When you pass Exam : Access 2010, you complete the requirements for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) - Access 2010 certification.

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1 Appendix 1 Microsoft Office Specialist: Access Certification Introduction The candidates for Microsoft Office Specialist certification should have core-level knowledge of Microsoft Office Access The typical candidate for the exam works as a user, support professional, trainer, teacher, professor, database user, or database creator who needs to create or maintain an Access database. Users can create, modify, and extend functionality of database objects, including tables, queries, forms, and reports. Users can also construct and modify simple relationships among database entities and can instruct others in basic Access functionality and usage. Credit Toward Certification When you pass Exam : Access 2010, you complete the requirements for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) - Access 2010 certification. Not For Sale Cert 1 C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 1

2 Not For Sale Cert 2 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Adding Categories and Groups to the Navigation Pane The Navigation pane is where you view and access objects, such as tables, queries, forms, and reports in the database. These objects are typically grouped together by type. The Navigation pane usually appears along the left side of the workspace. You can add new categories to the Navigation pane for frequently used items, such as forms or reports. Then, you can add groups to further organize groups in the Navigation pane. In this next exercise, you will add a custom category to the Navigation pane. Then, you will add groups to the category. Figure 1 1 Navigation pane shortcut menu Step-by-Step Open the Happy Pets file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as Happy Pets Database, followed by your initials. 2. Place the mouse pointer at the bottom of the Navigation pane below all the objects, and then right-click. The shortcut menu appears as shown in Figure 1 1. Shortcut menu C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 2

3 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 3 3. Click Navigation Options to display the Navigation Options dialog box, and then click Object Type to display the current groups in the Object Type category. See Figure 1 2. You will now add a new category to the Navigation pane. Figure 1 2 Categories for Object Type Categories Add Item button 4. Click the Add Item button. 5. Replace the Custom Category 1 text with Frequently Used Objects and then press Enter. Next, you will add new groups to the category. 6. Click the Add Group button. 7. Type Monthly Forms and then press Enter. 8. Click the Add Group button. 9. Type Monthly Reports and then press Enter. 10. Click OK to close the Navigation Options dialog box. Groups for Object Type Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 3

4 Not For Sale Cert 4 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification Click the Navigation drop-down arrow to display the Navigation pane menu, and then click Frequently Used Objects. The Navigation pane appears as shown in Figure 1 3. Figure 1 3 Navigation pane displaying new category New category New groups Navigation pane 12. Place the mouse pointer over Customers Form, press and hold the mouse button, and then drag the form into the Monthly Forms group. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 4

5 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Drag mcr-print Monthly Reports into the Monthly Reports group. Compare your screen to Figure 1 4. Objects added to new groups Figure 1 4 Navigation pane with objects added to new groups New groups 14. Leave the database open for the next exercise. Renaming and Deleting Objects in the Navigation Pane If you want to make a category or group in the Navigation pane more recognizable or identifiable based on the objects that are in the group, you can rename the group or category using the Navigation Options dialog box. Groups and categories that are no longer needed can be deleted from the Navigation pane by clicking Delete Item or Delete Group in the Navigation Options dialog box. Step-by-Step Drag mcr-print Monthly Reports into the Monthly Forms group so that you can rename the Monthly Forms group. 2. Right-click below all the objects in the Navigation pane, and then click Navigation Options. 3. Click the Frequently Used Objects category. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 5

6 Not For Sale Cert 6 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 5 Revised Frequently Used Objects category 4. In the Groups for Frequently Used Objects area, click Monthly Forms to highlight it. 5. Click the Rename Group button. 6. Type Monthly Forms and Reports and then press Enter. 7. Click Monthly Reports and then click the Delete Group button. A message box appears asking if you are sure you want to delete the Monthly Reports group. 8. Click OK. The Monthly Report group is removed. 9. Click the check box next to Unassigned Objects to deselect it. The Unassigned Objects group will no longer be available in the Navigation pane. 10. Click OK. Compare your screen to Figure Close the database. Using Quick Start Features The Quick Start features are part of the Application Parts gallery. The Application Parts gallery includes built in database parts such as tables and forms. These application parts are templates that you can add to your database. The templates include fields that are frequently used for the type of template you select, such as a table template. For example, if you select the Tasks table template, a table is created with fields such as ID, task title, priority, status, and description just to name a few. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 6

7 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 7 When you use a Quick Start table template, you will be guided to create a relationship with another table in the database and to select a field from the related table that will be used as a lookup column. This lookup column allows you to view and select a value that will be entered into the new table. In the next exercise, you will create a table using the Tasks table template from the Quick Start section of the Application Parts gallery. Step-by-Step Open the Epic Internet file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as Epic Internet Sales, followed by your initials. You will review the Quick Start selections. 2. Click tblemployee in the Navigation pane to select it. This table will be the related table for the Quick Start table template you select. 3. Click the Create tab and in the Templates group, click the Application Parts button arrow to view the gallery of options as shown in Figure 1 6. Quick Start options 4. In the Quick Start section, click Tasks to create a table with fields for entering tasks. The Create Relationship dialog box appears. You will create a relationship between tblemployee and the Tasks table. 5. Verify that the One tblemployee to many Tasks. option button is selected, and then click Next. You will choose the lookup column for the relationship. 6. Click the Field from tblemployee drop-down arrow, and then select EmpID. 7. Click the Sort this field drop-down arrow, and then click Sort Ascending. Figure 1 6 Application Parts gallery Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 7

8 Not For Sale Cert 8 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 7 Create Relationship dialog box 8. Select the text in the What name would you like for your lookup column? text box, and then type Employee ID Number. See Figure 1 7. Select field that includes the value for the lookup column 9. Click Create. Notice that the Tasks table, TaskDetails, and TaskDS forms appear in the Navigation pane. 10. Double-click the Tasks table to open it. Notice that seven fields appear in the table. 11. Click the Close button to close the Tasks table. 12. Double-click the TaskDetails form to open it. In this form, you can enter tasks for the employees. 13. Click the Close button to close the TaskDetails form. 14. Leave the database open for the next Step-by-Step. Creating User Templates When you format tables, queries, forms, and reports in your database, you may find that you d like to apply the same formatting to future database objects. Rather than recreating the same objects and formats every time you create a new database, you can save the database with the desired formats as a template. When you open a template, a new Access database opens using the template name followed by a consecutive number. All of the objects and formats from the template appear in the new database. Then, you can change the data as necessary. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 8

9 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 9 Step-by-Step Click the File tab, and then click Save & Publish. 2. In the Save Database As section of the Save & Publish window, click Template (*.accdt). 3. Click the Save As button. The Create New Template from This Database dialog box opens. 4. In the Name text box, type Employees and Tasks, click in the Description text box, and then type Assign Tasks to Employees. Compare your dialog box to Figure 1 8. Enter a name for the template Add a description that helps identify the database 5. Click OK. A message box appears showing the name and location of the template. Click OK to close the message box. 6. Close Access, and then launch Access again. Access opens showing the Available Templates window. Figure 1 8 Create New Template from This Database dialog box Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 9

