Microsoft Access XP (2002) Switchboards & Macros

Transcription

1 Microsoft Access XP (2002) Switchboards & Macros Group/Summary Operations Creating a Switchboard Creating Macro Buttons From Wizards Creating Macros Manually Using the Condition Column Start Up Parameters

2 Table of Contents DEFINITIONS 3 Switchboard... 4 MACRO... 4 Module... 5 Where Macros/Modules Are Stored... 5 ABOUT THE DATABASE 3 DATA ENTRY FORM 4 SWITCHBOARDS 5 Examining A Completed Switchboard... 6 CREATING A SWITCHBOARD 6 The Toolbox Toolbar... 7 USING THE MACRO WIZARDS 8 Example 1: A Button That Runs A Query: Dollars To Goal... 8 Example 2: A Button That Runs A Query: Total Current Donations... 8 Example 3: Create a Button that Opens a Form: Main Form... 9 VIEWING VISUAL BASIC CODE 9 CREATING MACROS WITHOUT WIZARDS 10 Macro Basics Exploring an Existing Macro Macro 1: A Macro That Goes to a New Record and Moves the Cursor Macro 2: A Macro that Filters a Query From a Drop Down Menu Choice Understanding Events SYNCHRONIZED COMBO BOXES 15 Step 1: Create the Countries Combo Boxes Step 2: Creating a Query for the Cities Combo Box Step 3: Creating the Cities Combo Box Step 3: Create the Results Query Step 4: Creating the Macro Step 6: Assigning the Macros to the Combo Boxes MACROS - THE CONDITION COLUMN 21 Condition Macro 1: Message Boxes Condition Macro 2: Macros That Input Data Condition Example Setting the Arguments Assign the Macro to the Form MACRO: OPTION BOXES 27 Examining the Query: Donation Status How Option Groups Work HIDING FORM CONTROLS 31 SETTING STARTUP PARAMETERS 32 Temporarily Bypassing the Startup Limitations Removing Startup Limitations HIDING DATABASE OBJECTS 33 Unhiding Database Objects Access_2002-Switchboards.doc April 23, 2003 Page 2 of 33

3 ABOUT THE DATABASE This handout utilizes a database called MacrosXP.mdb. The database can be found in two locations: From HOH300, HOH401, & Bri202, it can be copied from: \\sbalab\apps\prof\training to you re A:\ drive or to C:\temp It can also be downloaded from the web at the following address: In the same location, there is another database called MacrosXP-Complete.mdb that has the completed examples used in this handout The purpose of this database is to track which shows customers have seen, how many tickets were purchased, and how much money they have donated to the theatre. It is made up of 3 tables which are related by their common field of Client_ID. Customer Info - This table tracks general patron information. Every patron, whether they are a donor, attendee or both, is listed in this database only once. Donor Info - If a patron has made a donation then the donation amount, date, etc. is tracked in this database. If they have made more than one donation, their Client_ID will appear more than once. (Their name, address, etc, is listed in the Customer Info table.) Tickets Purchased - If a patron has purchased a ticket then the name of the show, date, number of tickets, and ticket price will appear in this database. If they have seen more than one show, then their Client_ID will appear more than once. (Their name, address, etc, is listed in the Customer Info table.) For more information on relating tables, see the handout: Access XP - Forms which can be found at the following web address:

4 Marshall School of Business DATA ENTRY FORM University of Southern California If you click on the Forms tab, you will notice that there are three forms: Donor Info Subform - This form accesses fields from the table Donor Info. It is never opened directly but is pulled into the Main Form when the Main Form is opened. Tickets Purchased Subform - This form accesses fields from the table Tickets Purchased. It is never opened directly but is pulled into the Main Form when the Main Form is opened. In addition, it contains a calculated field called Order Total which was created by multiplying the number of tickets purchased by the ticket price. MainForm - This form is based off the table Customer info and contains the two subforms Donor Info Subform and Tickets Purchased Subform. For more information on creating subforms, see the handout: Forms - Beginning which can be found at the following web address: Note that to create a mainform containing two subforms you must use the Subform/SubReport button found on the Toolbox toolbar while in form Design View to create multiple subforms. The wizards cannot be used to make a form that contains more than one subform. DEFINITIONS Switchboard A Switchboard is a screen with buttons on it that automates database functions. Its purpose is to make the database easier to use while keeping sensitive areas of the database protected from misuse. The switchboard screen itself is created from an unbound form (a form which is not based on a table) and the buttons on the switchboard activate either macros or Visual Basic code sequences. Also, calculations and functions may be placed on a switchboard. MACRO A Macro is a way to automate a task or a series of tasks in your database. A macro is an object just as tables, queries, forms, and reports are objects. Actions: every task you want a macro to perform is called an action. In Access, there are 42 actions that you can select and perform in your macros. Events: Most macros are triggered by events, such as: opening a form, clicking in a field, pressing the ENTER key, etc. You can make macros do such things as: automatically opening a form, updating a field, or placing the hourglass on the screen. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 4 of 33

5 Marshall School of Business University of Southern California Module A Module is another object that contains Visual Basic programming code that you can use to add additional functionality to your database (much as you would Macros). By using Visual Basic, Access can be used to perform operations its designers did not build into it. When you use the command button wizard, it creates a procedure in Visual Basic code (not Macro code). Custom functions can also be created within modules. Visual Basic is a fairly easy programming language, but it is also extensive and therefore beyond the scope of a simple two hour workshop. Where Macros/Modules Are Stored Stand Alone Macros - These are macros you created manually within the Macros tab. They are called stand alone because they can be made to work alone or assigned to an Access object such as a form, query, etc. Form Created Macros/Modules - When you create a command button on a form to automate operations, the macro is stored within the form as visual basic code and will not appear within the Macros or Modules tab. SWITCHBOARDS A Switchboard is a screen with buttons on it that automate database functions. The purpose of a switchboard is to make a database easier to use while keeping sensitive areas of the database protected from misuse. The buttons on the switchboard activate either macros or Visual Basic code sequences. Switchboards are created from Unbound forms. (A form which is not based upon a table.) The buttons placed on the switchboard activate either macros, events, or Visual Basic procedures when pressed. This handout will deal primarily with events and macros. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 5 of 33

6 Marshall School of Business University of Southern California Examining A Completed Switchboard Below is a completed switchboard which we will recreate. It contains five command buttons which were created using wizards and three controls which employ macros. To view the form: 1. Open the file: MacrosXP-Complete 2. Click on the Forms tab. 3. Double click the form Switchboard - Complete to open it. 4 Click the various buttons to see what they do. 5. Close the database: FILE CLOSE CREATING A SWITCHBOARD As mentioned above, a switchboard is created from an unbound form. The steps in this section show how to create the unbound form. 1. Open the database: MacrosXP 2. Click on the Forms tab. 3. Click on the New button. 4. Select Design View and click on Ok. 5. Resize the form to fill most of the screen 6. Click on the Save icon and name the switchboard: Switchboard Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 6 of 33

7 Marshall School of Business University of Southern California The Toolbox Toolbar When working with forms, the Toolbox contains many of the buttons you will need. If it is not visible while in form Design View, then click the Toolbox icon on the menu: Note that if the Control Wizards wizards will not help you. icon on the Toolbox toolbar is not pressed, the command Select Objects: Allows the selection of objects. Label: Used for placing text on any part of your form. Option Group: Used in conjunction with option buttons, this allows you to select between a group of choices. Option Button: Use either with a Yes/No field or in an option group. Combo Box: Allows selection from a drop down list of choices. Command Button: Use to activate macros & module commands. Unbound Object Frame: Use to place OLE objects (sounds, pictures, etc.) from an outside source in your form. Page Break: Forces a page break. SubForm/SubReport: Use to create a form within a form. Rectangle: Places a rectangle in the form. Control Wizards: When turned on, wizards will help with using other tool box controls. Text Box: Used to create calculations. Toggle Button: Toggles between two choices. Check Box: Used with Yes/No fields. List Box: Allows selection from a list of choices. Image: Use to place pictures from a source outside the database on the form. Bound Object Frame: Used to display OLE objects (such as pictures) that are stored in the table in the form. Tab Control: Allows you to place controls behind one another using tabs. Line: Use to place lines on your form. More Controls: Opens a list of more advanced controls. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 7 of 33

8 USING THE MACRO WIZARDS The macro wizards can be used to generate the Visual Basic code needed to run a macro. The wizards can be used to perform simple operations without having to create macros in the Macro tab or learn Access Visual Basic code. Example 1: A Button That Runs A Query: Dollars To Goal When pressed, the button will open a query called $ to Goal which subtracts the total current donations from the goal of $50,000. The query was based on the table Donor Info and is designed as shown here. Note that it employs the SUM function rather than using the Totals row. 1. With the Switchboard form still open and in Design View : 2. From the Toolbox, click on the Command Button icon: 3. Click in the upper right corner of the form. 4. From the Command Button Wizard, select the category: Miscellaneous 5. In the Action window, select Run Query and click Next. 6. Select the query $ to Goal and click Next. 7. Select the option Text and type: Dollars to Goal 8. Click on Next. 9. Name the button: Dollars to Goal and click Finish. 10. Go into Form View and click the command button. It should run the query. 11. Close the query window and then click the Save icon to save the form. Example 2: A Button That Runs A Query: Total Current Donations When pressed, the button will open a query called Total Current Donations The query was based on the table Donor Info and is designed as shown here. It will total all donations made using the Totals row. 1. With the Switchboard form still open and in Design View : 2. From the Toolbox, click on the Command Button icon 3. Click below the last button created. 4. From the Command Button Wizard, select the category: Miscellaneous 5. In the Action window, select Run Query and click Next. 6. Select the query Total Current Donations and click Next. 7. Select the option Text and type: Total Donations 8. Click on NEXT. 9. Name the button: Total Donations and click Finish. 10. Go into Form View and click the command button. It should run the query.

