Access Hacks: Tips & Tools for Wrangling Your Data

by Ken Bluttman, Bluttman Ken

Overview

As part of the Microsoft Office suite, Access has become the industry's leading desktop database management program for organizing, accessing, and sharing information. But taking advantage of this product to build increasingly complex Access applications requires something more than your typical how-to book. What it calls for is Access Hacks from O'Reilly. This valuable guide provides direct, hands-on solutions that can help relieve the frustrations felt by users struggling to master the program's various complexities. For experienced users, Access Hacks offers a unique collection of proven techniques and tools that enable them to take their database skills and productivity to the next level. For Access beginners, it helps them acquire a firm grasp of the program's most productive features. A smart collection of insider tips and tricks, Access Hacks covers all of the program's finer points. Among the multitude of topics addressed, it shows users how to:

• work with Access in multi-user environments
• utilize SQL queries
• work with external data and programs
• integrate Access with third-party products

Just imagine: a learning process without the angst. Well, Access Hacks delivers it with ease, thanks to these down-and-dirty techniques not collected together anywhere else. Part of O'Reilly's best-selling Hacks series, Access Hacks is based on author Ken Bluttman's two decades of real-world experience in database programming and business application building. It's because of his vast experiences that the book is able to offer such a deep understanding of the program's expanding possibilities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596009243
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/11/2005
Series:	Hacks
Edition description:	REV and First and First and ed.
Pages:	351
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Ken Bluttman is the author of numerous computer books and articles. He recently released O'Reilly's Access Hacks as well as Excel Charts for Dummies. Ken is also at work on his next O'Reilly book: The Access Data Cookbook (due out at the end of 2005). His technical chops include Microsoft Office, XML, VBA, VB.Net, SQL Server, and assorted web technologies.Ken is a musician, nature lover, and as time allows spins a good dish in the kitchen. Visit Ken at www.bluttman.com.

Table of Contents

Copyright; Credits; About the Author; Contributors; Acknowledgments; Preface; Why Access Hacks?; How to Use This Book; How This Book Is Organized; Conventions Used in This Book; Using Code Examples; Safari Enabled; How to Contact Us; Got a Hack?; Chapter 1: Core Access; 1.1 Hacks 1–12; 1 Help Users Find the Objects They Need; 2 Personalize Your Access Application; 3 Work Fast and Avoid Typos; 4 Optimize Data Changes; 5 Transfer Data Between Versions of Access; 6 Organize and Enhance Your Macros; 7 Rid Your Database of Clutter; 8 Protect Valuable Information; 9 Work with Any Amount of Data; 10 Find Database Objects in a Snap; 11 Use a Junction Table; 12 Stop the Database from Growing; Chapter 2: Tables; 2.1 Hacks 13–18; 13 Create an AutoNumber Field with a Custom Value; 14 Copy Data Between Tables Without an Append Query; 15 Steer Clear of System Tables; 16 Hide Sensitive Information; 17 Simulate Table Triggers; 18 Create Tables Faster; Chapter 3: Entry and Navigation; 3.1 Hacks 19–27; 19 Help Users Navigate Through Long Forms; 20 Help Users Enter Additional Text; 21 Let Users Add Custom Items to Predesigned Lists; 22 Populate and Sort Lists with Flair; 23 Use Custom Controls on Your Forms; 24 Confirm Record Updates Before Saving; 25 Put a Clock on a Form; 26 Be Tab-Smart; 27 Highlight the Active Control; Chapter 4: Presentation; 4.1 Hacks 28–39; 28 Separate Alphabetically Sorted Records into Letter Groups; 29 Create Conditional Subtotals; 30 Use Conditional Formatting to Point Out Important Results; 31 Provide a Direct Link to a Report; 32 Protect Intellectual Property; 33 Create a Slideshow in Access; 34 Play Videos in Access Forms; 35 View Reports Embedded in Forms; 36 Put Line Numbers on a Report; 37 Shade Alternating Lines on a Report; 38 Save Paper by Reducing Whitespace; 39 Include the Date, Time, and Page Count; Chapter 5: Queries and SQL; 5.1 Hacks 40–54; 40 Return a Sample of Records; 41 Create Bulletproof Insert Operations; 42 Find Unmatched Records on Multiple Field Keys; 43 Place a Grand Total in a Query; 44 Sort Any Arbitrary String of Characters; 45 Summarize Complex Data; 46 Get All Combinations of Data; 47 Don't Let Nulls Ruin Data Summaries; 48 Use a Custom Function in a Query; 49 Create Access Tables with SQL Server Scripts; 50 Use Wildcards in Queries; 51 Get Cleaner Or-Based Criteria; 52 Get Cleaner And-Based Criteria; 53 Create an Outer Join; 54 Use Regular Expressions in Access Queries; Chapter 6: Multiuser Issues; 6.1 Hacks 55–58; 55 Test for Duplication; 56 Distribute a Split Database with Predefined Table Links; 57 Build a Time-Out Feature; 58 Implement Unique Usernames; Chapter 7: External Programs and Data; 7.1 Hacks 59–71; 59 Import Noncontiguous Ranges of Data from Excel; 60 Use Excel to Reorient Access Data; 61 Use Excel Functions Inside Access; 62 Use Word to Compare Data in Two Access Tables; 63 Import Varied XML Data into Access; 64 Export XML Data Sanely; 65 Break Through VBA's Transformation Barrier; 66 Leverage SQL Server Power by Calling Stored Procedures; 67 Manage Word Documents from Access; 68 Use Access as a Front End to MySQL; 69 Send Access Data Through Outlook Automatically; 70 Create Access Tables from Outside Access; 71 Write VBA with the Macro Recorder in Word and Excel; Chapter 8: Programming; 8.1 Hacks 72–91; 72 Store Initial Control Selections for Later Recall; 73 Write Code Faster by Turning Off Syntax-Checking; 74 Substitute Domain Aggregate Functions for SQL Aggregate Functions; 75 Shrink Your Code with Subroutines; 76 Shrink Your Code with Optional Arguments; 77 Protect Programming Code from Curious Users; 78 Build a Secret Developer Backdoor into Your Applications; 79 Help Users Drill Down to a Record; 80 Prevent Users from Disabling Your Startup Options; 81 Inform Users of a Long Process; 82 Allow Users to Choose a Back-End Database; 83 Override the Timeout Interval; 84 Save Values from Unbound Controls for Later Recall; 85 Sort Records Randomly; 86 Bulk-Update Controls on a Form; 87 Provide Complete XML Control to Any Version of Access; 88 Use Custom Enumerations; 89 Convert Text to the Desired Case; 90 Create a Code Library; 91 Automatically Check for Database Table Updates; Chapter 9: Third-Party Applications; 9.1 Hacks 92–95; 92 Document Your Database with Total Access Analyzer; 93 Build an Application Shell with EZ Application Generator; 94 Load Your Database with Test Data; 95 Use Access as an XML Database; Chapter 10: The Internet; 10.1 Hacks 96–100; 96 Export a Report as HTML; 97 Use a Browser Inside Access; 98 Pull the HTML Source Code from a Web Site; 99 Download Files Using the Web Browser Control; 100 Use a Smart Tag to Open a Web Page; Colophon;