Mastering Advanced Form Features in Microsoft Access 2010

1. Access Lesson 9Using Advanced Form Features Microsoft Office 2010 Advanced Cable / Morrison

2. Objectives • Understand the importance of consistent form design. • Apply a theme to a form. • Add a logo. • Create command buttons. • Add a new field to an existing form. 2 2

3. Objectives (continued) • Create a combo box. • Size and align a control. • Use a combo box in a new record. • Add a calculated control. • Change tab order. 3 3

4. Vocabulary • calculated control • combo box • command button • live preview • logo • tab order • theme 4 4

5. Introduction • A consistent design for all the forms in a database is important. • A consistent design can be created with the use of themes. • Themes add borders and colors to forms. • A command button can be clicked to move within a form or to open another form. • A new field can be added to an existing form.

6. Introduction (continued) • A combo box that displays a list of options can be added to a form. • A calculated control that calculates the total of fields can be added to a form. • The order of how you move between the fields in a form, called the tab order, can be changed.

7. Understanding the Importance of Consistent Form Design • If all the forms in a database share the same design, users will have an easier time using the forms. • Visually appealing forms make working in the database more enjoyable and efficient. • When designing forms, pay close attention to titles, field organization, form layout, and error prevention.

8. Applying a Theme to a Form • Themesare preset designs that include borders, background colors, shading, and graphic effects. • Themes are available in the Themes gallery on the Ribbon. Themes gallery

9. Applying a Theme to a Form (continued) • Live preview feature • If you move your mouse pointer over a theme in the Themes gallery, it is temporarily applied to the form Regional Sales form in Design view

10. Adding a Logo • A logois a graphic or picture that can be placed in a form. • A logo usually represents a company name or identity. • Placing the logo in the same area in each form gives them a consistent look. • Helps users feel comfortable using the form

11. Adding a Logo (continued) • Employees form with logo

12. Creating Command Buttons • A command buttonis a button that users can click to perform common tasks. • Record navigation refers to moving within the records in a form. • Such as, going to the next record or to the previous record • Record operation options let you add a command button with a task. • Such as, adding a new record

13. Creating Command Buttons (continued) • Command buttons aligned and resized

14. Adding a New Field to an Existing Form • When you add a new field, you will need to align the new field with the other fields. • A form field has two parts: the label and the text box. • The label typically appears on the left side of the field and identifies the information in the field. • The text box displays the actual information from the table.

15. Adding a New Field to an Existing Form (continued) • Form with new field in Form view

16. Creating a Combo Box • A combo boxdisplays a list of values and lets you select one from the list. • Selecting the value rather than typing it in the field helps decrease the chance of making typographical errors. • You can use a control wizard to add a combo box to a form.

17. Creating a Combo Box (continued) • Combo Box placed in form

18. Sizing and Aligning a Control • Access makes aligning controls in the form a simple process. • Select the controls and fields that you want to align • Choose the desired alignment options on the Ribbon • You can resize the controls so that they look consistent with the fields.

19. Using the Combo Box in a New Record • A combo box makes it easy to add information into a new record. • By selecting an option from the combo box list and not typing the data, you increase the accuracy of the information.

20. Adding a Calculated Control • A calculated control can be used to perform calculations on the values in other fields. • You can perform calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc. • If the values in the fields are changed, the calculated control recalculates and displays the new values.

21. Adding a Calculated Control (continued) • Calculated control in the form

22. Changing Tab Order • Tab orderis the order of movement in a record when you press the Tab key. • Can be changed in Design view by selecting the Tab Order button in the Tools group of the Design tab Tab Order dialog box

23. Summary In this lesson, you learned: • It is important for every form in a database to have consistent formatting. • Applying a theme to a form in the database makes changing the form’s appearance quick and uniform. • A logo can be added to a form to enhance design consistency.

24. Summary (continued) • Command buttons can be added to forms for record navigation, such as moving to the next record, and for record operations, such as adding a new form. • A new field can be added to an existing form. • A combo box displays a list of values for a field. • You can size and align controls easily.

25. Summary (continued) • Adding a new record that has a combo box makes data entry easier and more efficient. • A calculated control can be added to perform calculations on fields in a form. • The tab order is how you move from one field to another in a form.