9 11. Close the query window and then click the Save icon to save the form. Example 3: Create a Button that Opens a Form: Main Form When clicked, this button will open a form called Main Form. Main Form is based on three different tables: Customer Info, Tickets Purchased, and Donor Info. 1. With the Switchboard form still open and in Design View : 2. From the Toolbox, click on the Command Button icon 3. Click on the form. 4. In the Category window, select: Form Operations 5. In the Action window, select: Open Form 6. Click Next. 7. Select the form Main Form 8. Click Next. 9. Select the option Text and type: Open the Main Form. 8. Click on Next. 9. Name the button: Open Main Form and click Finish. 10. Click the Save button. 11. Go into Form View and click the command button. The form should open. 12. Close the form. VIEWING VISUAL BASIC CODE If you are curious about the code the Command Button Wizard is generating for your, the code for any button can be easily viewed and edited. To view the code for the Open Main Form button created above: 1. Select Design View. 2. Right-click the button. 4. From the pop-up menu, select: Properties 2. Click on the Event tab. 3. Click the property which displays [Event Procedure] then click the Build button next to it. 4. When finished viewing the code, close the Module window. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 9 of 33

10 CREATING MACROS WITHOUT WIZARDS Using the Wizards is useful but limited. When you need to perform an action that the wizards do not provide a function for, it is time to move on to creating macros. Macro Basics You must save your macros before you can run them. If you name a macro Autoexec, Access will run it whenever you open the database. A single macro can perform one or many actions. A Macro object can contain multiple macros. This means that when you click on the Macros tab in the Database window, each macro listed can contain multiple sub macros. Sub macros are created by placing a name in the Name column. If there is no name in the name column then Access will read all of the code in the macro. Macro code reads from top to bottom in the macro pane window until it finds no more code or it sees another macro name in the name column. A blank row will not stop a macro from reading. Comments are optional and are ignored by Access. Every task you want Access to perform is called an Action, and there are 47 different actions you can have a macro perform. Exploring an Existing Macro 1. Open the database: MacrosXP-Complete (choose: FILE OPEN) 2. Click on the Macros tab. 3. Select the macro: Macro Complete and click the Design button. The Macro window is divided up into 4 parts: The menus. The toolbars. The Action Pane (top part of the window) where the specific action is selected. The Argument Pane (bottom portion of the window) where parameters are set. MacrosXP-Complete contains several macros: Open Mainform Complete : This macro opens the form Mainform - Complete. Show History : This macro runs the drop down list on the switchboard and runs a query called Patron Show History. It then filters the query to only show the records for the name chosen from the drop down list. Donor History : This macro runs the drop down list on the switchboard and runs a query called Patron Donor History. It then filters the query to only show the records for the name chosen from the drop down list. Add New Records : This macro takes the cursor to a new record in the form Mainform - Complete and then positions the cursor in the First_Name field. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 10 of 33

11 Macro Names : Condition : macro pane. Click this button to display/hide the Macro Names column in the Macros pane. Click this button to display/hide the Conditions column in the Macro Name: For a macro object to contain several macros, you must name the individual macros in the Macro Name column. Access reads code from top to bottom and will stop reading when it reaches another macro name. If you did not use macro names, access would read all of the code in the macro object. Condition: If you place a condition in this column, Access will only execute the code next to the condition if the condition is true. Note that true or false, the line below will be read. An example of a condition might be to check to see if an order date is before the required date. Action: This is the actual macro code that is executed by access. You can select from 49 different actions. Once an action is selected, any specifics are set below in the arguments pane. Comments: Comments are optional and serve as reminders or explanations to yourself for what each line of code is for. Access ignores everything in the Comments section. Action Arguments: This area allows the user to specify arguments for the currently selected action. This pane will change depending on the action selected and always reflects the currently selected action. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 11 of 33

12 Macro 1: A Macro That Goes to a New Record and Moves the Cursor This macro will be assigned to form Main Form and will tell Access to begin a new record and position the cursor in the cursor in the First_Name field. Step A: Create the Macro 1. Reopen MacrosXP by selecting it from the menu: FILE OPEN 2. Click on the Macros tab. 3. Click the New button. 4. Click the Macro Names button to display that column on the grid. 5. Create the grid shown below including all actions and their arguments. The arguments for each action are shown to the right. For the GoToRecord action, the arguments are Object Type (Form), Object Name (Main Form), and Record (New). Offset is not used. For the GoToControl action, the only argument is the name of the field to go to (First_Name). 6. Save the Macro sheet as My Macros and then close it. Step B: Use the Wizards to Assign the Macro to the MainForm These steps use the Command Button Wizard to assign the macro My Macros.AddRecord to the command button. 1. Click on the Forms tab, select Main Form and click Design View. 2. In the Toolbox, select the Command Button and then click on the form. 3. In the Categories pane, select: Miscellaneous 4. In the Action pane, select: Run Macro 5. Click Next. 6. Select: My Macros.New Record 7. Click Next. 8. Select Text and type (to be displayed on the button): Add a New Record 9. Click Next. 10. Name the button: Add_Record 11. Click Finish. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 12 of 33

13 Macro 2: A Macro that Filters a Query From a Drop Down Menu Choice When the user selects a client s name from a drop down box on the Switchboard form, their choice will be used as a filter in a query to only show clients who match. For example, if they select Norma Desmond, they will only see shows seen by Norma. Step A: Create the Combo Box 1. Click on the Forms tab and open the form Switchboard in Design View. 2. Make sure that the Control Wizards icon on the Toolbox is active. 3. From the Toolbox, click the Combobox button and then click the form. 4. Select: I want the combo box to lookup the values in a table or query and click Next. 5. Select the table Customer Info then click Next. 6. Select the fields: Client_ID, First_Name, Last_Name then click Next. 7. Adjust the column widths if necessary and then click Next. 8. Select the option: Remember the value for later use and click Next. 9. Label the combo box: Attendance History and click Finish. 10. Right-click the combo box and select: Properties 11. Click on the All tab. 12. In the Name box, name the combo box: Show History 10. Click the Save button. 11. Go into Form View. 12. Click the down arrow and select a contact. (Note that at this point nothing else happens.) Step B: Create a Macro that Runs the Query & Filters 1. Click on the Macros tab. 2. Select the macro My Macros and then click the Design View button. 3. Skip a row down from the previous macro and create the action grid and arguments below. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 13 of 33

14 The code that filters our query basically means the following when stated in plain English: Show only the clients from this query where the client id is equal to the client chosen from the drop down menu (called show history ) on the form called Switchboard. [client_id]=[forms]![switchboard].[show history] This is referring to the field in the query Patron Show History that must equal our combo box selection. This is the type of object that our combo box exists on. This is the name of the form the combo box exists on. This is the name of the combo box where the user selects a Client ID 4. Click the Save button and close the macro. Step C: Assign the Macro to the Drop Down List 1. Click on the Forms tab and open Switchboard in Design View. 2. Right-click the combo box and select: Properties 3. Click on the Event tab. 4. Click in the box for the On Change event. 5. Click the down arrow and select the macro: My Macros - Shows Seen 6. Save the form and go into Form View. 7. Test the macro by clicking the down arrow and selecting a name form the list. The query should run and show only the attendance for the person you selected. Note, that as an alternate solution, we could have avoided creating this macro completely by placing the code to the right of the = sign in step B directly in the criteria row of the Patron Show History query and then using the command button wizard to create a button to run the query. Understanding Events The macro above used an On Change event to trigger our macro, some other events are listed below. On Got Focus: On Before Update: On After Update: On Change: On Not in List: On Enter: On Exit: Occurs when a control becomes the currently selected control on the screen. The event occurs before the data in a control (field) is updated (saved). The event occurs after the data in a control (field) is updated (saved). The event occurs when the contents of a text box changes. The event occurs when a value entered into a combo box isn t in the list. The event occurs before the control actually receives the focus. The event occurs just before the control loses the focus to another control on the same form. Note that the order of events (and even which events are available) depends on the object being used and may differ for Forms, Reports, Text Boxes, Combo Boxes, etc. Hint: Determining the Detail and Order of Events 1. Select HELP from the menu, then choose the Index tab and search for: Events 2. For details of Events select the subtopic: Events and Event Properties Reference 3. For the order of Events select the subtopic: Find out when events occur Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 14 of 33

15 SYNCHRONIZED COMBO BOXES Synchronized combo boxes allow the user to narrow down a list of records by using a succession of combo boxes. In this example, there is a combo box containing a list of all of the countries of the world and a second combo box containing all of the cities of the world. When a particular country is selected in the first combo box, the second combo box only shows cities in the country selected in the first combo box. The mechanics of what makes this all happen is illustrated below. The last page of this example shows the relationship between the Cities and Countries tables. Countries Table The Countries table provides the choices for Combo_Country. Combo_Country The Country ID selected in Combo_Country is used as a filter in Cities Combo Query. The Cities table provides the unfiltered data for the query: Cities Combo Query. Cities Table Combo_City Cities Combo Query The filtered Cities Combo Query provides choices for the Combo_City drop down list. Customer Info Donor Info Synchronized Combo Boxes MACRO The macro opens the saved query Cities Query Results and then uses CITY ID selected by the user in Combo_City to filter the Cities Query Results Tickets Purchased Cities Cities Query Results Cities Query Results is a saved query that links 4 tables. data Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 15 of 33

16 Step 1: Create the Countries Combo Boxes Here we will make a combo box that will display a list of countries that the user can select from. The box will pull the Country ID and Country fields from the Countries table but will only display the names of the countries, not their ID numbers. (Displaying the Country ID is not necessary although it is the bound column.) When the user selects a country from the list, Access will remember the Country ID associated with the selected country for later use by the Cities combo box. It remembers Country ID because we are making Country ID the bound column. 1. With the form Switchboard open, click on the Design View icon 2. Activate the Toolbox. 3. On the Toolbox, inactivate the Control Wizards button (make sure it is not depressed). 4. On the Toolbox, click the Combo Box button. 5. Click on the form. 6. Right mouse click the new combo box and select: Properties 7. Click on the All tab and scroll to the top of the Properties window. 8. Enter the settings shown below. Leave all other settings at their defaults. Name: Comb_Country Row Source Type: Table/Query Row Source: Select [Country ID],[Country] from Countries order by [Country]; Column Count: 2 Column widths: 0 ;1 Bound Column: 1 Name: This is what we are naming our combo box. Row Source type: This is the method Access will use to place a list on the drop down menu. The list will come from a table or query. Row Source: Tells access which fields to display and sorts by country. Column count: Tells Access how many columns to access from the table. (The first 2) Column Widths: Tells Access which columns to display and what their widths will be. In our case, Country ID will not be displayed (0) but Country will (1). Bound Column: Tells Access which column to remember when the user selects a country. In our case, access will remember column 1 which is the Country ID number. 9. Rename the label control (the one on the left) as desired. 10. Save the form and click the Form View icon 11. Click the down arrow you just created. You should see a list of countries. Note that at this point, nothing else will happen. 12. Closed the form. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 16 of 33

17 Step 2: Creating a Query for the Cities Combo Box This combo box will list the cities but will not be directly based upon the cities table. Instead, it will be based upon a query that is based upon the Cities table. This is necessary because we wish to filter the list of cities based upon the Country ID the user selected in the Countries combo box. 1. Click on the Tables tab. 2. Select the table CITIES. 3. From the menu, click: INSERT QUERY 4. Click Design View then click Ok. 5. Place the fields: Country ID, City ID, and City in the Field row sorting by City. 6. Click in Criteria row of the Country ID column and type the following: [Forms]![switchboard]![Combo_Country] The type of object Combo_Country is located on (a form). The name of the object containing Combo_Country. The name of the object containing the criteria to be used in this query. 8. Click the Totals button and set all fields to: Group By (This prevents duplicate cities.) 9. Save the query as: Cities_Combo_Query 10. Close the query without running it. This query looks to see what Country ID the user selected in the Country combo box on the Customer data form. It then uses the Country ID associated with the country as a criteria for listing only cities that are in that country. For example, if the user selected USA in the Combo_Country combo box, then the query will insert the Country ID for USA in the criteria row in the Country ID column and list only those cities that have a Country ID of USA. TIP The code below will with list all cities in the world if the user does not select a country. It uses an IIF statement and the ISNULL function. Basically, it reads: If the Combo_Country field is blank, then list cities for all countries, otherwise, list only cities from the country the user selected in the Combo_Country combo box. IIf(IsNull([Forms]![Customer Data]![Combo_Country]),[Country ID],[Forms]![Customer Data]![Combo_Country]) Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 17 of 33

18 Step 3: Creating the Cities Combo Box In this step, we will create the combo box that displays the cities. This combo box uses the query, Cities_Combo_Query as its data source. 1. Click on the Forms tab and open the form Switchboard in Design View. 2. Activate the Toolbox. 3. Inactivate the Control Wizards button (make sure it is not depressed). 4. On the Toolbox, click the Combo Box button. 5. Click on the form. 6. Right mouse the new combo box and select: Properties 7. Click on the All tab and scroll to the top of the Properties window. 8. Enter the settings shown below. Leave all other settings at their defaults. Name: Comb_City Row Source Type: Table/Query Row Source: Cities_Combo_Query Column Count: 3 Column widths: 0 ;0 ;1 Bound Column: 2 Name: This is what we are naming our combo box. Row Source type: This is the method Access will use to place a list on the drop down menu. The list will come from a table or query. Row Source: Tells Access which table or query contains the list it is to display. Column count: Tells Access how many columns to access from the query. (The first 3) Column Widths: Tells Access which columns to display and what their widths will be. In our case, neither Country ID nor City ID will be displayed (0) but City will (1). Bound Column: Tells Access which column to remember when the user selects a city. In our case, access will remember column 2, which is the City ID. 9. Save the form and then click the Form View icon. The combo boxes will both contain lists. Further, the country selected in the first combo box will filter the cities listed in the second combo box; however, the data on the form will not be affected. Note that it will be necessary to requery (press F9 ) after selecting a Country for the City combo box to reflect the change. We will fix this later with our macro. Also, no records are displayed as of yet. 10. Select a country and press F Select a city. 12. Close the form. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 18 of 33

19 Step 3: Create the Results Query Eventually, when the user selects a city, a query will run which displays all customers that live in the selected city. A macro is actually what is used to filter the query and we could also use a macro to filter a table; however, we need data that is from two different tables. Customer Info does not contain the City ID field that we are using as a filter. 1. Click on the Tables tab. 2. Select the table Cities. 3. From the menu, click: INSERT QUERY 4. Click Design View then click Ok. 5. Click the Show Tables icon. 6. Add the following tables: Customer Info Tickets Purchases Donor Info 7. Close the Show Tables window. 8. Connect the Customer Info table to the Cities table by clicking and dragging between the two City fields. 9. Double click the join line connecting the Donor Info and Customer Info tables. 10. Create an Outer Join by selecting: Include all records from Customer Info and only those records from Donor Info where the join fields are equal. 11. Click Ok to close the Join Properties window. 12. Double click the join line connecting the Tickets Purchases and Customer Info tables. 10. Create an Outer Join by selecting: Include all records from Customer Info and only those records from Tickets Purchases where the join fields are equal 11. Click Ok to close the Join Properties window. 12. Place the following fields on the grid: City ID, First_Name, Last_Name, City, Country, Show_Title, and Amount_Donated. 13. Sort by Last_Name in ascending order. 14. Save the query as Cities_Query_Results. 15. Close the query. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 19 of 33

20 Step 4: Creating the Macro Up to now we have one combo box that filters the contents of the other, but the user must press F9 (Requery) to update the city and the Cities_Query_Results query does not open at this point. This macro will connect the City Combo box ( COMBO_City ) to Cities_Query_Results and press F9 for the user. 1. Click on the Macros tab. 2. Click the New button to create a new macro. 3. From the menu, select: VIEW MACRO NAMES to view the names column. 4. Create the macros shown below. ACTION GRID ARGUMENTS FOR THE ACTIONS SELECTED ON THE ACTION GRID [City ID]=[Forms]![Switchboard].[Combo_City] The code for the Where Condition can be interpreted as: Only show records, where the CITY ID equals what is shown in the Combo_City combo box on the form called Switchboard. [Forms] is used to identify what type of object Switchboard is. They are separated by the! [Switchboard] us used to specify the location of Combo_City. They are separated by the period. 5. Save the macro as: Synchronized Combo Boxes 6. Close the macro. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 20 of 33

21 Step 6: Assigning the Macros to the Combo Boxes Here we will assign our macros to the objects in our form. Synchronized Combo Boxes.Requery Cities: is assigned to the Combo_Country combo box. Synchronized Combo Boxes.Filter By City: will be assigned to the Combo_City combo box. Assigning macros to the Combo Boxes 1. Click on the Forms tab and open the form Switchboard in Design View. 2. Double click the Combo_Country combo box to view its Properties. 3. Click on the Event tab in the Properties window. 4. Click in the row for the After Update event 5. Click the down arrow and select: Synchronized Combo Boxes.Requery Cities 6. With the Properties window still open, click on the Combo_City combo box. 7. Click on the Event tab in the Properties window. 8. Click in the row for the After Update event. 9. Click the down arrow and select: Synchronized Combo Boxes.Filter By City Using the Combo Boxes 1. Close the Properties window. 2. Save the form. 3. Click the Form View icon. 4. Select a country. 5. Select a city. The query should run and only list people who live in the city you selected. Example of the Cities Table The relationship between the Cities and the Countries tables. Note that they do not have to be related for this to work. Example of the Countries Table Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 21 of 33

22 MACROS - THE CONDITION COLUMN The Condition Column The Condition column allows for the creation of If-Then-Else conditions that control under what circumstances Access will run the macro code in the Action column. When you place a criteria in the Condition column (such as [Quantity]>5 for example), the code placed in the Action column of the same row as the condition will only be executed if the condition is true. Code placed on the next line down will be executed whether the condition above is true or false. If you only want the code on the next line to be executed if the condition is true, then either: - Place the same condition on the line below. - Or place three dots on the line below which is like saying repeat the condition above. As with all macros: The macro will keep reading the lines below until: A name is encountered in the Macro Name column. Or the StopMacro action is encountered in the Action column. Condition Macro 1: Message Boxes A Message Box is a pop-up window that can be used to alert the user. When combined with the Condition column, this can be an effective method of ensuring that the user enters data as desired. In this example, when you go to the record of a person whose status is No Checks, a message box will open with a notice not to accept checks from the patron. Step A: Creating the Macro 1. Click on the Macros tab. 2. Click the macro My Macros and then click the button. 3. If necessary, click the Condition icon to make the Condition column visible. 4. Skip a row after the last macro and enter the name for your macro: NoChecksMSG 5. Create the macro as shown below. 6. Save and close the macro. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 22 of 33

23 Step C: Assign the Macro to the Form 1. Click on the Forms tab and then open the form mainform in Design View. 2. From the menu, click: EDIT SELECT FORM 3. From the menu, click: VIEW - PROPERTIES 4. In the Properties window, click the Event tab. 5. Click in the row for the On Current event. 6. Click the down arrow and select the macro: My Macros.NoChecksMSG 7. Close the Properties window. 8. Save the form then go to Form View. 9. Scroll through your records. When you get to a record that has a status of No Checks in the Status field, you will get a pop-up warning. Condition Macro 2: Macros That Input Data In this example, if the user purchases more than 6 tickets for a show, they get a 10% discount on the total cost. The SetValue action is used in this macro to place the results of our calculation into the Total field. This is different then simply placing a calculation in a form. Calculations are display only, they do not write to the table, but the SetValue action does place data in the actual table. 1. Click on the Macros tab. 2. Click the macro My Macros and then click the Design button. 3. Click the Condition icon to make the Condition column visible. 4. Create the macro shown below. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 23 of 33

24 Assign the Macro to the Form Although mainform is the form that we open when we wish to enter data, Tickets Purchased Subform is the form that contains the fields that are actually typed in. Therefore, we need to assign our macro to Tickets Purchased Subform. Because the user may decide to enter data into the Ticket_Price or No_of_Tickets fields in a random order, we will assign the macro triggering event to both fields. 1. From the Forms tab open the form Tickets Purchased Subform in Design View. 2. Right mouse click the text box control Ticket_Price and select: Properties 3. In the Properties window, click the Event tab and select the On Lost Focus event. 4. Click the down arrow and select the macro: My Macros.QuantityDiscount 5. Left mouse click on the text box control No_of_Tickets. 6. In the Properties window, select the On Lost Focus event. 7. Click the down arrow and select the macro: My Macros.QuantityDiscount 7. Go to Form View. 8. Change the number of tickets purchased or ticket price to test the macro. 9. Save and close the form. Condition Example 3 To a point, this example is very similar to Condition Macro 2 except that it gives a 10% discount based on whether or not the patron has made a donation, not on the quantity of tickets purchased. This macro is also more complicated because it must look into a subform different from the subform where the calculation is taking place. If you recall, the donation information is kept in the Donor Info Subform and the ticket information is kept in the Tickets Purchased Subform. 1. Click on the Macros tab. 2. Click the macro My Macros and then click the button. 3. If necessary, click the Condition icon to make the Condition column visible. 4. Skip a row after the last macro and enter the name for your macro: DonationDiscount 5. Create the macro shown in the figure above. The conditions cover three possibilities: What to do if the Amount Donated is greater than zero. What to do if the Amount Donated is blank. (This uses the ISNULL( ) function which would return a True condition if the field contained a blank.) What to do if the Amount Donated is equal to zero. (A blank is not considered zero.) Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 24 of 33

25 [Forms]![mainform]![Donor Info subform]![amount_donated]>0 This is the type of object we are accessing. This is the name of the mainform, containing the subform. This is the name of the subform, containing the field we are basing our condition on. This is the name of the field we are basing our condition on. In English, this condition might read: If the Amount_Donated field which exists in the form Donor Info Subform which exists in the form called Main Form is greater than 0, then execute the action to the left Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 25 of 33

26 Setting the Arguments 1. In the Action pane, select the SetValue action for the >0 condition. 2. Enter the Item & Expression code shown below: Item: Expression: [Forms]![Main form]![tickets Purchased Subform]![Total] [Ticket_Price]*[No_of_Tickets]* In the Action pane, select the SetValue action for the ISNULL condition. 4. Enter the Item & Expression code shown below: Item: Expression: [Forms]![Main form]![tickets Purchased Subform]![Total] [Ticket_Price]*[No_of_Tickets] 5. In the Action pane, select the SetValue action for the =0 condition. 6. Enter the Item & Expression code shown below: Item: Expression: [Forms]![Main form]![tickets Purchased Subform]![Total] [Ticket_Price]*[No_of_Tickets] 7. Save and close the macro. Assign the Macro to the Form Although mainform is the form that we open when we wish to enter data, Tickets Purchased Subform is the form that contains the fields that are actually typed in. Therefore, we need to assign our macro to Tickets Purchased Subform. Because the user may decide to enter data into the Ticket_Price or No_of_Tickets fields in a random order, we will assign the macro triggering event to both fields. 1. On the Forms tab, open the form Tickets Purchased Subform in Design View. 2. Right mouse click the text box control Ticket_Price and select: Properties 3. In the Properties window, click the Event tab and select the On Lost Focus event. 4. Click the down arrow and select the macro: My Macros.DonationDiscount 5. Left mouse click the text box control No_of_Tickets. 6. For the On Lost Focus event, select the macro: My Macros.DonationDiscount 7. Save and close the form. 8. Open the form mainform in Form View. 8. Change the number of tickets purchased or ticket price to test the macro. Note: This macro is not without its faults. If the user happens to move the current record indicator in the Donation Info Subform to a new record, Access will not see any donations. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 26 of 33

27 MACRO: OPTION GROUPS An Option Group is an interface that allows the user to pick from a list of choices. When the user selects an option and clicks Print, a macro runs which prints the appropriate labels from a report called Customer Labels. This report is based on a query called Donation Status which in turn is based on two tables: Customer Info & Donor Info Customer Info (Table) Donation Status (Table) Donation Status (query) Customer Labels (Label Report) Examining the Query: Donation Status The report ( Customer Labels ) was created using the Label Wizard, basing it on the query Donation Status. The query is shown below: The query uses an outer join specifying that all records in Customer Info and only matching records from Donor Info are shown. Any person who hasn t make a donation will have a blank in the Amount_Donated field. Grouping is used because some patrons have made more than one donation and we do not want more than one label for each person. Status: IIF([Amount_Donated]Is Null, Not Donated, Donated ) The IIF Statement is combined with the IS NULL operator to look for blanks. When a blank is found, the words Not Donated appear in the Status column. If it is not blank, Donated appears in the Status column. These two choices will be used later on as a Where condition in the macro. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 27 of 33

28 Step 1: Creating the Option Group 1. On the Forms tab, select the form Switchboard. 2. Select Design View and then click Ok. 3. On the Toolbox, verify that the Control Wizards icon is selected. 5. From the Toolbox, click on the Option Group icon. 6. Click on the form. 7. In the pop-up window, type the options as shown: 8. Click on Next. 9. Select either option concerning the default choice. 10. Click on Next. 11. Leave the values set to: 1, 2, & 3 and click Next. 12. Select Option Buttons as the type of control and choose any style you desire, then click Next. 13. For the Caption of the frame, type: Mailing Labels and click Finish. 14. Click the Save icon to save your form. How Option Groups Work When you place either radio buttons, check boxes, or toggle switches in an Option Group, only one of the items can be selected at a time. When one is selected, the Option Group temporarily stores its assigned value. In our case the three possible values are 1, 2, & 3. The Condition column of our macro uses this later as a filter to determine which labels to print. Note that option choices must be numbers. Step 2: Naming the Option Group Because we will be using the name of the option group in our macro code, we need to give it a descriptive name prior to creating the macro. 1. Have the form Switchboard open in Design View. 2. Right mouse click the Option Group frame and select: Properties (The title bar of the properties window should say: Option Group: Frame [number] ) 3. Click on the All tab and scroll up to the Name line. 4. In the Name column type: LabelChoice 5. Close the Properties window and then save and close the form. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 28 of 33

29 Step 3: Creating the Macro 1. Click on the Macros tab and then open My Macros in Design View. 2. Make sure both the Condition and Name columns are visible. 3. Skipping a row, place the cursor in the Names column below the last macro. 4. Create the macro shown below. 5. Save and close My Macros. Macro Name Condition Action Description Labels [LabelChoice]=1 OpenReport This Open Report line will print labels for all patrons if the user selects option 1 (Print All Labels in the option group called LabelChoice. [LabelChoice]=2 OpenReport This Open Report line will print labels just for Donators if the user selects option 2 (Print All Labels in the option group called LabelChoice. [LabelChoice]=3 OpenReport This Open Report line will print labels for non donating patrons if the user selects option 3 (Print All Labels in the option group called LabelChoice. Note that the Where Condition tells Access to look in the Status column of the query upon which the Customer Labels report is based. It then uses either Donated or Not Donated as a criteria for deciding which labels to print. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 29 of 33

30 Step 4: Assigning the Macro to the Labels Form Through a Button In this step, we will create a button which will run the macro. 1. On the Forms tab, open the form Switchboard in Design View. 2. On the Toolbox, verify that the Control Wizards icon is selected. 3. In the Toolbox, select the Command Button and then click on the form. 4. Click in the Miscellaneous category and then select the action: Run Macro 5. Click on Next. 6. Select the macro: My Macros.Labels and then click on Next. 7. Click in the Text box and type: PRINT 8. Click on Next. 8. Name the button: Print_Labels then click Finish. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 30 of 33

31 HIDING FORM CONTROLS To limit the user s ability to affect the form itself, you may wish to hide such things as Close buttons, Scroll Bars, etc. This section shows how to alter the controls on the form. 1. Open the form Switchboard in Design View. 2. Right-mouse click the box in the form s upper left corner to set the properties for the entire form. 3. Select: Properties 4. Click on the Format tab. 5. Make the settings shown below: Views Allowed: Form - Allows only form view. The other choice was datasheet. Scroll Bars: Neither - Hides the scrollbars. Record Selector: No - Hides the record selectors. Navigation Buttons: No - Hides the navigation buttons. Dividing Lines: No - Hides lines between records. Auto Resize: Yes - Resizes the form to show all records. Auto Center: Yes - Centers the from. Control Box: No - Hides the control box. Min Max Buttons: None: - Hides the Min/Max buttons. Close Button: No: - Hides the close button on the form. What s This Button: No: - Hides the? button. 6. Save the form and go into Form View to see the changes. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 31 of 33

32 SETTING STARTUP PARAMETERS Here we can have the switchboard load automatically when the file containing it is opened, hide menu items, toolbars, and the database window, thus preventing users from going places we may not wish them to be. 1. From the menu, click on: TOOLS - START UP 2. Click the Advanced button to see all options. 3. Set the Display Form to: Switchboard 4. Remove checks from all boxes. This will remove the users access to most Access menus and all icons thus forcing them to use your switchboard and removing the chances of them harming your database. 5. Click on Ok and close the database. 6. Reopen the database. Only your switchboard and a limited menu should be visible. Temporarily Bypassing the Startup Limitations To open the database without the startup limitations in effect, simply hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard while opening the database. Removing Startup Limitations To permanently remove the startup options, you must open the database with the SHIFT key held down, and then choose from the menu: TOOLS - STARTUP and then place the checks back in the boxes and remove the form Switchboard from Display Form. Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 32 of 33

33 HIDING DATABASE OBJECTS If you need to display the Database window but would like to hide certain database objects such as saved queries, tables, forms, reports, or macros, you can. This is a wise precaution if you have several people working on a database and you do not wish them to delete one of your objects. This is a two step procedure: First: Second: Hide the objects. Tell Access not to display hidden objects. Step 1: Hide the Object: 1. Right-click the table, query, report, etc.. to be hidden. 2. Select: Properties 3. Check the Hidden attribute and click on Ok. (The object appears dimmer but still visible.) Step 2: Don t Display Hidden Objects: 1. From the menu, click on: TOOLS - OPTIONS. 2. Click on the View tab. 3. Remove the check from Hidden Objects and click on Ok. The object should be invisible. Unhiding Database Objects To unhide a database object, you merely need to reverse the procedure above. 1. From the menu, click on: TOOLS - OPTIONS. 2. Click on the View tab. 3. Check Hidden Objects and click on Ok. (The object is now visible but dim.) 4. Right-click the table, query, report, etc., to be unhidden. 5. Select: Properties 6 Uncheck the Hidden attribute and click on Ok. (The object is now completely visible.) Access_2002-Switchboards.doc January 2003 Page 33 of 33