1. With the Form in Design view or Layout view, open the Property Sheet and be sure you are looking at the properties of the Form
2. To most easily find the properties you need, choose the Data tab at the top of the Property Sheet
3. Find the Data Entry property and set it to Yes
4. Also be sure the Allow Additions property is set to Yes

To further simplify patron access to the form, the library could also designate this form as the database object users see upon opening the database. This choice can be made in the Access Options window as follows:

1. On the ribbon, click the File tab.
2. In the File menu, click Options. You will see the Options window. Note that initially it is set to show general options for the installation of Access on that machine.
3. To see the options available for the open database, in the list at the left side of the window, click Current Database.
4. In the Current Database options, use the drop-down arrow to change the Display Form setting to the form users will need:

Displaying options for the current database

Within the Current Database options window are other choices, such as hiding the Navigation Pane and default menus, so that the user is less likely to accidentally interact with the application in an unexpected way. The goal would be to make the interaction as simple and straightforward as possible for the user.

Option groups may apply to toggle buttons, checkboxes, or radio buttons and work well if you don’t have a lot of options from which to choose.  In this example, a lookup was previously created to look up the CustType from the CustomerTypes table. Notice that the text values are sorted in ascending order. We will create a mutually exclusive radio button, which will allow you to select only one value at a time for the customer type as you enter new customers into the Customers table.

In Design view, first remove the existing CustType controls. Then select the Option Group control located in the Options group:

Make sure the Use Control Wizards command is enabled in the Controls group, and a Wizard will begin taking you through the steps in entering the appropriate labels and numeric values. You will want to correctly match up each numeric value with the appropriate label.

Note: Remember that Option groups can only be bound to numeric or Yes/No fields. When storing values in Yes/No fields, the Yes value should be set to -1 and the No value should be set to 0.

As you progress through the Wizard, follow these steps:

1. Type in the labels for each category (Corporate, Residential, Nonprofit).
2. Choose whether you want one of the options to be a default choice.
3. Assign a value to each label – making sure that these values match up correctly with the numeric values in the corresponding CustType field (1=Corporate; 2=Residential; 3=Nonprofit).
4. Store the value in the appropriate field that contains the numeric values. In this case, the field was CustType.
5. Choose the type of control you want – option button, checkbox, or toggle button. The option button is shown below. You may also choose a style.
6. Give the option group a caption (Type of Customer).
7. Click Finish.

(You may want to right-click on the control and set a background or fill color). The final result will look something like this:

it2go – The IT Training Podcast

First you will need to set the data type for the new field, which can be set in Design view by choosing Lookup Wizard or in Datasheet view by choosing Lookup & Relationship. Once you choose the data type, the Lookup Wizard will take you through these steps in creating the list:

1. Choose the option “I will type in the values that I want.” Click Next.
2. Establish the number of columns that you want for the lookup, and then enter the values that you want in each cell. Click Next.
3. If you select more than one column, you must tell Access which column to store in the table within the database. Click Next.
4. Give the column a name or label. You can choose to limit the list to your entries only, and you can choose to store multiple values for this lookup. (For example, a sales rep could be designated to two different regions). If you allow multiple values, then these values must be limited to the list. Click Finish.

To modify any of the properties for this lookup field, you can go to Design view and, in the Field Properties pane, activate the Lookup tab. These properties will, in turn, be inherited by the form. By default, this list will be a combo box, which would display as a drop-down list in the form. The list box option would display an open list and would be more appropriate for those lists with just a few values. You can always change a combo box to a list or a text box in the form by right-clicking on the field in Layout View and choosing “Change to” > and then selecting the type of box you want. The data that you enter in a text box or that you select from a combo or list box will automatically populate the underlying table.

Note: If you limit the entries to the list, and the user types a value that is not in the list, an option will become available to allow the list to be edited.

Customizing the Ribbon is possible from the Options window. Go to the Excel (or other Office 2010 application) Options window by choosing the File tab and clicking Options near the bottom of its menu. At the left side of the Options window, choose the “Customize the Ribbon” category. In this window proceed as follows:

Customize Ribbon Options

1. In the Choose commands from field, I clicked the drop down arrow and selected Commands Not in the Ribbon

2. In the list of commands that appeared, I chose Camera.

3. To organize where I wanted it to sit on the Ribbon, I clicked Insert in the window on the right because that is the Ribbon tab where I wanted to locate the command.

4. I then clicked the New Group button at the bottom of that window to create a new group for this command. A group called New Group (Custom) appeared in the list. With that New Group (Custom) item selected, I clicked the Rename button to give it the name of Camera.

With my newly-added Camera group showing in the list under the Insert category, I could then add a command to that group.

Still in the Options window, I followed these steps:

1. I made sure I had the new Camera group selected on the right.

2. I selected the Camera command in the Command list on the left.

3. I clicked the Add button between the two windows to move the command to the prepared location.

Expanded Camera Group in the list of groups on the Insert tab

In the right side of the window,  the new Camera group expanded shows the Camera command as the only command in the group.

4. To complete the customization, I clicked OK at the bottom of the Options window.

Camera available on the Ribbon

Back in the spreadsheet, I wanted to be sure I could use the Camera command so I clicked the Insert tab to see how the new group and command were added:

Oh, and what am I doing with the Camera in Excel? Stay tuned for an upcoming blog and find out!

it2go – The IT Training Podcast

If you have an Outlook profile set up on your machine, you can send multiple e-mails quickly to many recipients at once by using Microsoft Word and the Mail Merge feature. If no Outlook profile is set up, then when you try to send the e-mails, you will get a warning stating that no Outlook profile is set up on your machine.

Just follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click the Start Mail Merge button on the Mailings tab of the Ribbon and choose E-mail Messages to define the type of mail merge you want to create.
3. Click Select Recipients on the Ribbon.
4. Choose Use Existing List…
5. Navigate to the Excel file or Access object that contains the data source with your e-mail addresses.
6. Click Edit Recipient List to choose those records that you want to include in the mailing. Click OK when you have chosen the recipients or filtered the list.
7. Write your e-mail message in the Word document.
8. To finish the merge, click the Finish & Merge button on the Ribbon.
9. You can either edit or view the individual email messages, or send the e-mail messages directly.

If you choose Send E-mail Messages, you will get this dialog box:

In the To box, using the drop-down arrow, choose the field in your list that contains the e-mail address. Add a subject line and choose the desired Mail format. Click OK, and the messages will be sent immediately.

Keep in mind that if you want any formatting, you must add formatting within the Word main document before completing the merge. You can also personalize the messages (such as adding a first name) by inserting merge fields into the Word document.

1)      You can set the wizard to automatically deliver data from the email replies directly into the appropriate fields of  your database, and

2)      The data is being entered by the primary source of the information – from their keyboard to your table.

This wizard lives – as you might guess – on the External Data tab of the Ribbon in the Collect Data group. You can start the wizard by first selecting a table or query that holds the fields you want to send out and then clicking the Create E-mail icon.

Some requirements for using this wizard are:

a)      You (the sender) must be using Access 2007 and Outlook 2007 or later. [If both you and the recipients also have InfoPath 2007 or later you can get a little fancier with the form you create. But guessing about the availability of InfoPath for your recipients could be difficult.]

b)      Recipients must have an HTML-supporting email client.

c)       The underlying table or query and the fields to be completed must have no restrictions such as a table that is set as read-only.

d)      Four field data types cannot be filled in this manner: attachment, auto number, OLE, and multi-valued.

e)      If the underlying table(s) have required fields they must be included in the email form.

You can read more about the Collect Data Through E-mail Messages Wizard by searching Access help for “data collection” or “create e-mail.” 

The best way to create a drop-down list  is to create a simple form with a combo box that can be referenced by the query. The form and the query work together to provide the desired dataset.

There are three basic steps that are necessary:

• Create the form with the combo box(es) that will supply the parameters for the query.
• Create the query with an expression that will reference the form.
• Add Command Buttons to the form to run the query and to close the form.

