Microsoft Access 2021 Advanced: Working With Hidden Objects

Name: Microsoft Access 2021 Advanced: Working With Hidden Objects
Author: John Varan

Learn how to use hidden database objects to your advantage

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Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is John Varon, and in these lessons, you will learn about hidden objects. In this lesson, I will show you what hidden objects are and how to know when to use and not use them. Hidden objects are just normal Microsoft Access database objects which are temporarily not visible. All of the database objects that show up in the navigation pane can be hidden. To do so, simply right -click on the item and choose hide. This will remove it from the navigation pane view. In order to show the hidden object again, right -click somewhere else in the navigation pane and choose navigation options. In this options window, select the checkbox that says show hidden objects and click OK. Previously hidden objects will now show up, but they will be lighter and faded. You can now right -click on one of those and choose unhide. You can also use the same method to hide and unhide entire groups. When you're done, if you want, you can go back and uncheck show hidden objects or you can leave it on. It just depends what you prefer seeing. There are several reasons why you may want to hide objects in the database, but first let me talk about a couple of reasons why you should not use hidden objects. Security and authorization. Security refers to hiding sensitive information. If your database has potentially sensitive information, such as social security numbers, simply hiding the tables where they are stored is not the correct way to handle it since anyone could just unhide those tables. There are much better and more secure ways to deal with sensitive data. Authorization has to do with controlling who has access to which information. If users are not supposed to have access to certain tables, you cannot simply hide the tables from them. There isn't a simple solution to this in Microsoft Access, but there are some possible workarounds. As to why you should use hidden objects, there are multiple scenarios where they can be useful. The simplest reason is for organizational purposes. If you have some tables that users do not need to see or use, you can hide them. Or if you have a lot of database objects while you're designing and developing the database, showing and hiding certain subsets as you work can keep things organized. Another reason to hide objects can be for administrative purposes. If some of the database objects are not relevant for end users and exist only for administrative purposes, they can be hidden most of the time and only unhidden when you need to use them. Keeping users from getting confused or overwhelmed can be another valid reason for hiding database objects. If your database is designed or structured in such a way that there are a lot of intermediate objects but users only work with the end result objects, then all of the intermediate database objects could potentially be hidden. A final situation for using hidden objects is actually the reverse of the others. It has to do with objects that are normally hidden but that you may want to unhide at certain times. Microsoft Access has certain tables called system tables, which are tables created and maintained by Microsoft Access itself. These are not tables that you would normally have to worry about at all. In fact, you normally can't even see them. They maintain information about the database itself. For example, there's a table that holds the name and information about all of the tables you create in the database. If you ever need or want to look at these tables, you would go to the navigation options like before and check show system objects. They'll show up looking like hidden tables with a faded light gray and they will all start with m sys. And then feel free to open and look at them. Some of the information in here can look fairly cryptic. However, make sure you never change the data in these tables. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned for the next lesson where I will show you about hidden forms.

Advanced Provider : John Varan 4 Lessons · 21m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

There are multiple scenarios where hiding database objects can be advantageous, which is why this course will explore each of these different scenarios with examples that you can follow along with to learn how to use them. You will be able to better manage databases by learning the difference between various database objects, such as forms, tables, and fields, and the difference between hiding each of them and what they can do for your database application. This course will build on your understanding of Microsoft Access by explaining Microsoft Access System Tables and how to show them when you need them.

In this course, you will learn which database objects can be hidden, when you should and should not hide objects, and how to do so. You will learn the difference between hiding forms, tables, and table fields. You will also learn what system tables are and how to work with them.

What You'll Learn

Discuss best practices for hidden objects and when to use them
Identify which database objects can be hidden and when you should or should not hide them
Hide forms, tables, and table fields in Microsoft Access
Distinguish between hiding forms, tables, and fields and what each does for your database application
Work with Microsoft Access System Tables and show them when needed

Key Takeaways

There are multiple scenarios where hiding database objects can be advantageous, and this course explores each with follow-along examples.
Hiding forms, tables, and table fields each works differently and serves a different purpose in a database application.
Knowing the difference between database objects such as forms, tables, and fields helps you better manage databases.
Microsoft Access System Tables can be shown when you need them, and the course explains how to work with them.
The course covers when you should and should not hide objects, not just how to hide them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn which database objects can be hidden, when you should and should not hide objects, and how to do so, including the difference between hiding forms, tables, and table fields, and how to work with system tables.

Is this course suitable for beginners in Microsoft Access?

The course builds on your existing understanding of Microsoft Access, explaining concepts such as Microsoft Access System Tables and the difference between forms, tables, and fields.

What lessons does this course include?

The course includes the lessons: When to Hide and When Not to Hide, Hidden Forms, Hidden Tables, and Hidden Fields.

Does the course include hands-on examples?

Yes, the course explores different scenarios for hiding database objects with examples that you can follow along with.

What skills does this course cover?

It covers skills including Access Controls, Access Query Languages, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Data Access Components, Object Access Methods, and Simple Object Database Access.