My name is Colin Riddington and I am the owner of Mendip Data Systems. I am also active on many online forums - usually with the user name isladogs.

In 2022, I was honoured to be presented with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award
This award was presented in recognition of my contributions to the community in Microsoft 365 Apps & Services.





Since 2005, Mendip Data Systems have been based in Somerset, UK.
Previously we were on the edge of the Mendip Hills (hence the name), but we moved to a remote area of the Exmoor National Park in 2019.

For many years, we specialised in creating management software for schools though we now focus on apps for businesses/developers.

The advantage of being a small development operation is that clients don't have to pay for large company overheads when they purchase our products - and users can talk directly to the key people in the company when they contact us.

However, sometimes we may not be available, and you may need to leave us a message - or better still, send us an email because we respond to emails quickly and at any time.

The site includes several commercial applications as well as a wide range of free example applications, code samples and extended articles.

We also accept customised work for individual clients including both the creation of new systems and upgrading existing applications.
In addition, we can convert old databases to current versions and advise on issues related to database security.

We currently have 11 applications available for purchase from the website:


Apps for Business / Developer / Personal Use
The focus with several apps is on creating applications based on imported online data obtained in JSON format.

    JSON Analyse & Transform for Access (for Access developers)
    UK Postal Address Finder (Professional/Standard/Tablet editions)
    UK Postcode Address Lookup (source code edition)
    Currency Exchange Rate Tracker (source code edition)
    Translate & Speak (source code edition)


Applications for Schools
All our school applications were originally developed to for use in UK secondary schools.
However, many of these are equally suitable for use in primary schools and abroad.
Most of these applications for schools are open source databases using Microsoft Access and SQL Server.

    School Data Analyser
    School Payments System
    SDA Link
    Curriculum Enrichment Organiser
    Exam Timer
    Student ICT Database (source code edition)

We regularly update our programs to meet the changing needs of schools.
It is also our policy in most cases to supply full program code so that schools can customise the program features to suit individual needs.


Free Applications
A large number of FREE example databases & code samples can also be downloaded from the website.
These include many items originally uploaded to sites such as Access World Forums and Utter Access with the user name: isladogs

Currently there are about 60 example applications including:
      Currency Exchange Rate Tracker / Manage Application Interface / Attention Seeking Database / Countdown Timer / Cascading Combo Boxes /
      Multiple Group & Filter / JET ShowPlan Manager / Emulated Split Form / CDO Email Tester / Synchronise Subform Scrolling . . . and many more

There are over 40 code samples including:
      Rank Order in Queries / Database Statistics / VBA Reference List & Locations / Fix MSysObjects Errors / System Info / View Database Objects /
      Upend Query / System Metrics / Linked ‘No Tables’ / Easter calculator / Hide Access Splash Screen . . . and many more

In addition, there are around 50 extended articles on various topics related to the use of Access databases including:
      Speed Comparison Tests / Access Security / System Tables / Synchronise Data / Relationships / Automatic Form Resizing / Synchronise Data /
      Multivalued Fields / Column History in Memo Fields / Annotating Google Maps / Recover Deleted Database Objects . . . and many more

In conjunction with various articles on Access security, several security challenges are available for experienced developers to test their skills & knowledge

In addition to all of the above, other items on the website include:
    Access & Windows blog - a growing list of shorter articles
    YouTube videos
    Access News & Events

A full list of the site contents can be found on the Site Map page

Please email us if you would you like to discuss specialised development work for your organisation, become involved with the future development of our products, offer thoughts or tell us about your own work.


Colin Riddington           Mendip Data Systems                 Last Updated 5 Aug 2022

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