So, I’ve been working on a project involving OLE data fields in MS Access (exported from SQL server tables). Simply put, the data went in, but it does not come out. Access has trapped the data and is holding it hostage. No ransom amount has been communicated.

I take this to be extremely hostile. I thought applications were supposed to operate with the principle, “Thou shalt not screw thine users nor their data.”

In true Micro$oft form, all I get are esoteric error messages about the OLE server and Active X Controls that don’t go away even after I’ve followed the instructions on the Microsoft tech support documents and other “help-me-gurus–I’m stuck” web sites.

From this point on, I shall do what I can to persuade my clients to not put their valuable information in Access.