10 Not For Sale Cert 10 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 9 Available Templates window 7. Click My templates. The Employees and Tasks database template appears as shown in Figure 1 9. Employees and Tasks database 8. Click the Create button. Notice that the Employees and Tasks database opens with a number after the file name. The number appears letting you know that this is the first database created from this template. If necessary, click Enable Content. You will now save a table object as a form. 9. In the Navigation pane, click tbljobtitle to select it. 10. Click the File tab, and then click Save Object As. The Save As dialog box opens. 11. Select the text in the Save tbljobtitle to text box, and then type Job Title. 12. Click the As drop-down arrow, click Form, and then click OK. If necessary, click Save. The Job Title form is open. 13. Close the Job Title form. 14. Click the File tab, click Save Database As, and then save the database as Employees and Tasks-2, followed by your initials. Close the database. Hiding and Deleting Fields After you create a table, you can easily hide fields from view. For example, you may have a field that has salary information for employees. You can hide confidential information, such as salaries and still be able to view information in other fields, such as the employees addresses and telephone numbers. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 10

11 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 11 In addition, you may find that you no longer need a field in a table. You can easily delete a field from a table. However, all the data in this field is lost when the field is deleted. Step-by-Step Open the Hudson file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as Hudson Database, followed by your initials. 2. Double-click tblemployee in the Navigation pane to open it. Review the data in the table and notice that there are fields for Salary and Hourly Rate. You decide to hide these fields so that other users will not be able to view them. 3. Place your mouse pointer over the Salary field title and drag to the right until the Hourly Rate and Salary fields are both selected, and then rightclick to display the shortcut menu. 4. Click Hide Fields. Next, you will delete the Phone number field since the employees prefer to be contacted on their cell phones. 5. Right-click the Phone field title, and then select Delete Field from the shortcut menu. A message box appears asking if you want to permanently delete the field and the data in the field. 6. Click Yes. 7. Close tblemployee. A message box appears asking if you want to change the layout of the table. 8. Click Yes and leave the database open for the next Step-by-Step. Finding Records in a Table Tables may contain hundreds of records of information. Rather than scrolling through the records in a table to find a specific record, you can use the Find feature to quickly locate the information. In this next exercise, you will use the Find feature to find a record in a table. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 11

12 Not For Sale Cert 12 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 10 Find and Replace dialog box Step-by-Step Double-click tblcustomer in the Navigation pane to open it. 2. Click the Last Name field heading, and then on the Home tab, click the Find button in the Find group. The Find and Replace dialog box opens as shown in Figure Type data that you want to find 3. In the Find What text box, type Katz. 4. Click Find Next. You should see the record for Marc Katz. 5. Click the Close button to close the Find and Replace dialog box. 6. Close tblcustomer and remain in this database for the next Step-by-Step. Importing Data as a Linked Table Data can be easily shared between Access and Excel. For example, you may use an Excel worksheet, also called a spreadsheet, to store, analyze, and work with data. If you want the data from the worksheet available in Access, you can then copy and paste the data in the worksheet into a table in Access or you can create a link between the worksheet and Access. When you create a link, all the data in the worksheet is imported and may be viewed and used in Access. A link is sometimes referred to as a live link. In other words, the current available data in the worksheet may be instantly viewed in Access. In this next exercise, you will import Excel data and link the table with the Excel worksheet. Step-by-Step Click the External Data tab, and then click Excel in the Import & Link group to import the tbljobtitle Excel file as a linked table. The Get External Data Excel Spreadsheet dialog box opens. 2. Click the Link to the data source by creating a linked table. option. 3. Click the Browse button, and then navigate to the location where your Data Files are stored. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 12

13 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Click the tbljobtitle.xlsx workbook and then click Open. The file name should appear in the File name text box in the Get External Data Excel Spreadsheet dialog box. See Figure Figure 1 11 Get External Data Excel Spreadsheet dialog box Link to data source option 5. Click OK. The Link Spreadsheet Wizard dialog box opens as shown in Figure Figure 1 12 Link Spreadsheet Wizard dialog box Sample data from worksheet Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 13

14 Not For Sale Cert 14 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 13 Linked table in Navigation pane 6. Since tbljobtitle (which is the spreadsheet you wish to import and link) is selected, click Next to go to the second window of the Link Spreadsheet Wizard dialog box. 7. Verify that the First Row Contains Column Headings option is selected, and then click Next. 8. In the Linked Table Name text box, type tbljobtitle Linked and then click Finish. A message box appears letting you know that you are finished linking the tbljobtitle Linked table. Click OK. The linked table appears in the Navigation pane with the linked table icon before the table name. See Figure Linked table icon 9. Leave the database open for the next Step-by-Step. Creating Tables in Design View Tables may be created by typing data into the fields in Datasheet view as you did in AC Lesson 2. You can then switch to Design view and add field names, change data types, and enter descriptions for the fields. However, you may find that it is easier to create the entire table in Design view. When you create a table in Design view, you type in the field names, choose the data types, and enter optional descriptions as necessary. Then, you save the table, switch to Datasheet view, and enter the data into the fields. Next, you will create a table in Design view. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 14

15 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 15 Step-by-Step Click the Create tab, and then click the Table Design button in the Tables group. The Table Design window opens as shown in Figure You will now enter field information in the table. Figure 1 14 Table Design window 2. In the first row, type Last Name in the Field Name field, and then press Tab to move to the Data Type field. Text, which appears in the Data Type field, is the data type you want. 3. Press Tab to move to the Description field. 4. Type Enter the person s last name in the Description field and then press Tab to move to the Field Name field. Enter the following data in the table fields: TABLE 1 1 Field information for table Field name Data Type Description First Name Text Enter the person s first name Title Text Enter the nurse s title Doctor First Name Text Enter the first name of the doctor that the nurse is associated with Doctor Last Name Text Enter the last name of the doctor that the nurse is associated with Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 15

16 Not For Sale Cert 16 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 15 Table in Datasheet view 5. Click the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar, and then type tblnurses in the Table Name text box. 6. Click OK. A message box appears letting you know that no primary key field is defined. You do not want to create a primary key field. 7. Click No to close the message box. Next, you will view the table in Datasheet view. 8. On the Design tab, in the Views group, click the View button arrow, and then click Datasheet View. Increase the column widths of the table, as necessary. Compare your screen to Figure Close tblnurses, save any layout changes, and leave the database open for the next Step-by-Step. Changing Relationships Relationships are created between fields in tables or queries so that data from each table can be viewed together. Related fields do not need to have the same field name, but they do need to have the same data type. After you create tables in your database, you may find that you need to change a relationship between tables. For example, you may need to create a relationship between tables that are not related. You can easily change the non-related tables to related tables by adding a relationship between them. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 16

17 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 17 Step-by-Step Click the Database Tools tab, and then click the Relationships button in the Relationships group. The Relationships window appears as shown in Figure You will now add additional tables to the Relationships window. Figure 1 16 Relationships window 2. Click the Design tab, and then click the Show Table button in the Relationships group to display the Show Table dialog box. 3. Click tbljobtitle Linked and then click Add. 4. Click tblnurses and then click Add. 5. Click Close to close the Show Table dialog box. You will now create relationships between the new tables and the existing tables. 6. In the tbljobtitle Linked table, place your mouse pointer over the JobID field and drag it on top of the JobID field in tblemployee. When you see a plus sign next to the mouse pointer, release the mouse pointer. The Edit Relationships dialog box opens showing the relationship between the JobID field in tbljobid Linked and the JobID field in tblemployee. 7. Click Create. 8. In the tblnurses table, place the mouse pointer over the Doctor Last Name field, drag it on top of the Last Name field in tbldoctor, and then click Create in the Edit Relationships dialog box. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 17

18 Not For Sale Cert 18 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 17 Updated Relationships window 9. Compare your screen to the Relationships window in Figure New relationships created 10. Click the Close button in the Relationships group, and then click Yes to save the changes to the Relationships window. Remain in this database for the next Step-by-Step. Creating a Make Table Query A make table query is created when you need to copy data from one or several tables and placed it in its own table. For example you may have a table that has information about employees, such as their names, job titles, and salary. And, in another table, you have employee telephone numbers and the languages they speak. Rather than reentering all this information into a new table, you can use the make table query to create a table that has their names, job titles, telephone numbers, and the languages they speak. There are many types of queries and most queries are called Select Queries in which you select the tables and fields, enter necessary criteria, and run the query. However, you may need to use a query to perform an action, such as the Append query where you can add records from one table into another. You will now learn how to create a make table query. Step-by-Step Click the Create tab, and then click the Query Design button in the Queries group. The Show Table dialog box and the Query Design window appear. 2. Double-click tblcustomer and tblhousehold to add these tables to the query. Notice that a relationship exists between these tables. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 18

19 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Close the Show Table dialog box. 4. Drag the bottom-right corner of the tblcustomer table in a downward direction until all the fields are displayed. You will add fields to the Query Design grid. 5. Double-click CustID, CustFirst, and CustLast from tblcustomer to add them to the Query Design grid. 6. Double-click City and Prov from tblhousehold to add them to the Query Design grid. 7. Double-click Phone from tblcustomer to add it to the Query Design grid. On the Ribbon, notice that the Select button is selected by default in the Query Type group since it is the most frequent used type of query. 8. In the Query Type group, click the Make Table button to create the make table query. The Make Table dialog box opens as shown in Figure 1 18 Enter name for new table 9. Type tblcustomercontact in the Table Name text box, verify that the Current Database option button is selected, and then click OK. To create the table, you will need to run the query. 10. Click the Run button in the Results group. A message box appears letting you know that you are about to paste 41 records into a new table. 11. Click Yes. The tblcustomercontact table appears in the Navigation pane. 12. Close the query without saving the design of the query. 13. Leave the database open for the next Step-by-Step. Removing a Table from a Query After you create a query with multiple tables, you may no longer need a table in the query. To avoid confusion, it is better to remove any unnecessary tables from a query. You will now remove a table from an existing query. Figure 1 18 Make Table dialog box Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 19

20 Not For Sale Cert 20 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Step-by-Step 1.11 Figure 1 19 Shortcut menu for tables in a query 1. Click the View button arrow, and then click Design View. 2. Open the qrycustomerhealthplan query. 3. Resize the tables in the Query Design grid, as necessary. View the tables and fields in the Query Design grid and notice that there are not any fields from tblhealthplan used in the query. This table can be removed from the Query Design grid. 4. Right-click the tblhealthplan table heading to display the shortcut menu. See Figure Shortcut menu 5. Click Remove Table. The tblhealthplan table is removed from the query. 6. Save and close the query. 7. Close the database. Exploring Query Tasks and Using Expression Builder Query tasks included in the creation and modification of a query include adding, changing, and removing fields from the query design grid. After you select a field and it is placed in the query grid, you may decide that you no longer want the field in the query. Access lets you easily remove a field. Expressions, or calculations, are similar to formulas in Excel. The Expression Builder makes it easy for you to select fields from a database and add operators, such as a plus sign (+) or multiplication symbol (*). You can use as many or as few of these features as you want, depending on what is needed in the expression. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 20

21 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 21 When you create an expression, there are two parts to the expression that are separated by a colon (:). What appears before the colon will be the heading for the column in the query. What appears after the colon is the expression or calculation. After you create the expression in the Expression Builder you will also delete a field from the query design grid. Step-by-Step Open the Happy Pets file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as Happy Pets Supplies, followed by your initials. 2. Open qry-customer Purchases all customers in Design view. You will add a calculation to the query using the Expression Builder that multiplies the Price field by the Quantity field. 3. Click in the empty field next to Quantity in the Field row. 4. Click the Builder button in the Query Setup group. The Expression Builder dialog box opens as shown in Figure You will add the expression Price*Quantity to the Expression box. Expression box Expression Elements Figure 1 20 Expression Builder dialog box Expression Values Expression Categories 5. In the Expression Categories area, double-click Price to add it to the Expression box. 6. In the Expression Elements area, click Operators to display operators in the Expression Values area. You will add the multiplication symbol (asterisk) to the expression. 7. Double-click * (the asterisk) to add it to the expression, and then click qry-customer Purchases all customers in the Expression Elements area to redisplay the fields in the Expression Categories area. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 21

22 Not For Sale Cert 22 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 21 Expression Builder dialog box with expression 8. In this Expression Categories area, double-click Quantity to add it to the Expression box. Compare your Expression Builder dialog box to Figure Completed expression 9. Click OK to close the Expression Builder dialog box. Next, you will change the column heading for this expression by replacing Expr1 with Total. 10. Double-click Expr1 in the expression to select it, and then type Total. 11. Click the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar to save the query. Next, you will add the currency format to the Total results. 12. Click the View button in the Results group. Total appears as the column heading and the total amount for each order appears in this column. You decide to remove the Product Description field since it is no longer necessary. 13. Place the mouse pointer over the Product Description field and click when a downward arrow displays. The Product Description field should be selected. 14. In the Query Setup group on the Design tab, click Delete Columns. The Product Description field is removed from the query. 15. Save and close the query. Remain in this database for the next Step-by-Step. Creating Ad Hoc Relationships and Using the Group By Feature If you need to create a query with multiple tables and a relationship between the tables has not been created, you can create an ad hoc relationship in the query. Ad hoc means for this purpose. It generally refers to a solution designed for a specific task. An ad hoc C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 22

23 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 23 relationship is created when the relationship may not be needed for any other purpose in the database, but a specific query. You create an ad hoc relationship in a query by using the mouse to drag from one field in a table to a field in another table. Another feature used in an Access query is the Group By feature. The Group By feature lets you group information in a field together. For example, you may have a region field that has East, West, North, and South regions. By using Group By, the records for these regions will be grouped together in the query result. You add a row in a query with Group By and built-in calculation options by clicking the Totals button when you have a query opened in Query Design view. You may want to group items together such as all of the purchases that were made in the month of January. By adding the Totals row in a query, you can select items you want to group together. Other options on the Totals row are Sum, Avg, and Count. By selecting these options, the selected calculation will be performed on the data. Step-by-Step Click the Create tab, and then click the Query Design button in the Queries group. You will add tables to the query. 2. In the Show Table dialog box, double-click Customers and Purchases to add them to the Query Design window. Notice that a relationship line does not appear between the tables in the query. 3. Close the Show Table dialog box. Next, you will create an ad hoc relationship for this query. 4. Click and hold the mouse button over the Customer Number field in the Customers table and drag it on top of the Customer Number field in the Purchases table. A relationship line appears between the two tables. You will now add fields to the query grid area of the Query Design window. 5. Double-click Customer Number, Price, and Quantity to add these fields to the query. 6. Click the View button in the Results group, to view the results in Datasheet view. Notice that there are 29 records in the query. 7. Click the View button to return to Design view. You will now add grouping to the fields so that the records are grouped by Customer Number. 8. Click the Totals button in the Show/Hide group. You will now change Group By in the Price and Quantity fields to Sum so that the amount in these fields will be added together and a total for each customer will become available when you run the query. 9. In the Price field, click the Group By down arrow in the Total row, and then click Sum. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 23

24 Not For Sale Cert 24 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 22 Query grid with Total row 10. In the Quantity field, click the Group By down arrow in the row, and then click Sum. Compare your screen to Figure Total row 11. Click the View button in the Results group to see the results. The Prices and Quantities are now totaled and grouped by customer. Nine rows appear in the query datasheet. 12. Save the query as qry-purchases by Customer. 13. Close the query and leave the database open for the next Step-by-Step. Viewing Code and Converting Macros to Visual Basic VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) is the programming language for Microsoft Office programs, including Access. In VBA, you can create code or review code associated with a macro. VBA code contains the statements that describe the action that will take place when you run the macro. Code refers to the syntax, or wording, that is used in VBA. When you create a macro, Access records the VBA code for you. However, you may want to review the code to make changes to it. Access makes it easy to convert macros to VBA code and review the code by opening a macro and then clicking the Convert Macros to Visual Basic button in the Tools group. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 24

25 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 25 Step-by-Step Open the Customers Form in Design view. Notice the form has a button named Close Form. Next you will display the code for the Close Form button. 2. Right-click the Close button, and then select Properties from the shortcut menu. The Property Sheet pane opens and displays the properties for the Close button. To view the code, the Event tab must be selected. 3. Click the Event tab, if necessary. In the On Click row, you will see Embedded Macro. This macro was created when you choose the On Click event for the Close Form button. 4. Click the Build button in the On Click row. The Macro window opens showing the macro code for the Close Form button. See Figure Describes the macro actions 5. Click the Close button in the Close group, to close the Macro window and then, in the Tools group, click the Property Sheet button to close the Property Sheet pane. 6. Close the Customers Form. 7. Right-click mcr-inventory Orders, and then select Design View. The mcr- Inventory Orders macro opens the form in Read Only mode and filters the records to show only those whose stock on hand is equal to 50 or fewer. Next, you will convert the macro to Visual Basic. Figure 1 23 Macro code for the Close Form button Macro will close the form when the button is clicked Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 25

26 Not For Sale Cert 26 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 24 Navigation pane with Modules group 8. If necessary, click the Design tab, and then click the Convert Macros to Visual Basic button in the Tools group. The Convert macro: mcr-inventory Orders dialog box opens. 9. Verify that both check boxes in the dialog box are checked so that error handling is enabled and macro comments will be displayed, and then click Convert. A message box appears letting you know that the conversion is finished. 10. Click OK to close the message box. Notice that the Modules group is displayed in the Navigation pane with the Converted Macro mcr-inventory Orders module listed as shown in Figure Modules group 11. Double-click the Converted Macro mcr-inventory Orders module to open it in the Visual Basic window. Maximize the window, if necessary, to see all of the Visual Basic code. See Figure If you wanted to edit the code, you would do so in this window. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 26

27 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 27 Figure 1 25 Macro converted to Visual Basic 12. Close the Visual Basic window, or you can click the View menu, and then select Microsoft Access to return to the macro window. Close the macro window. 13. Remain in this database for the next Step-by-Step. Formatting Form and Report Controls The Position features are predefined layout features which include anchoring, control margins, and padding. They are useful for creating consistent positioning of objects placed in forms and reports. Using position features eliminates the need to manually change each control in a form. Anchoring lets you position controls, such as buttons, to a specific location of the form such as the top-right corner or bottom-left corner. For example, if you anchor controls to the top-right corner of a form, no matter how the layout of the rest of the form changes, these controls will always appear in the top-right corner. Control margins are the padding or spacing, within the controls. For example, label and text box form controls have control margins which allow you to increase or decrease the space between the text. Padding refers to the space between the form controls in a form. Step-by-Step Open Customers Form in Form view. Notice the Close Form button located to the right of the Customer Number. You will now anchor this control to the upper-right corner of the form. 2. Switch to Design view, click the Arrange tab, click the Anchoring button arrow in the Position group, and then click Top Right. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 27

28 Not For Sale Cert 28 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 26 Form with wide control margins 3. Click the Design tab, and then click the View button to view the form in Form view. The Close Form button is now anchored in the top right section of the form. 4. Save and close the form. 5. Open the Inventory Order Form. View the spacing within the field controls. Each form control, such as Wonder Diet Dogs, has the default control margin setting applied. The control margins have not been resized. You will now increase the control margins between the controls in the Detail section. 6. Switch to Design view, and then drag in the left ruler of the Detail section to select all of the form controls in the Detail section. 7. Click the Arrange tab, click the Control Margins button arrow in the Position group, and then click Wide. The margins in each control are much wider causing some of the text to be hidden. You will now increase the size of the controls so that you can keep the wide margins and see all of the text in the form controls. 8. Place the mouse pointer over the top edge of the Form Footer, and then drag down to increase the size of the Detail section. 9. With the form controls still selected, place the mouse pointer over the bottom of any form controls and drag down to increase the size of the labels and text boxes. 10. Switch to Form view, and then compare your screen to Figure Next, you will add control margins, or padding, to the form. Wider margins appear in the text boxes C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 28

29 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Switch to Layout view. 12. Press Ctrl+A to select all the controls, and then click the Arrange tab. Click the Control Padding button in the Position group, and then click Narrow. Since the control margins are set to wide, setting the padding to narrow will prevent the form from becoming too large. 13. Save and close the form. Remain in this database for the next Step-by-Step. Formatting Report Controls The Position features for reports are the same as those used for forms. You can use the anchoring, control margins, and control padding features in reports as you did in forms. These predefined layout features can eliminate the process of manually changing each control in a report. Step-by-Step Open the Purchases Report. You will now add wide margins to the page header. 2. Switch to Design view. 3. Click in the ruler to the left of the Page Header section. 4. Click the Arrange tab, click the Control Margins button arrow, and then click Wide. 5. Increase the size of the controls by dragging a selection handle on the bottom edge of one of the controls down. 6. Switch to Report view to see the increased control margins in the Page Header controls. 7. Switch to Layout view. 8. Press Ctrl+A to select all the controls. 9. Click the Arrange tab, click the Control Padding button arrow in the Position group, and then click Wide. Since the report is in a grouped format, there is plenty of room to display the records using wide control padding. 10. Switch to Report view. The controls have wide control margins and control padding. 11. Save and close the report. Remain in this database for the next Step-by-Step. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 29

30 Not For Sale Cert 30 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Adding Conditional Formatting to Forms In Lesson 10, you learned how to apply conditional formatting to controls in a report. With conditional formatting the appearance of the data will differ from one record to another depending on whether the value in the control meets criteria that you specify. Conditional formatting works the same for forms. In this next exercise, you will add conditional formatting to the Quantities field so that quantities less than 75 will appear with a different format than the other data. Step-by-Step 1.17 Figure 1 27 New Formatting Rule dialog box 1. Open the Inventory Order Form. You will add conditional formatting to the form so that quantities less than 75 are displayed with a different format indicating that additional quantities need to be ordered. 2. Switch to Design view, and then click the Stock on Hand control in the Detail section. 3. Click the Format tab, and then click the Conditional Formatting button in the Control Formatting group. 4. Click the New Rule button in the Control Formatting Rules Manager dialog box. 5. In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, click the middle drop-down arrow, and then click less than or equal to. 6. Click in the box on the right, and then type Click the Font color arrow button, and then click Red. Compare your New Formatting Rule dialog box to Figure Preview of format 8. Click OK to close the New Formatting Rule dialog box, and then click OK to close the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager dialog box. 9. Switch to Form view, and then scroll through the records to locate Stock on Hand quantities less than Save and close the form. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 30

31 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 31 Reformatting Form Fonts and Using Quick Styles Fonts used in forms may be changed to make the form appear more professional and more appealing to the user. Fonts may be reformatted using several methods, including the formatting tools on the Ribbon and the Quick Styles gallery. Quick Styles add a quick format to objects in your forms, such as tables and shapes. Quick Styles add professional formats to fonts and form controls. You can view how the formats will appear before you make a selection by moving the mouse pointer on a Quick Style option in the Quick Styles gallery. This is known as a live preview. Quick Styles are only available for certain form controls, such as buttons and navigation controls. In this next exercise, you will format fonts using font format tools and also apply styles from the Quick Styles gallery to three button controls. Step-by-Step Open the All Customer Purchases form and type 15 in the Enter Parameter Value dialog box. You will now change the font in the form. 2. Switch to Design view, and then click in the left ruler in the Detail section. 3. Click the Format tab, and then click the Bold button in the Font group. 4. Click the Font Color button arrow, and then click Brown Switch to Form view to see the results. 6. Save and close the form. Next, you will add Quick Styles to buttons in the Purchases form. 7. Open the Purchases form. There are three command buttons in this form. 8. Switch to Layout view, and then select all of the buttons (Next Record, Previous Record, and Delete Record). Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 31

32 Not For Sale Cert 32 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 28 Quick Styles gallery 9. Click the Format tab, and then click the Quick Styles button arrow in the Control Formatting group. The Quick Styles gallery appears, as shown in Figure Click the Colored Fill Blue, Accent 1 option. The buttons appear with the Quick Style applied. 11. Save and close the form. Inserting a Logo and Page Number into a Report In Lesson 12, you learned how to insert a logo into a form. The process for inserting a logo into a report is the same. Logos, which are simply images, can add personalization to a form or report. Company logos add personalization to a report. You may remember that you need to remove the automatic layout features in the report before you make any changes to the logo. The automatic layouts are the automatic controls, such as for the spacing in a report header that Access automatically adds when you create a report. Page numbers are also important in a report. While page numbers are added automatically when you use the Report Wizard, you may want to add page numbers manually and then apply a page number style. Next, you will add a logo and page numbers to a report. Step-by-Step Open the Customers Report. Since there is plenty of room in the Report Header, you decide to add a logo to the report. 2. Switch to Design view and, if necessary, click the Design tab. 3. Click the Logo button in the Header / Footer group, and then navigate to the location where you store your Data Files. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 32

33 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Click Pets Logo.jpg and then click OK. The logo is inserted below the Customers title. You will need to remove the Layout feature before you can move the logo. 5. Right-click the logo, point to Layout, and then click Remove Layout. 6. Drag the logo to the right of the Customers title. 7. Increase the size of the logo until its right border is aligned with the 5" mark on the top ruler. See Figure You will now add page numbers to the report. Logo added to Report Header 8. Click the Design tab, and then click the Page Numbers button in the Header / Footer group. The Page Numbers dialog box opens as shown in Figure Figure 1 29 Report with logo Figure 1 30 Page Numbers dialog box 9. Click the Page N of M option button, click the Bottom of Page [Footer] option button, click the Alignment drop-down arrow, and then click Right. 10. Click OK to close the Page Numbers dialog box, and then switch to Report view. Scroll to the bottom-right corner of the report to view the page number in the report footer. 11. Save the report Not and remain in Report view For for the next Step-by-Step. Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 33

34 Not For Sale Cert 34 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Finding, Filtering, and Sorting Records in Reports After you create a report, you will probably need to find records in the report. To assist with finding records, you can use the Find feature in which you enter the information you want to find in the Replace dialog box. You can also filter the records in the report. For example, you may have a report that includes employee titles. If you want to view only the employees with the Managers title, you can filter the report so that only employees with the Manager title appear in the report. You can also change the sort order of the records in the report to view them in Sort Ascending (A to Z) or Sort Descending (Z to A) order. In this next exercise, you will find, filter, and sort records in a report. Figure 1 31 Filter options for the Title field Step-by-Step Verify that the Customers Report is open in Report view, click the Home tab, if necessary, and then click the Find button in the Find group. The Find dialog box opens. 2. Type Watson in the Find What text box, and then click Find Next. Watson is highlighted as Customer Close the Find dialog box. Next, you will filter report records. 4. Scroll to the top of the report and click in the first Title text box to select it. 5. Click the Filter button in the Sort & Filter group. The filter options for the Title field appear as shown in Figure Click the (Select All) check box to deselect all of the filter options. 7. Click the Manager check box to filter for the Manager title, and then click OK. Notice that only the managers are displayed. 8. Click the Manager field for Customer 01, click the Filter button, and then click the (Select All) check box to select all of the filter options. 9. Click OK. All records are displayed. Next, you will sort report records. 10. Switch to Layout view, and then click the Last Name field for Customer 01. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 34

35 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Click the Home tab, and then click the Descending button in the Sort & Filter group. Notice that the records are now sorted in descending order from Z to A. 12. Save the report and leave it open for the next Step-by-Step. Changing Page Orientation and Renaming Labels Changing the page orientation from portrait to landscape allows additional data to appear in the report if the report has more columns that can fit in portrait orientation or if you need to fit more text in a label. The text in labels may be easily changed by clicking in the label, deleting the existing text, and typing new text. In this next exercise, you will change the page orientation of a report to landscape and then rename a label in the report. Step-by-Step Verify that the Customers Report is open in Layout view, and then click the Page Setup tab. 2. Click the Landscape button in the Page Layout group, to change the page orientation so that it is now 11 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall. You will now change the report title. 3. Click the Customers label in the Report Header, and then click in the label again so that the insertion point appears in the title. 4. If necessary, move the insertion point after the s in Customers, and then press the Spacebar. You will now change the label text. 5. Type Names and Addresses. Click between the r and the s in Customers, and then type an (apostrophe) as in Customer s Names and Addresses to show possession. You will now need to move the logo and resize the report label. 6. Switch to Design view, and then drag the logo to the right until the right edge of the logo s frame is approximately even with the 8 ½" mark on the top ruler. 7. Click the Customers Names and Addresses label to select it. 8. Drag the right-middle selection handle to the right until all of the label text appears on one line. Note: You will probably need to drag it to the 5" mark in the top ruler. 9. Place the mouse pointer over the bottom of the label and drag it up until the entire label is only about ½-inch tall. 10. Save and close the report and then close the database. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 35

36 Not For Sale Cert 36 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Creating a Blank Report and Adding Grouping Creating a report with the Report Wizard is an easy method for report creation; however, you are limited to the layouts offered in the Wizard. If you would rather create your own layout, you can create a blank report and then place the report fields and objects where you want them. You can create the blank report based on one table or several related tables. Grouping can also be added to a report. When you group records, you group them based on a field, such as month or year. All of the records for the particular field are grouped together. Figure 1 32 Blank report and Field List pane Field List pane Step-by-Step Open the American Pets file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as American Pets Database, followed by your initials. 2. Click the Create tab, and then click the Blank Report button in the Reports group. A blank report opens in Layout view along with the Field List pane as shown in Figure If necessary, click Show all tables in the Field List pane to display the tables in this database. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 36

37 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert In the Field List pane, click + (plus sign) in front of the Customers table to display its fields. You will now drag the fields that you want from the Customers table into the blank report. Drag the Customer Number field into the report. The Customer Number field is placed on the left side of the report. 4. Click + (plus sign) in front of the Purchases table to display its fields. Drag the Product ID field into the report. The Specify Relationship dialog box opens. You will select the fields and options for the relationship in this dialog box. 5. Click the Many records in Purchases match one record in Customers option button. 6. Click the first drop-down arrow under This field in Purchases and then click Customer Number. 7. Click the first drop-down arrow under Relates to this field in Customers and then click Customer Number. Compare your dialog box to Figure Select option so that a single record in Customers matches with multiple records in Purchases 8. Click OK to close the Specify Relationship dialog box. 9. Drag the Product Description, Price, and Quantity fields from the Purchases table into the report, and then close the Field List pane. You will now add grouping to the report. 10. If necessary, click the Design tab, and then click the Group & Sort button in the Grouping & Totals group. The Group, Sort, and Total pane appears below the report. Figure 1 33 Specify Relationship dialog box Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 37

38 Not For Sale Cert 38 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 34 Blank report with grouping added 11. In the Group, Sort, & Total pane, click the Add a group button, and then click Customer Number in the list. The report shows each customer number with all of their orders grouped together. See Figure Group, Sort, and Total section 12. Click the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar, and then name the report Customer Orders. 13. Leave the report open for the next Step-by-Step. Adding a Text Box to a Report You may need to add a text box to a report or a form so that you can enter a calculation. A text box that is not connected with a field in a table or query is referred to as an unbound control. It is easiest to add an unbound control, such as a text box, in Design view. You can add a text box by clicking the Text Box button and then clicking the location in the report where you want the text box to appear. The text box appears with two parts. The left side of the text box is the label which is typically used to describe the purpose of the text box and the right side is where you may enter calculations. Step-by-Step Verify that the Customer Orders report is open, and then switch to Design view. You will add a text box in the Detail section. In the text box, you will create an expression that calculates price multiplied by quantity. 2. Click the Design tab, if necessary, and then click the Text Box button in the Controls group. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 38

39 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Click in the right side of the Detail section. Do not worry if the text box overlaps the Quantity field. You will change the alignment later in this exercise. Notice that the word Unbound appears in the text box. 4. Click the text box label on the left side of the text box, and then press Delete to delete the label. You will now display the Property Sheet pane for the text box so you can enter an expression in the Expression Builder. 5. Drag the text box next to the Quantity field, and then click the Property Sheet button in the Tools group. 6. In the Property Sheet pane, click the Data tab, click in the Control Source row, and then click the Build button to the right of Control Source. The Expression Builder dialog box opens. 7. In the Expression Categories area, double-click Price to add it to the Expression box. 8. In the Expression Elements area, click Operators, and then doubleclick * (asterisk) in the Expression Values area. The asterisk is for multiplication. 9. Then, in the Expression Elements area, click Customer Orders to redisplay the report fields. 10. Double-click Quantity to add it to the Expression box, and then click OK to close the Expression Builder dialog box. 11. Click the Format tab in the Property Sheet pane, click the Format dropdown arrow, and then click Currency. 12. Switch to Report view to view the results. See Figure Figure 1 35 Customer Orders report with text box Text box with expression calculates the total of price times quantity 13. Save the report and leave it open for the next Step-by-Step. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 39

40 Not For Sale Cert 40 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Adding a Hyperlink to a Report A hyperlink is a link that connects you from one object to another, such as from a report to a Web site, a table, or another report. A hyperlink may be added to a form or report. To add a hyperlink to a report, you select the Hyperlink button and then click the location in the report where you want the hyperlink placed. Then, you are directed to navigate to the destination for the hyperlink. After you add the hyperlink, you simply click it to go to the destination of the hyperlink. Next, you will add a hyperlink from a report that links to a Web site that displays sales tax by state. Users will be able to find out how much tax will be added to their orders. Figure 1 36 Insert Hyperlink dialog box Step-by-Step Switch to Design view and click outside the text box to deselect it. 2. Click the Hyperlink button in the Controls group. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box opens. 3. Click in the Text to display text box, and then type Review Sales Tax by State. 4. Click the Browse the Web button in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. 5. Type in the address bar of your browser, and then press Enter. Click in the address bar to highlight the Web site address. 6. Click the Access button on the task bar. Notice that the Internet address appears in the Address text box in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. See Figure Browse the Web button Address text box 7. Click OK to close the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. 8. Save the report, and then switch to Report view. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 40

41 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Click the hyperlink. If you see a message box asking if you want to open the.pdf file, click OK. The Web page should appear in your browser. 10. Close your Web browser. 11. Leave the report open for the next Step-by-Step. Redesigning the Report and Using the Grid When you create a report, you may need to make small adjustments to align objects as desired. In the Report Design view, you can display a grid and then align the objects to the grid. These small adjustments can make all the difference in the professional appearance of the report. Step-by-Step Switch to Design view. 2. Click in the ruler to the left of the Page Header section to select all of the objects in the Page Header. You will now remove the layout from the Page Header so that you can rearrange the objects in this section. 3. Click the Arrange tab, and then click the Remove Layout button in the Table group. Next, you will remove the layout from the Detail section. 4. Repeat Steps 2-3 to remove the layout from the Detail section. 5. Drag the hyperlink to the far right side of the Page Header section. You will now move the objects in the Page Header and Detail sections to the right side of the form. 6. Click in the left ruler to select all the objects in the Page Header, and then drag the selection to the right until the left edge of the first object is aligned with the 1-inch mark. 7. Click in the left ruler to select all the objects in the Detail section, and then drag the selection to the right until the left edge of the first object is aligned with the 1-inch mark. Click outside of selected objects to deselect them. 8. Select the text box with the expression =[Price]*[Quantity], and then drag it to the right of the Quantity field. Next, you will use the snap to grid feature for the text box control. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 41

42 Not For Sale Cert 42 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 37 Size/Space options 9. Click the Arrange tab, if necessary, and then click the Size/Space button in the Sizing & Ordering group. The Size/Space options appear as shown in Figure Grid option 10. Click Grid. A grid of dots and lines appears in the Design view background. 11. Click the text box control and then, using the middle-right selection handle, drag to the left until the text box is only slightly larger than the text inside the text box. You will align the text box control to a column of dots in the grid. When, the object is aligned, it will be even with the grid. 12. Right-click the selected hyperlink, point to Align, and then click To Grid. The hyperlink may only move slightly since it will be moved to the next available column of dots which are close together. If you want to align additional controls, depending on how they were moved, align them to the grid. 13. Save and close the report. Inserting a Page Break You may find that you need to insert a page break into a report. While Access will print a report over several pages when the data reaches the end of the page height, you may want more control over where the page breaks occur. Inserting a page break C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 42

43 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 43 into a report is as simple as switching the report to Report Design view, selecting the Insert Page Break control, and then clicking in the location where you want the page break. In this next exercise, you will create a page break in a report that places the data and report total on a separate page. Step-by-Step Open the Inventory Report and then scroll to the bottom of the report. The Report Footer includes a control that displays today s date and the total dollar amount of the stock on hand. You decide to place the date and total amount of the stock on hand on a separate page 2. Switch to Design view and, if necessary, click the Design tab. 3. Click Insert Page Break button in the Controls group. 4. Click the lower-left corner of the Page Footer as shown in Figure Placing a page break here will place the entire report footer print on a separate page. Page break Figure 1 38 Page break in Page Footer 5. Save the report. 6. Click the File tab, click Print, and then click Print Preview. 7. Locate the page number and page buttons at the bottom of the report and click the Next Page button. The report footer is on a separate page. 8. Close the report. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 43

44 Not For Sale Cert 44 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Reordering Tab Function Just as you learned to reorder tabs in a form, you can reorder tabs in a report. The Tab control determines how you move between the fields. Typically, fields are filled out from left to right. The Tab control allows you to change the tab order at any time. Step-by-Step 1.27 Figure 1 39 Tab Order dialog box 1. Open the Customer Orders report, and then press Tab repeatedly to see the movement between the fields. The tab moves from the Customer Number to the item total and then to Product ID, Product Description, Price, and Quantity. You want to change the tab order so that it flows uniformly from left to right. 2. Switch to Design view and in the Detail section, click on the text box control for the expression for the total stock on hand for the Product ID and note the name of the text box. The text box should show a name of Text# (Text followed by a number). 3. If necessary, click the Design tab and in the Tools group, click Tab Order. The Tab Order dialog box appears as shown in Figure You want the text box to appear at the end of the other fields so you will now change the order. This tab needs to be moved to bottom of the order C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 44 5/2/11 4:30 PM

45 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Click in the gray box to the left of the Text# field, and then drag it down to the bottom of the list. The fields should now appear as Product ID, Product Description, Price, Quantity, and Text#. 5. Click OK to save the tab order and close the Tab Order dialog box. 6. Switch to Report view and press Tab to move through the fields. The tab movement is now from left to right. Save and close the report. 7. Close the database. Using Arrange Tools The Arrange tools allow you to change the layout of a form or report by allowing you to add space between controls and split or merge controls. You may also add horizontal or vertical lines to outline a control. You work in the Form Layout view for forms and the Report Layout view for reports. The Insert tools insert additional space above, below, and to the left or right of a selected object in a form or a report. The Split tool may be used to split a control, such as a text box field, so the control displays in multiple parts. Splitting is an easy method to quickly change the size of a control. You can merge a split control back to its original format. You will now use the Insert, Gridlines, Split, and Merge tools on the Arrange tab to change the form layout. Step-by-Step Open the Pharmacy file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as Canadian Pharmacy, followed by your initials. 2. Click tblemployee to select it. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 45 5/2/11 4:30 PM

46 Not For Sale Cert 46 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 40 Form in Layout view 3. Click the Create tab, and then click the Form button in the Forms group. Maximize the Form window. See Figure The form displays in Layout view. Next, you will change the form title. Fields automatically placed in two columns 4. Click in the tblemployee Form title to select it, then click again to place the insertion point in the title, delete the existing text, type Employee Information, and then press Enter. 5. With the form title selected, drag the right side of the title border to the left to reduce the size of the title until only the text is displayed in the title. You will now insert spacing below the title to add more room into the title area. 6. Click the Arrange tab, and then click the Insert Below button in the Rows & Columns group twice to add space below the title. Next, you will add space on the left side of the title to center the title across the top of the form. 7. Click the Insert Left button twice to insert space to the left of the title, which will move the title to the right. 8. Save the form as Employee Information Form. 9. Select any field in the form, and then click the table selector (the plus sign that appears in the top-left corner of the table) to select the entire table. See Figure AC AA 41. You will now add horizontal gridlines to the form. C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 46 5/2/11 4:30 PM

47 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 47 Figure 1 41 Detail section selected Detail section 10. In the Table group, click the Gridlines button arrow, and then click Horizontal. Click the form title to deselect all to be able to view the new gridline applied to the form. See Figure Next, you will split a field vertically to quickly reformat its size. Figure 1 42 Gridlines added to form Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 47 5/2/11 4:30 PM

48 Not For Sale Cert 48 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification Click the Last Name text box to select it. Click the Split Vertically button in the Merge / Split group. The Last Name text box is split into two vertical fields. 12. With the Last Name text box still selected, press and hold Shift, and then click the text box below. Now you will merge the split boxes back into one. 13. With both text boxes selected, click the Merge button in the Merge / Split group. The two text boxes are merged back into the original text box. 14. Save the form and leave it open for the next Step-by-Step exercise. Using Additional Arrange Tools The Move and Table groups on the Arrange tab include additional tools for arranging the layout of forms and reports. You can move fields up or down using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. The Table group includes the Stacked button and the Tabular button. The Stacked button creates a stacked layout in which the selected fields are stacked in a column. The Tabular layout places the selected fields horizontally across the top of the form or report. After you change the layout with the Arrange tools, you can switch to Design view to perfect the look. In the next exercise, you will move fields down and then stack specific fields in the form. You will then switch to Design view to make some additional minor changes. Step-by-Step Press Ctrl+A to select all of the form, and then in the Table group, click the Gridlines button arrow, and then click None. The form features are easier to see without the gridlines. You will now select all of the fields on the right side of the form and then move them down. 2. Deselect all, press and hold the Shift key, and then click the labels and text boxes for the selected fields shown in Figure C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 48 5/2/11 4:30 PM

49 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 49 Figure 1 43 Selected fields 3. Click the Move Down button in the Move group. Next, you will move these fields to the left so that they are stacked below the City field. 4. In the Table group, click the Stacked button. Note: You will go into Design view to review the form layout. 5. Click the Home tab and in the Views group, click the View button arrow, and then click Design View. Scroll down in the form so you can see how the fields are placed. Next, you will remove the layout from the form. 6. Press Ctrl+A to select the entire form. 7. Click the Arrange tab, and then click the Remove Layout button in the Table group, click Remove Layout. Next, you move the Province through the Review fields so that they are closer in proximity to other fields. 8. Deselect all. Place the mouse pointer in the left ruler and drag down until the Province through Review fields are selected. You will now move these fields until they are under the City field. 9. Place the mouse pointer over the top of the Province field and drag the fields upward until Province is below the City field. Next, you will increase the height of these fields. 10. Place the mouse pointer over the bottom middle selection handle on the Review field and drag down until these fields are approximately the same size as the non-selected fields. You will now increase the vertical space between the selected fields. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 49 5/2/11 4:30 PM

50 Not For Sale Cert 50 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 44 Increased vertical spacing 11. In the Sizing & Ordering group in the Arrange tab, click the Size/Space button arrow, and then click Increase Vertical. Repeat this step to add additional vertical spacing until the spacing between the selected fields is approximately the same as the non-selected fields. Compare your screen to Figure Vertical spacing 12. Save the form. 13. Switch to Form view to review the completed form. 14. Save and close the database. Creating a Drop Down Control in a Form to Filter a Report Drop down boxes, also known as combo boxes, are controls used in forms that allow you to make a selection from a list of options. This control would be useful in a report as well; however, it typically requires VBA code to successfully accomplish this task. In Access, you have the option of using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code in a form using a combo box that filters data in a report. The first line of a procedure code begins with the word Sub followed by the name of the procedure and then followed by parentheses () as shown in Figure C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 50 5/2/11 4:30 PM

51 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert 51 Figure 1 45 Example of code Start of procedure with Sub Comment explains purpose of the following code End of procedure with End Sub Sub is often preceded by the word Private, indicating that this procedure is for a specific location. The word Public may precede Sub, indicating that the code may be used in many objects in the database. Lines that begin with apostrophes ( ) are for reference only, such as the explanation of the code. The last line of the procedure code shows End Sub indicating the end of the procedure. Code that beings with Dim creates an array or defines what is shown after the word Dim. For example, the code Dim stroffice As String defines that stroffice will be a variable, in this case the Office field located in the form that will be used in the code. The next line of code checks to see if the report is open. If the report is not open, a message box appears indicating that the report needs to be open in order for the code to be performed. The code If and End If places a condition in the code. For example, If the report is not open, then display a message box. Other lines of code basically follow this same course. Each command defines a part of the object, such as a report, or refers to a command that needs to be performed. While an entire book would be necessary to cover all aspects of VBA code, the basic explanations above serve as the background for the code you will use in the next exercise. You will copy and paste existing VBA code in the VBA window. This code will be linked to a button in a form so that when the button is clicked, the VBA code will be executed. Beginning of conditional If statement End of conditional If statement Step-by-Step Open the Texas file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored, and then save the database as Texas Employees, followed by your initials. Open the Final Code.docx file from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored. You will now add VB code to the button in the frmreport_filter form. 2. Open the frmreport_filter form. Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 51 5/2/11 4:30 PM

52 Not For Sale Cert 52 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Figure 1 46 Choose Builder dialog box 3. Switch to Design view. 4. Right-click the Apply Filter button, and then click Properties from the shortcut menu. The Property Sheet pane opens. 5. Click the Event tab in the Property Sheet pane, and then click the Build button shown in Figure on the On Click row. The Choose Builder dialog box opens as Figure 1 47 Example of code Private procedure for specific location Apostrophe indicates a comment or explanation of code Code Builder 6. Click Code Builder, and then click OK. 7. Navigate to the Final Code document, press Ctrl+A to select all the text, and then press Ctrl+C to copy the text. 8. Navigate to the Visual Basic for Applications window and select any text that is displayed in the window. 9. Press Ctrl+V to copy the code into the window, and then click the Save button on the Visual Basic toolbar to save the code. Click back on the first line of code that begins with Private Sub. Compare your screen to Figure Indicates start of procedure code Dim defines variables used in the functions If places a condition in the code Indicates end of procedure End If indicates the end of the condition C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 52 5/2/11 4:30 PM

53 APPENDIX 1 Access Certification 1 Cert Close the VBA window, and then close the Property Sheet pane. 11. Click the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar to save the changes to frmreport_filter, and then switch to Report view. 12. Click the Office arrow, click Austin in the list and then click the Apply Filter button. A message box appears reminding you to open rptemployees. 13. Click OK to close the message box, open rptemployees and then click the Apply Filter button again to filter for the employees in Austin. Six records should appear in rptemployees. See Figure Selected option to be filtered Apply Filter button in the form Report_Filter 14. Close the form, report, and database file. Figure 1 48 Report_Filter form and filtered rptemployees Filtered report Not For Sale C7886_1 Appendix_47834.indd 53 5/2/11 4:30 PM