Access Lesson 4 Creating and Modifying Forms

1. Access Lesson 4Creating and Modifying Forms Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

2. Objectives • Create a form using different form tools. • Create a form using the Form Wizard. • Navigate records using a form. • Use a form to find and replace data. • Use a form to update and delete data. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

3. Objectives (continued) • Create and modify a form in Layout view. • Resize and move controls in a form. • Add an unbound control to a form in Design view. • Preview and print a form. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

4. AutoFormat Bound control Control Control layout Datasheet tool Detail section Field List pane Find Form Form Footer section Vocabulary Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

5. Form Header section Form tool Form view Form Wizard Layout view Multiple Items tool Record source Split Form tool Unbound control Vocabulary (continued) Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

6. Creating a Form • A form is a database object that displays data from one or more tables or queries in a format that has a similar appearance to a paper form. The tables or queries that contain the data used in a form are called the record source. • Most database experts agree that users should make all database updates by using a form, because forms provide more control over the way data is displayed, updated, and entered. • The Form tool creates a simple form that includes all the fields in the selected table or query and includes a title with the same name as the record source. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

7. Creating a Form (continued) • When fields appear in a form, they appear in controls. • When you use a tool to create a form, the form opens in Layout view. In Layout view, you can view the controls in the form and data from the record source at the same time. • The Split Form tool creates a form using all the fields in the selected table or query and splits the window into two panes. In the top pane, you see a form similar to the one created by the Form tool. In the bottom pane, you see a datasheet containing the form data. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

8. Creating a Form (continued) • The Multiple Items tool creates a form that lists all the fields in a datasheet format, but using a style that is similar to the form created by the Form tool. • The Datasheet tool creates a form that looks just like a datasheet. • When you need to create a simple form quickly, you can use the Form Wizard, which helps you create a form by letting you select options in dialog boxes to specify the form’s record source, layout, and style. • A form’s style, also called an AutoFormat, formats the form and its controls using a predefined color, font, and design scheme. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

9. Navigating a Form • When you create a form using the Form Wizard, the form opens in Form view. • When a form is displayed in Form view, you will see each record in the record source in a form. • Form view includes a record navigation bar at the bottom of the Form view window that you can use to navigate the records. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

10. Using a Form to Find and Replace Data • Using the Find command is an easy way to locate data in a database quickly. • When you click the Find button in the Find group on the Home tab, the Find and Replace dialog box opens. • If you click the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box, you will see additional options for finding text and replacing it with different text. The only difference is that you type the value that you want to find in the Find What list box and type the value that you want to replace it with in the Replace With list box. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

11. Using a Form to Update Data • You can also use a form to update the record source, add new records, or delete existing records. Most database experts recommend using a form instead of a table datasheet to make changes. • To change a field value, select it and type the new value. • To add a new record, click the New button in the Records group on the Home tab to open a blank form, into which you can type the field values for the new record. When you are finished adding the new record, tab to a new record or close the form. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

12. Using a Form to Delete Data • Access provides two important options when using a form to delete a field value or record. • When you click the Delete button in the Records group on the Home tab, you’ll delete the selected field value. • If you click the arrow on the Delete button, and then click Delete Record, you’ll delete the record that is currently displayed in the form. • You can use the Undo button on the Quick Access Toolbar to restore a deleted field value, but deleting a record permanently deletes it from the record source. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

13. Creating and Modifying a Form in Layout View • You can create a blank form in Layout view. • The Field List pane contains the tables in the database and displays the fields they contain. When you double-click a field in the Field List, Access adds the field to the form. The fields are added to a control layout. • A control layout is a “container” that groups together the controls in a form so that you can change them as a group. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

14. Creating and Modifying a Form in Layout View (continued) • Adding a Title to a Form and Changing its Format: When you create a form, it contains one section called the Detail section. To include a title or a page number, you can add a header or footer. • The Form Header section displays information at the top of each form, and the Form Footer section displays information at the bottom of each form. • A bound control is connected to a field in the record source and is used to display, enter, and update data. An unbound control is not connected to a record source and is used to display information, lines, rectangles, and pictures. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

15. Creating and Modifying a Form in Layout View (continued) • Resizing a Control in a Form: When you resize controls in a control layout in Layout view, reducing the width of one control reduces all the widths of all other controls in the control layout at the same time. • When resizing the controls, be sure to resize them with the longest data value displayed in the form. • You can resize a control by dragging its edge to a new location. • You can also resize a control precisely by watching the lower-left corner of the status bar to see the width of the control in characters as you drag it. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

16. Creating and Modifying a Form in Layout View (continued) • Moving a Control in a Form:When controls are grouped in a control layout, moving one control moves all the controls in the group. • When you need to move one or more controls in a form, you’ll need to remove them from the control layout first. To select one control, you click it. • To select a group of controls, click the first control, press and hold down the Shift key, click the other controls, and then release the Shift key. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

17. Adding an Unbound Control to a Form in Design View • Some changes require you to work in the third form view, Design view. In Design view, you see the controls that you added to the form on a grid. The controls do not display data from the record source. • You must be in Design view to add controls such as lines, rectangles, and labels to a form. You add controls to the form by clicking the button for the desired control in the Controls group on the Design tab, and then clicking to position the control in the form. • In Design view you can see the Form Header, Detail, and Form Footer sections in the form. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

18. Previewing and Printing a Form • You can preview and print a form. • To preview a form, click the Office Button, point to Print, and then click Print Preview. Each record in the record source appears in a miniature version of the form, one after the other, on the page. • To print the form with the current record displayed, you must be in Form view and navigate to the desired record. Click the Office Button, point to Print, and then click Print. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

19. Summary • A form is a database object that displays data from a record source. You can create a form using a form tool or the Form Wizard, or from scratch. • You can use the record navigation bar in Form view to navigate the records displayed in a form. • The Find command is used to locate records in a table or query datasheet, form, or report. • You can also find and replace data using the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

20. Summary (continued) • You can use a form to update records and to add and delete records. When you make changes to data in a form, the changes are made in the record source on which the form is based. • You can create a blank form and add fields to it by double-clicking the fields in the Field List pane in Layout view. When you add fields to a form, they are added to the form as controls in a control layout. • You can resize and change the controls in a control layout as a group. You can also remove controls from a control layout so you can work with individual controls. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

21. Summary (continued) • A form has one default section, called the Detail section, that contains the controls that display the data in a form. Two other sections that are available are the Form Header section and the Form Footer section. • You can add two types of controls to a form. A bound control is connected to a field in the record source and is used to display, enter, and update data. An unbound control is not connected to a record source and is used to display information, lines, rectangles, and pictures. • You can preview and print all the records in a form, or you can use the Print dialog box to print only selected records in a form. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory