Wrox Access 2003 VBA Programmers Reference Apr 2004 ISBN 0764559036 pdf

(1)

(2)

Access

2003

VBA

(3)

(4)

Access

2003

VBA

Programmer’s

Reference

Patricia Cardoza

Teresa Hennig

Graham Seach

Armen Stein

(5)

Access

2003

VBA

Programmer’s

Reference

Publishedby

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

10475CrosspointBoulevard

Indianapolis,IN46256

www.wiley.com

Copyrightc 2004byPatriciaCardoza,TeresaHennig,ArmenStein,GrahamSeach.Allrightsreserved.

PublishedbyWileyPublishing,Inc.,Indianapolis,Indiana

PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada

eISBN:0-7645-7166-4

ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyform

orbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,scanning,orotherwise,exceptas

permittedunderSection107or108ofthe1976UnitedStatesCopyrightAct,withouteithertheprior

writtenpermissionofthePublisher,orauthorizationthroughpaymentoftheappropriateper-copyfee

totheCopyrightClearanceCenter,Inc.,222RosewoodDrive,Danvers,MA01923,(978)750-8400,

fax(978)646-8700.RequeststothePublisherforpermissionshouldbeaddressedtotheLegal

Department,WileyPublishing,Inc.,10475CrosspointBlvd.,Indianapolis,IN46256,(317)572-3447,

fax(317)572-4447,E-mail:permcoordinator@wiley.com.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THEPUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR

MAKE NOREPRESENTATIONS ORWARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THEACCURACY OR

COMPLETENESSOFTHECONTENTSOFTHISWORKANDSPECIFICALLYDISCLAIMALL

WAR-RANTIES,INCLUDINGWITHOUTLIMITATION,WARRANTIESOFFITNESSFORAPARTICULAR

PURPOSE.NOWARRANTYMAYBECREATEDOREXTENDEDBYSALESORPROMOTIONAL

MATERIALS. THEADVICEANDSTRATEGIES CONTAINEDHEREINMAYNOTBESUITABLE

FOREVERYSITUATION.THISWORKISSOLDWITHTHEUNDERSTANDINGTHATTHE

PUB-LISHERISNOTENGAGEDINRENDERINGLEGAL,ACCOUNTING,OROTHERPROFESSIONAL

SERVICES.IFPROFESSIONALASSISTANCEISREQUIRED,THESERVICESOFA COMPETENT

PROFESSIONALPERSONSHOULDBESOUGHT.NEITHERTHEPUBLISHERNORTHEAUTHOR

SHALL BELIABLEFORDAMAGESARISINGHEREFROM.THEFACTTHATAN

ORGANIZA-TIONORWEBSITEISREFERREDTOINTHISWORKASACITATIONAND/ORAPOTENTIAL

SOURCEOFFURTHERINFORMATIONDOESNOTMEANTHATTHEAUTHORORTHE

PUB-LISHERENDORSESTHEINFORMATIONTHEORGANIZATIONORWEBSITEMAYPROVIDEOR

RECOMMENDATIONSITMAYMAKE.FURTHER,READERSSHOULDBEAWARETHAT

INTER-NETWEBSITESLISTEDINTHISWORKMAYHAVECHANGEDORDISAPPEAREDBETWEEN

WHENTHISWORKWASWRITTENANDWHENITISREAD.

Forgeneralinformationonourotherproductsandserviceortoobtaintechnicalsupport,please

contactourCustomerCareDepartmentwithintheU.S.at(800)762-2974,outsidetheU.S.at(317)

572-3993orfax(317)572-4002.

Wileyalsopublishesitsbooksinavarietyofelectronicformats.Somecontentthatappearsinprint

maynotbeavailableinelectronicbooks.

Trademarks: Wiley,theWileylogo,Wrox,theWroxlogo,ProgrammertoProgrammerandrelated

tradedressaretrademarksorregisteredtrademarksofJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.and/oritsafﬁliatesin

theUnitedStatesandothercountriesandmaynotbeusedwithoutwrittenpermission.Allother

trademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.WileyPublishing,Inc.,isnotassociatedwith

(6)

To

my

husband

Rob,

together

we

can

climb

mountains.

To

my

parents,

who’ve

given

me

the

foundation

to

succeed

in

life;

I

love

you.

—Patricia

To

my

family,

for

their

unwavering

love

and

encouragement.

To

the

PNWADG,

for

the

privilege

of

leading

such

a

great

group

of

developers.

—Teresa

I

dedicate

this

book

(or

at

least

my

chapters)

to

my

beautiful

wife

Julie-Anne,

for

carrying

the

world

on

her

shoulders

so

I

could

work

uninterrupted,

and

for

her

unfailing

support,

encouragement,

and

sacriﬁce,

despite

illness

and

personal

hardship.

And

to

my

children,

Madeleine

and

Eli,

who

tried

to

understand

why

Daddy

couldn’t

spend

so

much

time

with

them.

I

am

indeed

a

lucky

man.

(7)

(8)

Credits

Authors EditorialManager

PatriciaCardoza KathrynMalm

TeresaHennig

ArmenStein VicePresident&ExecutiveGroupPublisher

GrahamSeach RichardSwadley

ExecutiveAcquisitionsEditor VicePresidentandExecutivePublisher

RobertElliott RobertIpsen

DevelopmentEditor VicePresidentandPublisher

EileenBienCalabro JosephB.Wikert

ProductionEditor ExecutiveEditorialDirector

AngelaSmith MaryBednarek

CopyEditor ProofreadingandIndexing

TechBooks TECHBOOKSProductionServices

SeniorProductionManager

(9)

(10)

About

the

Authors

PatriciaCardozaisanExchangeandOutlookApplicationsdeveloper,writer,andMicrosoftOutlookMVP.

PatriciacurrentlyservesasExchangeAdministratorandleaddeveloperforPaciﬁcSouthwestContainer,

alargemanufacturingcompany.Shehasauthoredtwootherbooks,SpecialEditionUsingMicrosoftOfﬁce

Outlook2003andAbsoluteBeginner’sGuidetoMicrosoftOneNote2003.Shehasalsowrittennumerous

articlesaboutOutlook,Exchange,andwirelessdevicesforavarietyofjournalsincluding.NETMagazine

andTechRepublic.Inhersparetime,shelovestocook,read,watchmovieswithherhusband,andspoil

herthreecats.

TeresaHennigistheownerofEade.com,whichspecializesindevelopingcost-effectiveAccess

applications.Herenergyandenthusiasmarecomplementedbyherabilitytoquicklygraspasituation

andprovideasolution.Herbiggestrewardsarebeingapartnerwithherclientsandsharingtheirjoyin

theirsuccesses.Hersite,www.DatabaseAnswerSite.com,isrecognizedasaresourceforlearningabout

relationaldatabasesbyseveraluniversitiesandtechnicalsupportorganizations.

AnavidAccessaﬁcionado,TeresaisthepresidentofthetwoleadingAccessusergroupsintheUS

northwest:thePaciﬁcNorthwestAccessDevelopersGroup(PNWADG)andtheAccessSpecialInterest

Group.SheisalsodedicatedtohelpingtheSpinalCordSocietyraisemoneytoﬁndacureforspinalcord

injuries.And,shewishesthatshehadmoretimetoenjoydancing.