Adding a Combo Box to the Form

Suppose you are tracking equipment inventory, and you would like to view a list of manufacturers and the corresponding equipment along with purchase prices. In a blank form, first you must create a combo box.  It may be easier to use the Combo Box Wizard.

1. Create and save a new blank form in Design view. (You will have more flexibility in Design view).
2. In the Toolbox, click Combo Box and click in the form where you want it to appear. (Make sure that the Wizard tool is enabled).
3. On the Combo Box Wizard dialog box, Click “I want the combo box to look up the values in a table or query.”
4. Click Next.
5. Choose the primary table on the “one” side of the relationship that contains the unique field values, which you want to filter. Continue through the Combo Box Wizard choosing the appropriate fields, sort options, width of columns, etc.
6. When finished, view the form. Make size or label name adjustments as necessary.
7. You may want to change the following Form properties In the Form property sheet:
   Pop Up = “Yes”
   Border Style = “Dialog”
   Control Box = “No”
   Close Button = “No”
8. Give the combo box control a meaningful name, which will be used in the query.
9. Create additional combo boxes for additional filtering, if desired.
10. Close the form. (In Form view, you can right-click on the form to close it).

Creating the Query to Reference the Form Control

Next you must create a query since the query name will have to be referenced within the form. This query is very similar to creating a parameter query, but you will reference the form control instead.

1. Make sure that the one-to-many relationships have been defined between tables. In this example, the Manufacturers and Equipment tables are joined by the Manufacturer field.
2. Create a query using the fields from appropriate tables that will display the required data.
3. In Design view, you will need to reference the field that has the drop-down list in the form (in this case, it would be the Manufacturer field). However, instead of using bracketed parameters as you would in a parameter query, you will include the name of the form and the name of the combo box control within brackets as follows:

[forms]![FormName]![ComboBoxName]

The query Criteria field in Design view could be structured something like this:

Depending upon the version of Access you are using, Access may prompt you with the correct names for the form references, which is a new feature in Access 2010.  Also, if you wish to use wildcard characters when selecting criteria in the form, so that you may enter a partial text string with an asterisk, then the line should read:

Like [forms]![FormName]![ComboBoxName] & “*”

Save and close the query.

Adding the  Command Button to Run the Query

The query should now work when you choose an item from the drop-down list in the form; however, the query will have to be opened manually after you choose an item in the drop-down list in the form. Therefore, you will want to add a command button to the form so that the query will run automatically.

1. Open the form in Design view.
2. Click the Command Button tool on the Ribbon; then click in the form where you want the command  button to appear.
3. When the Command Button Wizard opens, choose the Miscellaneous category and the “Run Query” action.
4. Click Next; choose the query that you created to run when the command button is selected.
5. Click Next; choose the text or picture for the button.
6. Click Finish.
7. Save the form.
8. Switch to Form view and test the command button.

Note: If you leave the query open when changing options in the drop-down box in the form, you will have to keep refreshing the query to see the updated results.  The keyboard shortcut is F5 to refresh.

Adding the Command Button to Close the Form

Next you will want to add a command button to the form to close the form.

1. Switch to Design view.
2. Click the Command Button tool on the Ribbon; then click in the form where you want the command button to appear.
3. When the Command Button Wizard opens, choose the Form Operations category and the “Close Form” action.
4. Click Next; choose the text or picture for the button.
5. Click Finish.
6. Save the form.
7. Switch to Form view and test the command button.

To get the desired result, we queried the table and included in the design the fields for name. Then we created one more field, called PrefEmail, that would show the contact’s WorkEmail if they had one; or show their HomeEmail if they only had that. Of course, contacts with no email would show nothing in this new field.

The new field required the following formula using nested If statements:

PrefEmail: IIf([tblContacts]![WorkEmail] Is Not Null, [tblContacts]![WorkEmail], IIf([tblContacts]![HomeEmail] Is Not Null, [tblContacts]![HomeEmail],”"))

The result looked like this: