered in Developer 52. Whenever you are ready, click on that link to start lesson one.

Quiz

Q1. What major improvement is added to the file drop system in this course?
A. The ability to resize database tables
B. Better previews with image thumbnails and file type icons
C. Encryption for stored files
D. Automatic backup to cloud storage

Q2. What feature allows users to launch attachments by clicking on thumbnails?
A. Interactive data fields
B. Open link or file function
C. Macro-only triggers
D. Auto-email sending

Q3. Which files and links can the developed system open?
A. Only local Access databases
B. Only Word documents
C. Web links, files, folders, and Access databases
D. Only images and PDFs

Q4. How does the course improve the loading of thumbnails in forms?
A. By caching all thumbnails at startup
B. By disabling thumbnails entirely
C. By loading thumbnails only in the form's current event
D. By loading all thumbnails at once during form load

Q5. What does the course teach regarding Excel and Word automation?
A. Only how to print documents
B. How to open documents to a specific location and search in Word
C. How to create new documents only
D. How to secure documents with passwords

Q6. Why are forum questions and discussions now private per video lesson?
A. To reduce site traffic
B. To encourage anonymous feedback
C. To keep code and screenshots private to the class and help identify the relevant video
D. To prevent any questions from being asked

Q7. What does Richard recommend for students wanting the best experience with the course?
A. Working through lessons in any order
B. Skipping beginner and expert levels
C. Following lessons sequentially without skipping levels
D. Using only older versions of Access

Q8. Which Microsoft Access version do the lessons work with?
A. Only Access 365
B. Access 2019 and above
C. Any version since about 2007
D. Only Access 2010

Q9. Where should unrelated Access questions be posted?
A. In the developer video comments
B. In the same page as the lesson
C. In the general Access forum
D. In the YouTube comments

Q10. What cleanup step is addressed in lesson four?
A. Archiving old files
B. Closing all open tables automatically
C. Ensuring objects and recordsets close properly
D. Deleting all user comments

Answers: 1-B; 2-B; 3-C; 4-C; 5-B; 6-C; 7-C; 8-C; 9-C; 10-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from Access Learning Zone focuses on Microsoft Access Developer Level 52. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.

In this course, we continue developing the file drop system, turning it into a more polished and practical component for a real Access database. The improvements start with better preview capabilities. When files are images, you will now be able to see actual thumbnails. For non-image files, we introduce cleaner and more professional file type icons.

Another important addition is the open link or file functionality. With this, clicking on a thumbnail will open the attached item, whether it is a document, a web link, an Access database, or even a folder. If you are launching another Access database, you learn how to pass command line parameters into it. We will cover the process for handling web links, files, and folders by opening them in File Explorer when needed.

Moving forward, we incorporate automation for Microsoft Office documents. You will see how to open an Excel file directly to a specific sheet, and how to launch Word at a particular header section or even search for specific text inside the document. This introduces you to practical Word and Excel automation within Access.

By the end of today's class, you will have a well-organized and reusable system that allows for efficient previewing and launching of various files from your Access forms, with smart navigation and intuitive behavior built in.

It is important to note that this lesson builds directly upon the file drop functionality developed in Access Developer 51, specifically parts 1, 2, and 3. Make sure to complete those sections first, as my series is meant to be taken in order without skipping levels. There are beginner, expert, advanced, and developer lessons - each one builds upon the last, so I always recommend following them sequentially. Further details are available on my website if you need more information about the course order.

This class was recorded using Microsoft Access from a Microsoft 365 subscription, which I highly recommend, although the tutorials should work with most versions going back to Access 2007. For reference, the lessons you see here were recorded in February 2026, and if you are using the retail version, they correspond roughly to Access 2024.

If you find yourself with questions about today's content, scroll to the bottom of the video's webpage and post your questions there. Please check existing comments first, as your question may already be answered. You may want to subscribe to get updates on future questions or comments for this lesson.

For Access-related questions not covered in today's video, be sure to post them in the Access Forum. This way, even users who are not enrolled in today's specific class can participate.

Starting with Developer 51, every video now has its own page on the website, allowing forum questions and conversations to remain private and specific for each class. This decision was made so that students can freely share code and screenshots relevant to the video they are watching, keeping discussions organized and on topic. General Access questions that do not relate to the current lesson should continue to be posted in the main Access forum for the benefit of the wider community.

Here is an overview of what you will learn in this class:

In the first lesson, we create a dedicated preview area on the file drop form. Images will display as thumbnails while other file types show a clean and consistent icon. You will learn how to handle the thumbnail logic and set up a folder to store your media icons.

Lesson two introduces the open link or file function and connects the click event for thumbnails, enabling you to easily open items from your list. We will also explore how to launch separate Access databases while passing command line parameters.

Building on that, lesson three extends the open functionality to cover web links, different files, and folders. We add icons specifically for links and folders to enhance the display. Performance improvements are introduced by loading only the current thumbnail in the form's On Current event instead of loading thumbnails for every row when the form first opens. This keeps things running smoothly.

Lesson four takes you through late-bound automation for Excel and Word. You will learn how file drop can open Office files, jump directly to a certain sheet within Excel, move to a specific header section in Word, or search for plain text. We'll also address code cleanup so that objects and recordsets close as they should when finished.

That sums up what is covered in Developer Level 52. When you are ready, you can begin with lesson one on my website.

A complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions for everything discussed here is available on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Adding image thumbnail previews to file drop form
Displaying file type icons for non-image files
Setting up a media folder for icons
Building open link or file function
Wiring up thumbnail click to launch attachments
Opening other Access databases with command line parameters
Handling opening of web links, files, and folders
Adding icons for web links and folders
Optimizing thumbnail loading with form's current event
Implementing late bound automation for Excel
Implementing late bound automation for Word
Opening Excel to a specific worksheet tab
Opening Word to a specific header section
Performing text search inside Word documents
Improving exit code for cleanup of objects and recordsets

Article

In this tutorial, we are going to enhance a Microsoft Access file drop system so it becomes a polished, practical tool for your database projects. Whether you want your users to see image previews, launch documents, or automate Office files with a click, you will learn how to put it all together into one flexible solution.

First, let us start with improving the user experience by adding a preview feature. On your file drop form, you want to display image thumbnails wherever possible. For files that are not images, you want to show a neat file type icon instead. To do this, you will need to set up logic to detect the file type and choose the right preview: either the image itself or a representative icon. Store your icon files in a dedicated media folder and reference them based on the file extension. For example, a PDF file could show a small PDF icon, while a Word document shows the Word icon. Images like JPG and PNG files get thumbnail previews.

Once you have previews in place, you will want to make them interactive. Clicking a thumbnail should let you open the linked file, folder, or web URL in its native application. This requires a bit of VBA code that checks the type of the item and, based on that, launches it using the right method.

Here is a sample VBA function that can handle launching different types of files and links:

Function OpenFileOrLink(strPath As String)
If Left(strPath, 4) = "http" Then
Application.FollowHyperlink strPath
ElseIf Right(strPath, 4) = ".accdb" Then
Shell "msaccess.exe """ & strPath & """ /cmd YourParameter", vbNormalFocus
ElseIf GetAttr(strPath) And vbDirectory Then
Shell "explorer.exe """ & strPath & """", vbNormalFocus
Else
Application.FollowHyperlink strPath
End If
End Function

This function first checks if the path starts with "http" to open a web link, then checks for Access database files so you can open them and even pass command line parameters. If the path points to a directory, it opens it in File Explorer. For other file types, it uses FollowHyperlink, which works well for most documents.

For images and icons, you will want to update a control on your form with the correct image path whenever the current record changes. Instead of loading all thumbnails at once, use the form's OnCurrent event to update just the preview for the selected record. This approach avoids performance hits and makes the form load faster, since you are not processing every row at once.

To add Office automation, you can write VBA to open Excel and Word documents and even jump to specific places inside them. For Excel, you might want to go directly to a given worksheet, while for Word you could jump to a header section or search for specific text.

Here is a simple example for opening an Excel file and selecting a specific sheet:

Sub OpenExcelToSheet(strFile As String, strSheet As String)
Dim xlApp As Object
Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
xlApp.Visible = True
xlApp.Workbooks.Open strFile
xlApp.Worksheets(strSheet).Activate
End Sub

For Word, you could use:

Sub OpenWordAndFindText(strFile As String, strFind As String)
Dim wdApp As Object
Set wdApp = CreateObject("Word.Application")
wdApp.Visible = True
wdApp.Documents.Open strFile
Dim rng As Object
Set rng = wdApp.ActiveDocument.Content
rng.Find.Text = strFind
If rng.Find.Execute Then
rng.Select
End If
End Sub

Always remember to release your automation objects when you are finished to prevent memory leaks:

Set xlApp = Nothing
Set wdApp = Nothing

With these enhancements, your file drop system becomes highly interactive and much more user-friendly. Users can preview images, identify files quickly with clean icons, and launch or manage files and links with a click. The system will reliably open web URLs, files, folders, Access databases with parameters, and even automate navigation inside Office documents.

Everything shown here is compatible with recent versions of Microsoft Access, from 2007 up to the latest Microsoft 365 version. Whether you are building for yourself or for other users, this approach turns a simple file drop area into a solid, reusable tool that feels polished and professional.

If you run into any questions as you build this system, consider joining a relevant Access forum or support group, as others may have also tackled similar challenges and can provide additional insights or troubleshooting help. With these techniques, you are well on your way to creating modern, interactive Access database solutions.