Microsoft Access 2021: Advanced Forms

Name: Microsoft Access 2021: Advanced Forms
Author: John Varan

Learn how to use different form controls and how to link between different database objects.

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Course: On-Demand

Hello, welcome to Knowledge City's course on Microsoft Access 2021, Intermediate. My name is John Veron, and in these lessons, you will learn about advanced forms. In this lesson, I will show you how to open reports from forms. In some Microsoft Access databases, forms are only used as an easy and user-friendly way to add and edit data, while in others, forms are more like a complete user interface as part of a full-fledged database application. In the latter case, it can often be desirable to have hyperlinks between different objects in the database. This allows users to open forms, reports, and queries without necessarily having to know terms like form, report, and query. They can just click the hyperlink and see what they want, without having to worry about what type of database object it is or where to find it. Let's create a form which contains a hyperlink to a report to show how this works. For this example, we will use a Northwind Example Database. First, we need a form. We can either create one from scratch, or we can use one of the forms that comes with the sample database. I'll show you both ways. If you want to create your own form, go to the Create menu and click on the Form Wizard. Use the table Customers and add as many fields as you want to display. You can keep all the other options default if you want, or you can change them. I'm just going to rename this form to Custom Form and open it straight in the Design view. Let's go ahead and save it. Now instead of creating your own form, if you prefer to use one of the example forms, a good choice is the one called Customer Details. This is the one I'm going to demonstrate on, because it's already formatted to look nice. So let's open this form in Design view. Then in the Controls menu, click on Hyperlink. This will open the Insert Hyperlinks window. Choose Objects and Database. Then find the report called Customer Address Book. Choose that one and click OK. Access will now create the hyperlink and place it on your form. Unfortunately, it's not always consistent about where it places the hyperlink, so you may have to look around for it. And once you find it, you'll probably have to move it to a position you like. Once you have that, go ahead and save this form, and then switch it to Form view so you can view the result. There's our hyperlink. Now if we click it, we should see the report Customer Address Book. Notice that it does open, but it opens behind the form. That's because Microsoft Access always gives the form that you're on priority. There is one limitation with this approach, however. It will only work for reports that don't require a filter. For example, it would not work for a report that brought up information specific to the customer we currently have selected on the form. While there are ways to do that, it would require custom macro code written in VBA. Templates like this can also be placed on reports and they can open other forms, reports, or queries. They can go a long way to making a database application more intuitive and easier to use. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned for the next lesson where I will show you about using calculated values in forms.

Intermediate Provider : John Varan 8 Lessons · 42m in English

Course Description

Familiarity with different form controls and how to link between database objects allows you to design efficient, easy-to-use databases. Including charts in forms allows you to visualize data, consolidate data into a smaller space, or to add visual impact to your forms. User controls are premade user interface elements that you can configure using wizards, which can help you create more professional-looking forms. These tools are useful for making data entry more user friendly. Referencing external data from forms allows you to collect data from sources outside of Microsoft Access that may be maintained by others. Microsoft Access also allows you to generate calculated values, which are derived from data stored within your database.

This module you will learn more advanced methods of creating forms in Microsoft Access. We will explore user controls, creating forms with selection user controls, and including charts in your forms. You will also learn how to reference external data from forms. Finally, this module covers how to generate calculated values in forms.

What You'll Learn

Include charts in forms to visualize and consolidate data and add visual impact
Create forms with selection user controls such as checkboxes, option buttons, and list boxes
Reference external data from forms to collect data from sources outside Microsoft Access
Generate calculated values in forms derived from data stored within your database
Configure premade user interface controls using wizards to build professional-looking forms
Open reports from a form and add command buttons for more user-friendly data entry

Key Takeaways

Familiarity with form controls and linking between database objects lets you design efficient, easy-to-use databases.
Including charts in forms allows you to visualize data, consolidate it into a smaller space, or add visual impact.
User controls are premade user interface elements you can configure using wizards to create more professional-looking forms.
Referencing external data from forms lets you collect data from sources outside Microsoft Access that may be maintained by others.
Microsoft Access can generate calculated values that are derived from data stored within your database.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this module?

This module covers more advanced methods of creating forms in Microsoft Access, including user controls, creating forms with selection user controls, including charts in your forms, referencing external data from forms, and generating calculated values in forms.

What types of selection user controls does this course cover?

The course covers selection user controls including checkboxes, option buttons, and list boxes, along with command buttons.

Why would I include charts in my Access forms?

Including charts in forms allows you to visualize data, consolidate data into a smaller space, or add visual impact to your forms.

What can I do with calculated values in forms?

Microsoft Access allows you to generate calculated values in forms, which are derived from data stored within your database.

What skills does this course help me build?

The course builds skills in Dynamic Forms, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Data Access Components, Microsoft Forms, UserForm, and Windows Forms.