GrahamSeachisChiefDevelopmentOfﬁcerforaSydney-baseddatabasedevelopmentcompany,Paciﬁc

Database(www.paciﬁcdb.com.au).HehasbeendevelopingapplicationsinAccesssinceversion1.0,has

participatedintheMicrosoftOfﬁce2003betaprogram,andhaspresentedatseveralMicrosoftevents,

notablytheMicrosoftOfﬁce2003SystemlaunchinSydneyandMelbournein2003.

GrahamholdsanMCPinAccessDevelopment,master-levelBrainbenchcertiﬁcationinAccess,andis

recognizedbyMicrosoftasanMVP(mostvaluableprofessional).Hehasreceivedthisawardthreetimes.

HeregularlyprovidesworldwideAccessdevelopersupportforMicrosoftviatheMicrosoftnewsgroups,

andhasbeenpublishedinMSDNMagazine.Graham’stechnicalfocusisnowonAccessandtheSQL

Serverintegration,havingprovidedmanybusinesssolutionstoawiderangeofgovernment,military,

andprivateorganizations.

ArmenSteinistheownerandfounderofJStreetTechnology,Inc.,ateamofdatabaseapplication

developersinRedmond,Washington.HeisPresidentEmeritusofthePaciﬁcNorthwestAccess

DevelopersGroup,andhascontributedtoAccess/Ofﬁce/VBAdvisormagazineandSmartAccess. He has

taughtdatabaseclassesatBellevueCommunityCollegeandSeattleCentralCommunityCollegeandalso

developedandtaughthisown1-daytrainingclasscalledAccessDevelopmenttheJStreetWay.Armen

earnedabusinessadministration/computersciencedegreefromWesternWashingtonUniversity,and

hasbeendevelopingcomputerapplicationssince1984.Hisotherinterestsincludeactivitieswithhis

(11)

Contributors

SteveClarkisaMicrosoftAccessMVP,anMCP,andaProjectManagerandDeveloperfortheFMS

ProfessionalSolutionsGroup(www.fmsinc.com/consulting).Asadeveloper,hespecializesindatabase

developmentandhasproducedAccess,VB(.NET),andASP(.NET)applicationsforclientsfromall

elementsofbusiness,bothnationallyandinternationally.Heearnedabachelor’sdegreeincomputer

sciencefromtheUniversityofCincinnatiin1994andhasbeenwithFMSsince1998andanAccessMVP

since2001.Whenhe’snotmanagingordeveloping,heenjoysparticipatinginallformsofmotorcycle

racing.

BrianM.SockeyisfounderandpresidentofFarsightSolutions,Inc.(DBATeleVantageNorthWest),a

MicrosoftBusinessSolutionspartner,andvalue-addedresellerofArtisoftTeleVantagesoftware-based

businesstelephonesystems.BeforestartingTeleVantageNorthWest,BrianworkedintheDeveloper

SupportgroupatMicrosoft,wherehespecializedinclient/serverdevelopmentissuesinvolving

MicrosoftAccessandSQLServer.Brianenjoysthegreatoutdoors,theater,andgoodfood(almost

everythingexceptbluecheese).

RandallJ.Weers,thefounderandpresidentofProcia,Inc.,specializesinprocessanddatamanagement

applicationsutilizingtheMicrosoftOfﬁcesuite.Hisprimaryfocusistohelppeoplemanagebusiness

processesandbusinessrulesthroughtheappropriateapplicationofprocessimprovementand

automation.Randall’sexperienceincludeseverythingfrombusinessprocessanalysistotechnicaland

trainingmanualwriting.RandallmakeshishomeinSeattle,Washington,whereheisthefacilitatorforIT

WorkGroups,aPugetSound-basedallianceofsenior-levelindependentinformationtechnology

professionals.

SamRadakovitzjoinedMicrosoftin1998andwasamemberoftheAccessteamforAccess2000,2002,and

2003.Alotofhiseffortswerefocusedonwizardsandsecurityfeatures.ForAccess2003,Samwas

thoroughlyengagedinthenewmacrosecurity.Thismadeitaperfectﬁtforhimtoreviewthisbook’s

securitychapters,especiallytheoneonmacrosecurity.WhencreatingAccessapplications,Samenjoys

goingoutsidetheboxandaddingabitofcreativity.So,beinginvitedtoprovideapplicationsthatcould

demonstratesomeofAccess’snewfeaturesseemedlikeanawesomeopportunitytosharehisideaswith

(12)

Acknowledgments

We’dliketothankallthefolksatWileywhomadethisbookpossible.BobElliottworkedwith

PatriciaandTeresatobuildtheamazingteamofauthorspresentonthisbookaswellastogetall

themoundsofpaperworkstraight.EileenBienCalabroshowedincrediblepatienceformatting,

organizing,andeditingourchapters.Shereassuredusthatwecouldgetallthisdoneanddone

well,inaremarkablyshorttime,aslongaswefocused.Ourtechnicaleditor,MichaelStowe,

tirelesslycheckedallofourfactsandgentlysteeredusbackoncoursewhenneeded.Techbooks

InternationalPvt.Ltd.workedincrediblyhardtoformatallthepagesandworkwithallofthe

ﬁguresinthisbook.Thankseveryone!

—TheGroup

ThankstoallwhohadtoputupwithmewhenIhadtomeetdeadlines.Myhusband,Rob,

enduredmanynightsoftakeoutandseveralweekendswhenIwasgluedtomycomputer.My

parents,JoeandSally,havesupportedmeineverythingIdoandIthankGodforthemeveryday.

IwouldnotbewhereIamtodayinmycareerifitwerenotfortheMicrosoftMostValuable

Professional(MVP)program.Iamhonoredtobeincludedinthatesteemedgroupof

professionals.

Lastly,I’dliketothankTeresaHennig.Shehandledthemajorityoftheschedulingofchapters

andhelpedmekeepalloftheinformationforthisbookorganized.Coordinatingfourauthors

andseveralcontributorstakespatienceanddedication.ThanksTeresaforallyourhardwork.

—Patricia

First,I’dliketothankPaulEadeforbeingsuchanincredibleresourceandwealthofknowledge.

Youareanamazingfriend,andIcherishtheopportunitiestolaughandjustbesilly.

Ican’tsayenoughabouttheMicrosoftAccessTeam,includingRitaNikas.Theirpassionand

dedicationhasmadeAccessanincrediblypowerfulprogram.Aspecialnoteofappreciationto

BillRamos,TimGetsch,andSanjayJacobforinvestingsomuchofthemselvesintoﬁndingout

whatdeveloperswant,formakingtheADEsoawesome,andforbeingsoresponsivetoallofour

requests!IalsowanttothankMichaelKaplanforsharinghisopinionsandencouragementand

fordoingsomuchfortheAccessgroups.

ToeveryoneI’vemetthroughthisbook...thankyouforanamazingopportunitytoenjoyanew

challengeandtohelpAccessdevelopers!VeryspecialthanksgotoPatriciaCardoza,whoseems

likeWonderWoman—balancingacareerandfamilywhilewritingmultiplebooks.Shenotonly

wroteseveralelements,butalsoreviewedeverychapterandhelpedusallincountlessways.

AndthankstoRandyWeers,whoofferedhelpwhenIneededit.Yes,workshouldbefun!And

lastthanksgotoalltheMikesandMichaels.Ican’timagineaworldwithoutMichaels!

(13)

Acknowledgments

Needlesstosay,Iwanttoﬁrstthankmywifeandchildrenfortheirsupport,encouragement,and

understandingthroughoutaverydifﬁcultanddemandingtime.

IwanttothankRitaNikas,myMicrosoftMVPLead,whoﬁrstmademeawareofthebook,and

whoseresolutedeterminationtosolveproblemsandtosourcemuchneededinformationwill

alwaysbeappreciated.

IalsowanttothankMikeGunderloy,who,despitethefactthatwehadnevermet,kindlysent

pagesfromhisownbook,tohelpmewithmine;agestureIwillneverforget.

Finally,IwouldliketoexpressmythankstoProfessorRogerBoxofCharlesSturtUniversity,

whogavemea2-weekextensiononmyﬁnalassignment,soIcouldmakeabookdeadline.

—Graham

Iwouldliketoacknowledgetheencouragementandsupportfrommywife,Lori,andkids,

LaurenandJonathan.

—Armen

I’mgladthatIcouldhelpRandyandTeresa.Itiscooltofeaturesomeofmyworkonthebook’s

Website.IwanttothankmygirlfriendDeniceandmyparentsforputtingupwithmylong

hoursofworkandextrawork!Withouteveryone’ssupportandunderstandingmydailylife

wouldbemuchmoredifﬁcult!

—Steve

MythankstoTeresaHennigforgivingmetheopportunitytocontributetothisbookandfor

crackingthewhipwhenIwasstrugglingtokeepmovingforward.MydeepappreciationtoSam

RadakovitzfortheinvaluableinsightintothenewsecurityfeaturesofAccess.Thanksalsotothe

membersinITWorkgroupswhohelpedmedeliverabetterpicturefortheAccessSecurity

model.Andmostofall,inlovingmemoryofmywifeLisa,Idedicatemyeffortsonthisbook.

—Randall

(14)

Foreword

WhenTeresatoldmeshewaswritingabookonAccessVBAprogramming,Ithoughtshewas

crazy.She’ssobusywithherdatabaseconsultingbusinessandrunningthePaciﬁcNorthwest

AccessDevelopersGroupthatIcouldn’tﬁgureoutwhereshewouldﬁndthetimetowrite.I’m

gladsheandtheotherauthorsfoundthetime.Asacoordinatingleadauthor,sheworkedwith

Patriciaandputtogetherateamofauthorsthatproducedanexcellentpieceofwork.

Thisbookisclear,concise,approachable,andaboveall,easytounderstand.Inadditionto

providingalookatthenewfeaturesofAccess,itprovidesagoodoverviewofMacrosandhow

youmightusethemtoautomateyourAccessapplication.Iknowwhatyou’rethinking,“Butthis

isabookonVBA,right?”Yesitis,anditjumpsrightintothesubjectinthefollowingchapter.

Here’swhereitgetsgood.

Thisbookdoesagreatjobofprogressingfromfundamentaltopicstoadvancedtopics.Itmoves

smoothlyfromintroducingVBAtoautomatingformsandreportstoworkingwithAPIs,SQL,

andotherOfﬁceapplications.Itthentacklesadvancedtopicssuchasunderstanding

client/serverdevelopment,security,andworkingwiththeWindowsRegistry.Ifthatweren’t

enough,thebookprovidesasetofappendixescoveringavarietyofimportanttopicssuchasthe

ADOandAccessobjectmodels,APIreferenceinformation,namingconventions,andVBA

reservedwords.Clearly,thereisalotofvaluableinformationpackedintothisbook.

Ifyou’vebeenusingAccessforsometimeandyou’rejustbeginningtorollupyoursleevesto

jumpintotheworldofcode,thisbookisforyou.IfyouneedtohoneyourVBAprogramming

skillsorneedideasonhowtopolishyourapplication,thisbookisforyouaswell.Atthevery

least,youshouldaddthisbooktoyourlibraryofAccessbooks,especiallynexttotheonesby

JohnViescasandCaryPrague.Atmost,youshouldhavethisbookreadilyavailableasyouwork

onyournextproject.

——MikeHernandez

Author:DatabaseDesignforMereMortalsR_,

2nd Edition

(27)

(28)

Introduction

WelcometotheAccess2003VBAProgrammer’sReference.WewrotethisbookforAccessusersand

programmerswhowanttoincreasethepowerofAccessbyaddingtheVBA(MicrosoftVisualBasicfor

Applications)language.AccessisMicrosoft’sleadingconsumerrelationaldatabasemanagementsystem

fordesktopapplications.It’ssopopularbecauseit’srelativelyeasytolearnandverypowerful.With

wizardsanddetailedhelpﬁles,userscaneasilycreatetables,queries,forms,andreportsafteronlyabrief

introduction.

ToutilizethepowerofMicrosoftAccessmoreeffectively,youcanaddVBAcodetoyourAccess

databases.ByusingVBAcode,youcanrespondtoapplication-levelevents,displayformsandreports,

manipulatetoolbars,andevenlaunchexternalapplicationsorcontrolcertainaspectsofWindows.

The

Evolution

of

Access

and

VBA

MicrosoftAccesshashadarichhistory.Version1.0wastheinitialversionofAccessthatranonWindows

3.1.ItwasveryquicklyreplacedbyVersion1.1,whichaddedafewnewfeaturesandﬁxedmanyofthe

bugsintroducedintheinitialversion.AtthispointinthehistoryofAccess,noonereallytookAccess

seriouslyasadatabase;itwasbuggy,therewereanumberoflimitationsinitsfeatureset,andthe

databasecommunityjusthadn’tacceptedthatMicrosoftcouldproduceaqualitydatabaseproduct.

In1994,theﬁrstrealversionofAccesswasreleased:Access2.0.Manydatabaseprogrammersusingother

software,suchasFoxProanddBase,decidedtogiveMicrosoftAccess2.0achance.Access2.0worked

verywellonbothWindows95andWindowsNT;however,itwasmissingmuchofthe32-bitAPI

(applicationprogramminginterface)andcouldn’tworkwithlongﬁlenames.MicrosoftAccesswent

throughseveralmoreversions(95,97,2000,and2002)beforethecurrentrelease,Access2003.

Access2003,releasedinOctober2003,includessomeadditionalenhancements,includingtheabilityto

openanAccess97databasewithoutconvertingittoanupdatedformat.UsersofAccess2000andAccess

2002werepromptedtoconvertanAccess97databasetoAccess2000formatbeforetheycouldusethe

database.Thisoftencausedproblemsincorporateinstallationswhereoften,multipleversionsofthe

MicrosoftOfﬁcesoftwaresuitewereinstalledondifferentcomputersorindifferentdepartments.Access

2003canopencertainAccess97databaseswithoutconvertingthem,thusallowingmultipleversionsto

accessthesamedatabase.

TherehavenotbeenalargenumberofchangestoVBAinAccess2003.However,thechangesthathave

beenmadeofferdeveloperssomedistinctadvantages.We’veincludedanentirechapter(Chapter3)

aboutnewfeaturesinAccess2003.

What

Is

VBA?

MicrosoftVisualBasicforApplications(VBA)allowsprogrammerstodevelophighlycustomized

(29)

Introduction

alloftheMicrosoftOfﬁceSystemproductssupportVBA.Inaddition,manythird-partyprograms,such

asdraftingprogramsaswellasWordPerfect,alsosupportVBA.

VBAisactuallyasubsetoftheVisualBasicprogramminglanguageandisasupersetofVBScript(another

intheVisualBasicfamilyofdevelopmentprograms).VBAincludesarobustsuiteofprogrammingtools

basedontheVisualBasicdevelopment,arguablytheworld’smostpopularrapidapplication

developmentsystem.DeveloperscanaddcodetotailoranyVBA-enabledapplicationtotheirspeciﬁc

businessprocesses.AmanufacturingcompanycanuseVBAwithinMicrosoftAccesstodevelop

sophisticatedinventorycontrolandmanagementsystemswithcustomtoolbars,aback-enddatabase,

managementreports,andsecurity.Ratherthanpurchasinganoff-the-shelfInventoryControlproduct,

usuallyatagreatcostandwithaverylimitedabilitytocustomize,developerscantakeaproductthey

alreadyhaveinstalled(AccessaspartoftheMicrosoftOfﬁce2003System)andbuildarobustapplication

withnoadditionalexpenseotherthantime.Oncetheapplicationisinplace,thedevelopercanrespondto

customizationrequestsquicklyandeffectively,ratherthanwaitingforanothercompanytoworkthe

customizationintotheirdevelopmentcycle.

YoumightbewonderingwhyyoushoulddevelopinVBAratherthanthemorerobustVisualBasic6.0or

VisualBasic.NET.Botharerobust,popular,andcapableprogramminglanguages.However,usingVBA

withinAccessgivesyousomekeybeneﬁts:First,youcantakeadvantageofabuilt-inAccessobject

library.ThismeansyoucantakefulladvantageofawidevarietyofAccesscommands,including

executinganycommandfromanytoolbarinAccess.Second,VBAisincludedinallMicrosoftOfﬁce

Systemapplications.TodevelopinVisualBasic,you’llneedtopurchaseVisualBasic6.0orVisualBasic

.NETeitheraloneoraspartoftheVisualStudioorVisualStudio.NETsuite.Itcouldgetveryexpensiveif

multipledevelopersinyourorganizationneedaccesstotheVisualBasicdevelopmenttools.

DespitetheadvantagesofVBA,therearedeﬁnitelycircumstancesinwhichyou’llwanttouseVisual

Basic.Ifyouneedtodeployanapplicationtoawidevarietyofcomputers,especiallythosewithoutafull

installationofMicrosoftAccess,VisualBasicmightbeyourbestbet.Wewillexaminethethreelanguages

intheVisualBasicfamilyandwhyyoumightwanttouseeachofthem.

Access

2003

VBA

Programmer’s

Reference

Thisbookisseparatedintotwosections.Thechaptersprovidetutorialinformationandthenumerous

appendicesprovidethereferencematerialyou’llneedtowriteVBAcodewithinAccess.Whilethe

chaptersaredesignedtobuildupononeanothertogiveyouadetailedguidetoVBAinAccess,each

chaptercanbereadandappliedseparatelyfromtherestofthebook.

What

Does

This

Book

Cover?

ThisProgrammer’sReferencebookcoversawidevarietyofprogrammingtopics.Abriefintroductionto

VBAisincluded,althoughthisbookassumesthereaderhasatleastsomebasicfamiliaritywiththeVBA

programminglanguage.Likewise,anentirechapterisdevotedtochangesinMicrosoftOfﬁceAccess

2003,coveringbothnewwizardsandGUI(graphicaluserinterface)featuresthatpreviouslyrequired

VBAcode,aswellasthenewVBAfeaturesincludedwithAccess2003.You’lllearnhowtocreateand

namevariables,howtouseDataAccessObject(DAO)andActiveXDataObject(ADO)tomanipulate

databothwithinAccessandwithinotherapplications,propererrorhandlingtechniques,andadvanced

functionssuchascreatingclassesandusingAPIs.TherearetwoimportantchaptersonSecurityand

MacroSecurityaswellasachapterontheAccessDeveloperExtensions(ADE).Finally,we’llexploreabit

(30)

Introduction

oftherelationshipbetweenAccessandSQL(StructuredQueryLanguage)Server,aswellashowyoucan

useVBAinAccesstocontrolandenhanceotherOfﬁceapplications.

How

to

Use

This

Book

Theinitialchaptersarewritteninatutorialformatwithdetailedexamples.TruetotheWrox

Programmer’sReferencestandardformat,we’veincludednumerousreferenceappendiceswithdetails

onthevariousobjectmodelsyoumightusewhenwritingVBAcodeinAccess.We’vealsoincludeda

detailedprimerontheWindowsRegistryandalistingofcommonAPIfunctionsyoumightwanttouse

inyourcode.

Realworldexampleswillbegivenformany,ifnotmost,oftheprogrammingtopicscoveredinthisbook.

Sometypicaltopicsincludethefollowing:

❑ Howtohideﬁeldsonaformbasedondatabaselogininformation.

❑ Howtoshoworhideentiresectionsofreportsbasedoninformationenteredonaform.

❑ HowtouseVBAtotransferinformationbetweenAccessandotherOfﬁceprogramssuchas

Outlook,Word,andExcel.

❑ HowtoconﬁgurecustommenusforyourAccessdatabaseapplications.

Throughoutthebookwe’vealsoincludedtipsandtrickswe’vediscoveredduringourprogramming

experiences.

Introductory

and

Background

Material

Chapters1through5providesomebackgroundreferencematerialyou’llneedifyou’renewtoAccessor

VBA.AfteradetailedlookatthenewfeaturesinAccess2002and2003,we’veprovidedinformationon

thebuildingblocksofVBA,suchasobjects,properties,methods,andevents.AnintroductiontotheVBA

Editoranditsvariousdebuggingtoolsfollows.

Accessing

Data

Aftertheintroductorymaterial,Chapters6and7focusonaccessingdatabyusingVBA.BothDAOand

ADOprovidemethodsforaccessingdatainMicrosoftAccessandotherexternaldatasourcessuchas

InformixandSQLServer.

Executing

and

Debugging

Chapters8and9providedetailedinformationonexecutinganddebuggingVBAcode.Every

developmentprojectneedssomedebugging,evenifyou’reanexpertdeveloper.We’llshowyousome

easywaystodebugyourcodeaswellasprovidesometipsandtrickstomakethetediousprocessof

debuggingabiteasier.

Working

with

Access

Objects

TwoAccessobjectsinparticular,FormsandReports,canmakeheavyuseofVBA(Chapters10and11).

YoucanwriteVBAcodetorespondtoavarietyofeventsfromthecontrolsonaformorevenfromthe

formitself.Youcanwritecodetoshoworhidecertainsectionsofaformorreportinresponseto

informationenteredontheformoreventheparticularuserloggedontoWindowsatthetime.

(31)

Introduction

Advanced

VBA

Programming

Thenextthreechapters(12–14)provideinformationoncreatingclassesinVBA,usingAPIs,andusing

SQLandVBA.Theyaredesignedtogiveyouathoroughtutorialonthesesubjectssoyoucandesign

yourownclasses,implementsomecommonAPIsinyourcode,anduseSQLtoaccessdata.

Miscellaneous

Material

CallingChapters15through20miscellaneousisnotreallyfairtotheextremelythoroughcontent

presented.Chapter15showsyouhowtouseVBAtotransferinformationbetweenAccessandtheother

Ofﬁceprograms.You’lllearnhowtocreatetasksande-mailinOutlook,performamailmergeinWord,

andexportdatatoanExcelspreadsheet.We’llevenshowyouhowtotakeinformationfromAccess,

createagraph,andinsertthatgraphintoPowerPoint.

Chapter16providesadetailedstudyinsecurity.Itseemseveryweekthere’sanewsecurityholeina

computerprogram,whichcanexposeyourcomputertomaliciouscode.Whendevelopingadatabase,

youcanimplementsecurityinyourdatabasetopreventusersfromseeingthecode,oryoucaneven

preventaccesstocertaintablesorqueriesinyourdatabase.

Chapter17examinesworkingwithclient/serverdevelopmentandChapter18examinestheWindows

Registry.Next,weprovideanin-depthlookatanewsetoftools,theAccessDeveloperExtensions.These

toolshelpyouautomatemanycommontasksinAccess.

Chapter20focusesonmacrosecurity.Access2003introducessomenewconcernsrelatedtomacro

security.We’llintroduceyoutoSandboxmodeandletyouknowhowtoproperlyworkwiththesenew

securityfeatures.

Appendices

AppendixAprovidesinformationonupgradingtoAccess2003frompreviousversions.AppendixB

showsyouhowtocreateandusereferenceswithinyourVBAcode.We’veprovidedextensive

informationontheDAO,ADO,andAccessObjectModelsinAppendicesC,D,andE,respectively.

RoundingoutthemixareappendicesoncommonAPIcalls,propernamingconventions,VBAreserved

words,andtheWindowsRegistry.Finally,we’veincludedawonderfulappendixfulloftipsandtricks

youcanusetodevelopprofessionalapplications.

Other

Access/VBA

Sources

Justasnoman(orwoman)isanisland,nobookcanbeallthingstoallreaders.Nomatterhowmany

timesyoureadthisbook,itcan’ttellyouthemeaningoflifeanymorethanitcantellyoueverythingyou

needtoknowaboutVBAwithinMicrosoftAccess.Thereareseveralotherresourcesyou’llwanttoutilize

whilewritingyourVBAcode.Someofourfavoritesare:

❑ MicrosoftNewsgroups—Microsoftmaintainsanewsserver(msnews.microsoft.com)andhasa

widevarietyofAccessandVBAnewsgroupstochoosefrom.Currentlytherearemorethan25

Accessnewsgroupsforyoutochoosefrom.Theyallbeginwithmicrosoft.public.access.Youcan

accessnewsgroupsthroughanewsreadersuchasOutlookExpressorthroughtheWebat:

http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.aspx.

(32)

Introduction

❑ MVPS.ORG(http://www.mvps.org/)—Thisisyourjumping-offpointtoanumberofinteresting

offeringsbeingprovidedforyoubyafewfolksassociatedwiththeMicrosoftMostValuable

Professional(MVP)program.

❑ MicrosoftAccessSupportCenter

(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;acc&x=16&y=16)—Thisprovidesinformationaboutcurrentissues,downloads,updates,and

ofcoursewaysofobtainingproductsupport.

❑ MicrosoftonGoogle(http://www.google.com/microsoft)—ThisharnessesthepowerofGoogle

andlimitsthesearchestoMicrosoft-relatedsites.

❑ MicrosoftDeveloperNetwork(http://msdn.microsoft.com)—TheDeveloperCenterforAccess

providesamyriadofarticlesandtutorialsonkeyissues.Youcanalsoﬁndlinkstousergroups,

newsgroups,andothervaluableresources.

❑ MicrosoftTechNet(http://www.microsoft.com/technet)—Thissiteallowsyoutoaccess

MicrosoftKnowledgeBasearticles,securityinformation,andmanyothertechnicalarticlesand

tips.

Conventions

Used

in

This

Book

We’veusedseveraldifferentstylesoftextinthisbooktohelpyouunderstanddifferenttypesof

information.Someofthestyleswe’veusedarelistedhere:

When there’s a mission critical piece of information or a tip we’ve found particularly valuable in our development, we include it in a box such as this.

Advice,hints,andbackgroundinformationcomesinthistypeoffont.

Importantwordsorphrasesareinitalic.

Wordsthatappearonthescreen,suchasmenucommandsortoolbarbuttonsareinafontsuchas

File.

Keysthatyoupressonthekeyboard,likeCtrl,areinitalics.

Codewithinthetextisstyledlikethefollowing:For I = 1 to 10

Anyneworimportantcodeisoffsetwithshadingsimilartothefollowingsample:

SELECT TeamID, TeamName, StadiumName FROM tblFootball;

Codeyou’veseenbeforeisinthesamefont,withouttheshading,asshownhere:

Dim strText as String

(33)

Introduction

Tell

Us

What

You

Think

We’vetriedtomakethisbookascompleteaspossible.We’reallactiveprogrammersandhaveincluded

tipsandtricksthatwe’veusedinoureverydaylives.Programmingbookscanoftenbedryandboring.

We’vetriedtolivenourbookupabitwithsomeinterestingexamples.Ifyoulikedthebook(orevenif

youdidn’t),weencourageyoutosendusyourfeedback.Youcancontactusviae-mailat

support@wrox.com(besuretoincludethebook’stitle)orthroughtheWroxWebsite.

Customer

Support

We’vedoneourbesttomakesurethateverycodesampleiscomplete,debugged,andwellcommented.

However,iftherearesamplesortopicsyoujustcan’tquitegrasporneedalittlemorehelpwith,thereare

placesyoucanturn.Youcane-mailyourquestionstoWroxatsupport@wrox.com(again,besureto

includethebook’stitle)orvisittheMicrosoftNewsgroups.MostofushangaroundtheAccess

newsgroupsandwillattempttoansweryourquestionsasquicklyandcompletelyaspossible.Youcan

alsoe-mailanyofusdirectly(patricia@mvps.org,teresa@eade.com,gseach@paciﬁcdb.com.au,and

armen@JStreetTech.com).Thanksforreading!

(34)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

WhatisMicrosoftAccess?Ifyou’rereadingthisbook,hopefullyyouknowthatAccessisa

relationaldatabasemanagementsystem(RDBMS).AnRDBMSmeansthatyoucanstoredatathat’s

relatedinmultipleways.Forexample,youcanstoreatableofproductsrelatedtoatableof

customers.Eachcustomercanhavemultipleproducts.Foreachcustomer,youcanstoremultiple

shippinglocationsorbillingrecords.Abasicdatabaseisnothingmorethanacollectionofdata

that’srelated.However,databasescanbemuchmorethanjustacollectionofrelateddata.Youcan

addsophisticatedcodetoyourdatabasetodisplayonlythedatayouwantintheprecisewayyou

wantit.Youcandisplaydifferentdatatoeachuserofyourdatabase.Youcanevenwriteafront-end

programforyourdatabase,usingVisualBasicorVisualC++.

AMicrosoftAccessdatabaseconsistsofavarietyofobjectstohelpyoumanageyourdata.Tables

allowyoutostoreyourdataineasytounderstandrowsandcolumns.Queriesallowyouto

manipulatedatawithintablesanddisplayinformationfrommultipletablesintheresultset.Forms

allowyoutocreateapleasantandeasilyunderstoodgraphicaluserinterface(GUI)sothatuserscan

enterdatainyourtables.Reportsallowyoutooutputdatafromtablesandqueriesinavarietyof

differentways.Youcansortandgroupdata,createcharts,addimages,andevencustomizeareport

withprogramming.DataAccesspagesallowyoutoviewformatteddatathroughInternetExplorer.

Macrosstringaseriesofcommandstogetherandrunallofthemwithlittleornouserintervention.

Finally,modulesstoreVBAcodetofurtherautomateyourdatabase.

Why

Use

Microsoft

Access?

AskavarietyofdatabaseprogrammerswhytheythinkyoushoulduseMicrosoftAccessandyou’ll

getanswersrangingfrom“it’sthebestdarnpieceofsoftwareoutthere”to“it’sarobustpieceof

softwarethatwon’tbreakthebankanddoesn’ttakeadegreeinrocketsciencetouse.”Whilewe

don’tnecessarilythinkAccessisthebestdarnpieceofsoftwareoutthere,wedothinkit’sverygood

(35)

Chapter

1

information.WedothinkAccessisaprettydarngoodpieceofsoftware.It’srelativelyeasytouse,even

forabeginner,anditcomeswitharobustsampledatabase(Northwind)thatanewusercanplayaround

withandlearnmanyofthebasics.Newuserscanlearnalotfromsimplygoingthroughthevarious

tables,queries,forms,andreportsintheNorthwinddatabase.

TherearealsoanumberofbooksonMicrosoftAccessavailableforpurchase.Youcanbuybooksfrom

beginnertoadvancedlevelandeasilycreatesimpledatabaseswithinafewhours.Inparticular,anyofthe

followingtitleswillhelpyoulearnMicrosoftAccess2003:

❑ Access2003Bible,CaryN.Prague,MichaelR.Irwin,JenniferReardon,ISBN:0764539868,Wiley

Publishing,Inc.

❑ Access2003All-in-OneDeskReferenceforDummies,AlanSimpson,MargaretLevineYoung,Alison

Barrows,ISBN:0-7645-3988-4,WileyPublishing,Inc.

Forexample,youcanusedatabasestoinventoryDVDcollections,trackweeklycyclingmilesand

durations,andeventologthehoursspentonvariousprojectsattheofﬁce.

Is

Access

the

Only

Database

I’ll

Ever

Need?

Thesimpleanswertothisquestionisno.Accessisnottheonlydatabaseproductonthemarket,norisit

theonlydatabaseproductavailablefromMicrosoft.Therearetimeswhenyoumightwanttousea

differenttypeofdatabasesuchasSQLServerorMicrosoftDevelopmentEnvironment(MSDE).Ifyou’ve

onlyeverusedMicrosoftAccessforyourdatabaseneedsyoumightbewonderingwhyyou’dneed

anothertypeofdatabaseprogram.Well,thereareseveralreasonsthataredetailedinthefollowing

paragraphs.

Microsoft

Access

MicrosoftAccessworksverywellforsingle-userapplications.YoucangetbywithAccessformultiuser

applications;however,youneedtobeawareofhowrecord-lockingoptionsaffectyourdata.It’salso

possiblethatyou’llencounteruserswholiketoopenthedatabaseexclusively,thuslockingoutother

usersfromtheapplication.IfyouhavemultipleuserswithdifferingversionsofAccesstryingtousethe

samedatabase,you’llprobablyendupwithsomecompatibilityissuesaswell.Inadditiontothe

single-userandmultiple-userscenarios,Accessworksverywellwhenyouhavemultipleusersbuta

singlecodebasethatmakesalloftherequeststothedatabase.Forexample,afront-endapplication

writteninVisualBasiccantakeadvantageofADOtomakecallstotheback-endAccessdatabase.This

typeofapplicationworksverywellinasingle- ormultiuserenvironmentastheonlytimethedatais

touchediswhenanADOcallismadetothedatabase.

MSDE

TheMicrosoftSQLServerDesktopEngine(MSDE)isactuallyadatabaseserver,verymuchlikeSQL

Server.Infact,it’sactuallyascaled-downSQLServerinstallationaimedatdesktopenvironments.Ifyou

haveadesktopapplicationthatneedsthefeaturesofSQLServer,youcanuseMSDEinplaceofafullSQL

Serverinstallation.DesigningyourapplicationagainstMSDEisalsoagoodideaifyouthinkeventually

yourapplicationwillgrowlargeenoughtoneedthefullfeaturesofSQLServer.Ifyou’redesigninga

desktopapplicationthatneedsadatabaseandhavetheMSDEpackagethat’sincludedwithVisual

(36)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

Studio,youcanfreelydistributeMSDE.TheredistributionlicenseisincludedwithVisualStudio.Youcan

alsoredistributeMSDEwiththeAccessRuntimeincludedwithAccess2003.Therearesomedistinct

advantagestoMSDE.It’smorerobust,accommodatingdatabasesupto2GBinsize.Jetdatabasesare

limitedto2GBinsize;however,databaseslargerthan1GBoftensufferperformanceissues.Itispossible

foraJetdatabasetogrowto2GB;however,ifyou’redesigningaJetdatabasethatlarge,you’llneedtobe

verycarefulwithbuildingproperindexesandbuildinginaregularcompactandrepaircycle.So,why

notuseMSDEforeverything?Well,foronething,youhavemoreadministrativeandsecurityconcerns

withMSDEthanwithAccess.MSDEisadatabaseserver.Thusitcanoftenbehaveinwaystheusers

won’tunderstand.Forexample,ifdiskspacebecomesanissue,MSDEwilloftentakeatableofﬂine.A

typicalcomputeruserwon’tknowhowtoremedythatsituation.

Alongwithadministrativeissues,youalsoneedtoworryaboutsecurity.Asaslightlyscaled-down

versionofSQLServer,MSDEsuffersthesamesecurityvulnerabilitiesasSQLServer.MSDEwasrecently

vulnerabletotheSQLSlammerworm.Ifyou’rewritinganapplicationthatinstallsMSDE,you’llneedto

keepontopofsecurityissuesthataffectSQLServerandMSDE.

SQL

Server

Ifyou’redesigningalarge-scaleprofessionalapplicationthatrequiresaback-enddatabase,youshould

considerusingSQLServerasyourdatabase.SQLServeristhemostrobustofthedatabaseslistedinthis

chapter,butitalsocoststhemostandhasthehighestlearningcurve.YoucannotdistributeSQLServer

freely,norcanitbeinstalledonatypicaldesktopclassmachine.SQLServerrequiresWindowsNT,

Windows2000Server,orWindows2003Server.OneoftheadvantagestobothSQLServerandMSDEis

thatcodewrittenforonewillworkequallywellwiththeother.ThetwoproductsusethesameAPIand

SQLlanguage.However,thereareseveraldistinctadvantagestoSQLServer.SQLServersupportslarger

databasesandmoreusers.Inaddition,ithasmanyfeaturesthatarenotfoundinMSDE,suchasfull-text

searching,replication,failover,andQueryAnalyzer.Fromadeveloper’sperspective,SQLServerallows

youtoscriptthecreationofadatabase.MSDEdoesn’tsupportthisfunctionality.

Ifyou’renotsurewhichtypeofdatabasetocreateforyourapplication,askyourselfthefollowing

questions:

❑ Doesyourapplicationneedtobeaccessedbymultipleusers?

❑ Doesyourapplicationneedtocreatedatabasesviacode?

❑ Willyourdatabasegrowbeyond2GB?

❑ Willyourapplicationneedreplicationorfull-textsearching?

Evenansweringthesequestionswon’ttellyouforsureeverytimewhichtypeofdatabaseyoushoulduse

foryourapplication.You’llhavetousetheanswerstothesequestionsaswellassomecommonsenseand

researchtodeterminewhichtypeofdatabaseapplicationtouse.Forexample,ifyouneedadatabasethat

promisestogrowtoaround1.5GBandneedstobeaccessedbymultipleusersonacentralserver,youcan

utilizeeitherMSDEorSQLServer.However,usingSQLServergivesyousomeaddedbeneﬁts,including

thecapacitybeyond2GBinsizeforfuturegrowth.Ifmoneyisanissue,you’llwanttoleantowardusing

anMSDEdatabase,asthelicenseisincludedwithVisualStudio.

Whateverdatabaseyouchoose,besuretoresearchyouroptionsbeforemakingyourdecision.Ifyoudo

chooseSQLServer,you’llneedtodosomeresearchonserversizingandperformancebasedonyour

application’ssizeandnumberofusers.

(37)

Chapter

1 Automating

Microsoft

Access

Without

VBA

Code

ThisbookisaboutautomatingAccesswithVBAcode;however,noteverythingyouneedtodowithyour

databaseshouldbeaccomplishedviacode.Partofbeingagoodprogrammerisknowingwhentowrite

codeandwhentoletsomeoneelsedoitforyou.ThesomeoneelsecanoftenbeMicrosoftAccessitself.

Accessisapowerfulapplicationthatincludesavarietyofwizardsandbuilt-incommandsthatcanhelp

automateyourapplicationwithoutwritingevenonelineofcode.Thissectionwillgointosomedetail

abouthowyoucanautomateyourapplicationwithoutwritinganycodeatall.

The

Database

Wizard

Ifyouneedtocreateadatabaseanddon’tknowwheretostart,youcanusetheDatabaseWizardtocreate

severaldifferenttypesofbusinessandpersonaldatabases.Someofthedifferenttypesofdatabasesyou

cancreateinclude:

❑ Assettracking

❑ Contactmanagement

Figure 1-1

(38)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

❑ Eventmanagement

❑ Inventorycontrol

❑ Orderentry

❑ Timeandbilling

TocreateanewdatabaseusingtheDatabaseWizard,openAccessandselectNewfromtheFilemenuto

displaytheTaskPane.ChooseOn my computerfromtheTemplatessectionandclickthe

Databasestabinthedialogboxthatappears(Figure1-1).

ChoosethetypeofdatabaseyouwanttocreateandclickOK.Entertheﬁlenameforyourdatabaseand

clickCreate.AccesswilldisplaythevariousscreensoftheDatabaseWizard.Theparticularscreensyou

seeandquestionsthewizardaskswilldependonthetypeofdatabaseyouselected.We’lldetailthesteps

forcreatingadatabaseforInventoryTracking.

Theﬁrstscreenyou’llseedetailsthestepsAccesstakestocreateyournewdatabase.ClickNext(see

Figure1-2).

Figure 1-2

(39)

Chapter

1

Eachdatabasetyperequiresspecifictablesandfields.Youcanchoosetoaddfieldsbeyondtherequired

ﬁeldsbychoosingthetablefromtheleft-handcolumnandbyexaminingtheﬁeldsintheright-hand

column.Allcheckedﬁeldswillbeincludedintheselectedtable.Ifyouattempttoremovearequired

ﬁeld,Accesswillinformyouoftheﬁeld’srequirementandleavetheboxchecked.Whenyou’redone

manipulatingtheﬁeldsinyourtables,clickNext(seeFigure1-3).

Figure 1-3

Choosethestyleyouwantforthevariousformsinyourdatabase.ClickNexttoconﬁgureastyleforthe

reportsinyourdatabase.ClickNextagainandgiveyourdatabaseatitle.Thistitlecanbedifferentfrom

theﬁlenameyouassignedtoyourdatabase.ClickNextandthenFinishandAccesswillbuildyour

database.

Whenthewizardcompletes,Accessdisplaysyourdatabase.Youcanthenfurthercustomizeyour

database.

Ifyouneedtocreateadatabaseandjustdon’tknowwheretostart,usingtheDatabaseWizardcanhelp yougetstarted.Evenifyoudon’tuseallofthetablesandreportsthewizardcreates,usingtheDatabase Wizardcangiveyousomeideasofwhattablesyouneedinyourdatabase.

(40)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

Onceyou’vecompletedtheDatabaseWizardyou’llseetherearemanyautomaticfeaturesyoucan

utilizewithinyourdatabase.Switchboards,suchastheoneinFigure1-4,providealaunchpointfor

dataentry,reports,andgraphsyoucanusewithinyourdatabase.TheSwitchboardfortheInventory

Trackingdatabaseallowsyoutoenterdata,viewthatdata,previewreports,customizetheswitchboard,

orexitthedatabase.Youcanconﬁgureswitchboardstolaunchaspeciﬁcreport,openaformfordata

entry,runaqueryormacro,ordisplayasecuritywarningaboutunauthorizedaccesstothedatabase.

IftheswitchboarddesignedbytheDatabaseWizarddoesn’tmeetyourneeds,youcancreateyour

own.

Figure1-4

Creating

a

Switchboard

for

Your

Database

CreatingaSwitchboardformisassimpleascreatingaformandconﬁguringtheformtolaunchwhenthe

databaseloads.Onceyou’vecreatedtheform,addsomecommandbuttonstoperformvariousactions

youthinkyourusersmightwanttoperform.We’lllookatcreatingaswitchboardfromscratchinthe

followingpages.Alongtheway,we’llusesomeoftheotherbuilt-inwizardsyoucanusetoautomate

Accesswithoutcode.

(41)

Chapter

1 Begin

at

the

Beginning

Tocreateaswitchboard,you’llﬁrstneedtocreateanewform.ChooseFormsfromtheAccessbarand

clicktheNewbuttontolaunchtheNew Formdialogbox.Foraswitchboardformyoudon’tneedtochoose

atableorqueryfortheform’sdatasource,justchooseDesign ViewfromthelistboxandclickOK.

Youcangiveswitchboardformsanicetitleandmaybeacoupleoflinesoftexttoserveasabrief

explanationtousers.Afteryou’veaddedtheseelementstotheform,itmightlooksimilartoFigure1-5.

Anynumberofelementscanbeaddedtotheform,includingimages,text,frames,ﬁelds,orother

graphics.Butwhatgoodisaformifitdoesn’tdoanything?

Figure 1-5

Inorderforyourformtodosomething,you’llneedtoaddcommandbuttonstotheform.Toaddanew

commandbutton,choosethecommandbuttontoolfromtheControl Toolboxandclickanywhereon

yourformtoinsertthecommandbuttonandstarttheCommandButtonWizard.Theﬁrstscreenyou’ll

seeinthewizard(Figure1-6)allowsyoutochoosethetypeofactiontoperform.

Wetypicallystartdesigningthedatabase’sswitchboardbyaddingtwocommandbuttons:Onetolaunch

themaindataentryform(orformsasthecasemightbe)andonetoexitthedatabase.Thefollowingsteps

(42)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

Figure1-6

willcreateacommandbuttontolaunchtheMySwitchboardformfordataentry:

1.

ChooseForm OperationsfromtheCategorieslistbox.

2.

ChooseOpen FormfromtheActionslistboxandclickNext(seeFigure1-7).

3.

Accessdisplaysalistofallformsavailableinyourdatabase.Choosetheappropriateformand

clickNextagain.

4.

Youcanopentheformanddisplayallrecordsorchooseaspeciﬁcrecordtodisplay.ClickNext

tocontinue.

5.

Thenextstepinconﬁguringyourcommandbuttonallowsyoutoassociatetextoranimagewith

thebutton.Inmostcases,wechoosetodisplaytextonthebuttonratherthananimage.

However,ifyouaredesigningamultilanguageapplication,youmightwanttostickwith

universallyrecognizableimages,ratherthantext.Enterthetextofthebuttoninthetextbox,as

showninFigure1-8,andclickNext.

6.

Theﬁnalstepinthewizardisnamingyourcommandbutton.Accesssuggestsadefaultnameof

“Command”followedbyanumber.Youshouldenterameaningfulnameforyourcommand

buttonandclickFinish.

(43)

Figure1-7

(44)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

Whileit’stemptingtojustacceptthisnameandmoveon,it’sagainstallcommonprogramming recommendations.Youshouldalwaysgiveyourcommandbuttons(aswellasyourothercontrolssuchas textboxes,labels,comboboxes,andimagecontrols)ameaningfulname.Evenifyoudon’tfollow establishednamingconventions,suchascmdfrmPurchaseOrder),youshouldstillensurethenameyou givetoyourobjectsismeaningful,otherwiseyoucouldbelefteditingcodethat’salmostunreadable becausenoneofyourobjectshaverecognizablenames.Justimaginetryingtoeditcodeforacommand buttonthatlaunchesaparticularformwhenyouhave100commandbuttonsonyourformandyoucan’t

rememberwhetheryouwerelookingforCommand53orCommand91.

Youcancreatemultiplecommandbuttonsusingtheprevioussteps.Whenyou’redone,yourformmight

looksomethinglikeFigure1-9.Saveyourformandcloseit.Thenextstepincreatingyourswitchboardis

conﬁguringyourformtolaunchwhenyoustartyourdatabase.Usethefollowingstepstoconﬁgurea

start-upform.

Figure 1-9

1.

ChooseStartupfromtheToolsmenu(seeFigure1-10).Thedialogboxthatisdisplayed

allowsyoutoenteratitleforyourentireapplication,specifyanapplicationicon,acustomized

menubar,andspecifyastartupform.

(45)

Chapter

1

Figure1-10

2.

Usethedrop-downboxmarkedDisplay Form/Pageandchoosetheswitchboardformyou

createdpreviously.

3.

YoucanalsochoosewhetheruserswillseetheDatabaseWindowandStatusBarorwhetherthey

willonlyseeyourcustomswitchboardform.Ifyou’reworriedaboutusersﬁddlingwiththe

tables,forms,andreportsinyourdatabase,it’softenhelpfultohidetheDatabaseWindow.

SavvyuserscanstillaccesstheDatabaseWindow(unlessyoutakefurtherstepstosecurethe

database),buthidingtheDatabaseWindowthroughthestartupformatleastmakesitalittleless

temptingtoﬁddle.

4.

ClickOKtosaveyourchanges.

Thenexttimeyoulaunchyourdatabase,theMySwitchboardformwillautomaticallyloadforyour

users.Youcanhaveseveralswitchboardswithinyourapplication.Forexample,youmightwanttohave

amainswitchboardthatallowsyouruserstoexplorevariousaspectsoftheapplicationsuchasdata

entry,reporting,andapplicationoptions(suchastoolbarcustomizationsorsecurityoptions).Whenyour

usersselectthereportingbutton,youcanlaunchaseparatereportingswitchboardwithbuttonsforallof

thereportsinyourapplication.

(46)

Introduction

to

Microsoft

Access

Create

a

Switchboard

through

the

Switchboard

Manager

There’sanothereasywaytocreateaswitchboardforyourapplication.YoucanusetheSwitchboard

Managertocreateanewswitchboardoreditanexistingswitchboard.ChooseDatabase Utilities

fromtheToolsmenuandselectSwitchboard Managerfromthepopoutmenu(seeFigure1-11).

Figure1-11

Tocreateanewswitchboard,clicktheNewbutton.Enteranameforyournewswitchboard.Onceyou’ve

createdyourswitchboard,clickEdittocontroltheitemsdisplayedonyourswitchboard.Foranew

switchboard,therewon’tbeanyitemsontheswitchboard.NowclickNew(Figure1-12).Youcanenterthe

textdisplayedonyourswitchboardandchooseacommandfromthedrop-downmenu.Youcanchoose

fromeightdifferentcommandsincludingopeningaforminaddoreditmode,exitingtheapplication,

runningareport,orrunningcodeoramacro.Dependingonthecommandyouchoose,thethird

drop-downmenuwillchangeandallowyoutochooseaparticularform,report,ormacro.

Onceyou’veaddedallofthenecessarycommandstoyourswitchboardform,clickClosetoreturntothe

Switchboard Manager.Ifyouwantyournewswitchboardtolaunchwhenthedatabaseloads,selectit intheSwitchboard PagesboxandclickMake Default.Whenyou’redonemanipulatingyour

switchboards,clickClose.