Alison Balter's Mastering Access Development

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ISBN: 9780672309991 | 0672309998
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 1/1/1997

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This book includes coverage of all the topics that Access developers need to know regarding the latest version of Access, VBA techniques, DAO, designing for a multi-user environment, client/server techniques, optimization, security, and more. The CD includes all code examples and a library of reusable functions, forms, and reports.

Building a Foundation for Your Access Applications	p. 1
Introduction to Access Development	p. 3
What Types of Applications Can You Develop in Access?	p. 4
What Exactly Is a Database?	p. 7
Getting to Know the Database Objects	p. 7
Object Naming Conventions	p. 15
Hardware Requirements	p. 16
How Do I Get Started Developing an Access Application?	p. 17
Summary	p. 23
A Strategy for Developing Access Applications	p. 25
Why Strategize?	p. 26
Splitting Tables and Other Objects	p. 26
Basing Forms and Reports on Queries	p. 28
Understanding the Access Runtime Engine	p. 28
Resource	p. 34
EXE Versus Access Database: What It Means to You	p. 34
The Importance of Securing Your Database	p. 34
Using Access as a Front-End	p. 35
Applying the Strategy to the Computer Consulting Firm Application	p. 38
Summary	p. 38
What Every Developer Needs to Know About Tables	p. 39
Building a New Table	p. 40
Selecting the Appropriate Field Type for Your Data	p. 46
Working with Field Properties	p. 51
Try It	p. 51
Try It	p. 52
Try It	p. 53
Try It	p. 54
Try It	p. 55
Try It	p. 56
Required: Make the User Enter a Value	p. 57
Try It	p. 57
Try It	p. 57
Indexed: Speeding Up Searches	p. 58
Try It	p. 58
The All-Important Primary Key	p. 59
Working with the Lookup Feature	p. 59
Working with Table Properties	p. 61
Using Indexes to Improve Performance	p. 62
Access Tables and the Internet	p. 62
Practical Examples: Designing the Tables Needed for the Computer Consulting Firm's Time and Billing Application	p. 65
Summary	p. 68
Relationships: Your Key to Data Integrity	p. 69
Understanding Relationships	p. 70
Examining the Types of Relationships	p. 70
Establishing Relationships	p. 72
Try It	p. 74
Establishing Referential Integrity	p. 75
Try It	p. 77
Try It	p. 79
Looking At the Benefits of Relationships	p. 80
Examining Indexes and Relationships	p. 80
Practical Examples: Establishing the Relationships Between the Tables Included in the Time and Billing Database	p. 81
Summary	p. 83
What Every Developer Needs to Know About Query Basics	p. 85
What Is a Query and When Should You Use One?	p. 86
Everything You Need to Know About Selecting Fields	p. 86
Try It	p. 88
Try It	p. 89
Try It	p. 89
Try It	p. 90
Ordering Your Query Result	p. 90
Try It	p. 91
Try It	p. 91
Try It	p. 93
Working with Dates in Criteria	p. 94
Understanding How Query Results Can Be Updated	p. 95
Building Queries Based on Multiple Tables	p. 96
Try It	p. 97
Try It	p. 98
Creating Calculated Fields	p. 101
Try It	p. 102
Getting Help from the Expression Builder	p. 103
Summarizing Data with Totals Queries	p. 104
Try It	p. 107
Excluding Fields from the Output	p. 107
Nulls and Query Results	p. 108
Refining Your Queries with Field and Query Properties	p. 110
Field List Properties	p. 111
Building Parameter Queries When You Don't Know the Criteria at Design Time	p. 112
Try It	p. 113
Practical Examples: Building Queries Needed by the Time and Billing Application for the Computer Consulting Firm	p. 115
Summary	p. 116
What Every Developer Needs to Know About Form Basics	p. 117
Uses of Forms	p. 118
Anatomy of a Form	p. 119
Creating a New Form	p. 120
Working with the Form Design Window	p. 123
Selecting the Correct Control for the Job	p. 131
Control Morphing	p. 138
What Form Properties Are Available and Why Use Them?	p. 139
What Control Properties Are Available and Why Use Them?	p. 145
Bound, Unbound, and Calculated Controls	p. 150
Using Expressions to Enhance Your Forms	p. 150
The Command Button Wizards: Programming Without Typing	p. 151
Building Forms Based on More Than One Table	p. 153
Basing Forms on Queries: The Why and How	p. 157
Access Forms and the Internet	p. 158
Practical Examples: Designing Forms for Your Application	p. 160
Summary	p. 164
What Every Developer Needs to Know About Report Basics	p. 165
Types of Reports Available	p. 166
Anatomy of a Report	p. 170
Creating a New Report	p. 171
Working with the Report Design Window	p. 174
Selecting the Correct Control for the Job	p. 178
What Report Properties Are Available and Why Use Them	p. 181
What Control Properties Are Available and Why Use Them	p. 184
Inserting Page Breaks	p. 187
Unbound, Bound, and Calculated Controls	p. 187
Using Expressions to Enhance Your Reports	p. 187
Building Reports Based on More Than One Table	p. 187
Working with Sorting and Grouping	p. 193
Improving Performance and Reusability by Basing Reports on Stored Queries	p. 197
Access Reports and the Internet	p. 198
Practical Examples: Building Reports Needed for Your Application	p. 199
Summary	p. 205
VBA 101: The Basics of VBA	p. 207
VBA Explained	p. 208
Access Class Modules, Standard Modules, Form Modules, and Report Modules Explained	p. 210
Working with Variables	p. 218
Adding Comments to Your Code	p. 222
Using the Line-Continuation Character	p. 222
Using the VBA Control Structures	p. 223
Passing Parameters and Returning Values: An Introduction	p. 230
Working with Built-In Functions	p. 231
Tools for Working with the Module Window	p. 235
Practical Examples: Event Routines, User-Defined Functions, and Subroutines Needed for the Time and Billing Application	p. 239
Summary	p. 240
Advanced VBA Techniques	p. 243
Navigation Tips and Tricks	p. 244
Executing Procedures from the Module Window	p. 250
The DoCmd Object: Performing Macro Actions	p. 250
What Are User-Defined Types and Why Would You Use Them?	p. 252
Working with Constants	p. 253
Working with Arrays	p. 257
Advanced Function Techniques	p. 259
Property Let and Get: Working with Custom Properties	p. 264
Class Modules	p. 265
Working with Empty and Null	p. 268
Understanding and Effectively Using Compilation Options	p. 273
Customizing the IDE	p. 274
Practical Examples: Putting Advanced Techniques to Use in the Time and Billing Application	p. 276
Summary	p. 278
The Real Scoop on Objects, Properties, and Events	p. 279
Understanding Access's Object Model	p. 280
The Forms Collection	p. 280
Understanding Objects, Properties, Events, and Methods	p. 282
Using the Object Browser to Learn About Access's Objects	p. 286
Referring to Objects	p. 288
Properties and Methods Made Easy	p. 289
Declaring and Assigning Object Variables	p. 291
Understanding the Differences Between Objects and Collections	p. 293
Using the New Keyword	p. 297
Passing Objects to Functions and Subroutines	p. 298
Returning to a Unique Item in a Collection	p. 299
Determining the Type of a Control	p. 300
Special Properties That Refer to Objects	p. 301
Practical Examples of Working with Objects	p. 302
Summary	p. 304
What Are Macros and When Do You Need Them?	p. 305
Why Learning About Macros Is Important	p. 306
The Basics of Creating and Running a Macro	p. 306
Running an Access Macro	p. 314
Try It	p. 316
Modifying and Existing Macro	p. 318
Documenting Your Macro: Adding Comments	p. 321
Testing a Macro	p. 322
Try It	p. 323
When You Should Use Macros and When You Shouldn't	p. 323
Converting a Macro to VBA Code	p. 324
Creating an AutoExec Macro	p. 325
Creating an AutoKeys Macro	p. 326
The DoCmd Object	p. 328
Practical Examples: Adding an AutoExec Macro to the Time and Billing Application	p. 328
Summary	p. 329
Advanced Query Concepts	p. 331
Action Queries	p. 332
Special Query Properties	p. 340
Optimizing Queries	p. 344
Crosstab Queries	p. 347
Outer Joins	p. 353
Self-Joins	p. 355
Understanding SQL	p. 356
Union Queries	p. 362
Pass-Through Queries	p. 362
The Propagation of Nulls and Query Results	p. 364
Subqueries	p. 364
Using the Result of a Function as the Criteria for a Query	p. 365
Passing Parameter Query Values from a Form	p. 367
Practical Examples: Applying These Techniques in Your Application	p. 368
Summary	p. 371
Let's Get More Intimate with Forms: Advanced Techniques	p. 373
What Are the Form Events and When Do You Use Them?	p. 374
What Are the Section and Control Events and When Do You Use Them?	p. 383
Referring to Me	p. 388
What Types of Forms Can I Create and When Are They Appropriate?	p. 389
Using Built-In Dialog Boxes	p. 397
Adding Custom Menus, Toolbars, and Shortcut Menus to Your Forms	p. 400
Taking Advantage of Built-in Form-Filtering Features	p. 405
Including Objects from Other Applications: Linking Versus Embedding	p. 406
OpenArgs	p. 408
Switching a Form's Record Source	p. 408
Power Combo Box and List Box Techniques	p. 410
Power Subform Techniques	p. 416
Synchronizing a Form with Its Underlying Recordset	p. 417
Creating Custom Properties and Methods	p. 417
Practical Examples: Applying Advanced Techniques to Your Application	p. 422
Summary	p. 424
Let's Get More Intimate with Reports: Advanced Techniques	p. 425
Events Available for Reports and When to Use Them	p. 426
Order of Events for Reports	p. 429
Events Available for Report Sections and When to Use Them	p. 429
Special Report Properties	p. 433
Practical Applications of Report Events and Properties	p. 435
Practical Examples	p. 450
Summary	p. 451
What Are the Data Access Objects and Why Are They Important?	p. 453
Understanding Data Access Objects	p. 454
Examining the Data Access Object Model	p. 454
Getting to Know DBEngine	p. 462
Using CurrentDB()	p. 463
Understanding Recordset Types	p. 463
Selecting Among the Types of Recordset Objects Available	p. 465
Working with Recordset Properties and Methods	p. 465
Modifying Table Data Using Code	p. 477
Creating and Modifying Database Objects Using Code	p. 480
Using the Containers Collection	p. 483
Practical Examples: Applying These Techniques to Your Application	p. 484
Summary	p. 489
What To Do When Things Don't Go As Planned	p. 491
Debugging: Your Key to Successful Development	p. 493
Understanding the Importance of Debugging	p. 494
Avoiding Bugs	p. 494
Harnessing the Power of the Debug Window	p. 495
Invoking the Debugger	p. 500
Using Breakpoints to Troubleshoot	p. 500
Try It	p. 501
Stepping Through Code	p. 502
Try It	p. 502
Try It	p. 504
Try It	p. 504
Using Step Out	p. 505
Try It	p. 505
Setting the Next Statement to Execute	p. 505
Try It	p. 505
Using the Calls Window	p. 506
Try It	p. 506
Working with the Locals Pane	p. 507
Working with Watch Expressions	p. 507
Try It	p. 510
Continuing Execution After a Runtime Error	p. 512
Looking At Gotchas with the Debug Window	p. 513
Practical Examples: Debugging Real Applications	p. 513
Summary	p. 514
Handling Those Dreaded Runtime Errors	p. 515
Implementing Error Handling	p. 516
Working with Error Events	p. 517
Using On Error Statements	p. 518
Using Resume Statements	p. 521
Clearing an Error	p. 523
Examining the Cascading Error Effect	p. 523
Using the Err Object	p. 524
Raising an Error	p. 525
Using the Errors Collection	p. 526
Creating a Generic Error Handler	p. 527
Preventing Your Own Error Handling from Being Invoked	p. 537
Practical Examples: Incorporating Error Handling	p. 537
Summary	p. 538
Preparing Your Applications for a Multiuser Environment	p. 539
Developing for a Multiuser Environment	p. 541
Designing Your Application with Multiuser Issues in Mind	p. 542
Understanding Access's Locking Mechanisms	p. 546
Locking and Refreshing Strategies	p. 547
Form Locking Strategies	p. 551
Recordset Locking	p. 552
Effectively Handling Locking Conflicts	p. 555
Testing a Record for Locking Status	p. 562
Using Code to Refresh or Requery	p. 563
Understanding the .LDB File	p. 563
Creating Custom Counters	p. 564
Using Unbound Forms	p. 564
Using Replication to Improve Performance	p. 565
Practical Examples: Making an Application Multiuser Ready	p. 565
Summary	p. 566
Using External Data	p. 567
Understanding External Data	p. 568
Importing, Linking, and Opening: When and Why	p. 568
Importing External Data	p. 571
Creating a Link to External Data	p. 575
Opening an External Table	p. 582
Understanding Windows Registry Settings	p. 584
Using the Connection String	p. 585
Working with Passwords	p. 585
Refreshing and Removing Links	p. 586
Creating an External Table	p. 588
Looking At Special Considerations	p. 589
Troubleshooting	p. 591
Looking At Performance Considerations and Links	p. 591
Working with HTML Documents	p. 592
Practical Examples: Working with External Data from within Your Application	p. 594
Summary	p. 598
Client/Server Techniques	p. 599
Understanding the Client/Server Model	p. 600
Deciding Whether to Use the Client/Server Model	p. 600
Roles Access Plays in the Application Design Model	p. 605
Learning the Client/Server Buzzwords	p. 608
Upsizing: What to Worry About	p. 609
Proactively Preparing for Upsizing	p. 612
Defining an ODBC Data Source	p. 612
Connecting to a Database Server	p. 615
Working with Linked Tables	p. 616
Summary	p. 628
Client/Server Strategies	p. 629
Developing Client/Server Strategies	p. 630
Selecting the Best Recordset Type	p. 630
Using Forward-Scrolling Snapshots	p. 631
Using Key Set Fetching	p. 631
Using Pass-Through Queries and Stored Procedures	p. 631
Using ODBCDirect	p. 632
Preconnecting to the Server	p. 632
Reducing the Number of Connections	p. 633
Optimizing Data Handling	p. 633
Optimizing Queries and Forms	p. 633
Practical Examples: Using Client/Server Strategies	p. 637
Summary	p. 638
Transaction Processing	p. 639
Understanding Transaction Processing	p. 640
Understanding the Benefits	p. 640
Modifying the Default Behavior	p. 642
Implementing Explicit Transaction Processing	p. 643
Looking At Transaction Processing Issues	p. 644
Using Transaction Processing in a Multiuser Environment	p. 647
Using Transaction Processing in a Client/Server Environment	p. 651
Practical Examples: Improving the Integrity of the Time and Billing Application Using Transaction Processing	p. 653
Summary	p. 654
Optimizing Your Application	p. 655
Understanding Optimization	p. 656
Modifying Hardware and Software Configurations	p. 656
Understanding What Jet 3.5 Does to Improve Performance	p. 660
Letting the Performance Analyzer Determine Problem Areas	p. 661
Designing Tables to Optimize Performance	p. 662
Designing Queries to Optimize Performance	p. 664
Changing Code to Improve Performance	p. 664
Designing Forms and Reports to Improve Performance	p. 673
Practical Examples: Improving the Performance of the Time and Billing Application	p. 675
Summary	p. 675
Replication Made Easy	p. 677
What Is Replication?	p. 678
Uses of Replication	p. 678
Understanding When Replication Isn't Appropriate	p. 679
An Overview of the Implementation of Replication	p. 680
The Replication Architecture: What Makes Replication Tick?	p. 681
Understanding Replication Topologies	p. 683
Changes That Replication Makes to Your Database	p. 685
Making a Database Replicable	p. 687
Preventing Objects from Being Replicated	p. 690
Creating Additional Replicas	p. 690
Synchronizing Replicas	p. 691
Resolving Replication Conflicts	p. 693
Using the Replication Manager	p. 695
Implementing Replication by Using Code	p. 705
Practical Examples: Managing the Time and Billing Application with Replication	p. 708
Summary	p. 709
Extending the Power of Access	p. 711
Automation: Communicating with Other Applications	p. 713
Understanding Automation	p. 714
Defining Some Automation Terms	p. 714
Declaring an Object Variable to Reference Your Application	p. 715
Using CreateObject and GetObject	p. 717
Manipulating an Automation Object	p. 719
Controlling Excel from Access	p. 719
Closing an Automation Object	p. 722
Creating a Graph from Access	p. 723
Controlling Word from Access	p. 726
Controlling PowerPoint from Access	p. 728
Controlling Access from Other Applications	p. 730
Practical Examples: Using Automation to Extend the Functionality of the Time and Billing Application	p. 733
Summary	p. 737
Using ActiveX Controls	p. 739
ActiveX Controls Explained	p. 740
Incorporating ActiveX Controls in Access 97	p. 740
Adding ActiveX Controls to Forms	p. 742
Setting Properties of an ActiveX Control at Design Time	p. 745
Coding Events of an ActiveX Control	p. 746
The Calendar Control	p. 747
The UpDown Object	p. 750
The StatusBar Control	p. 751
The Common Dialog Control	p. 753
The Rich Textbox Control	p. 755
The TabStrip Control	p. 758
The ImageList Control	p. 760
Licensing and Distribution Issues	p. 761
Practical Examples: Implementing ActiveX Controls	p. 762
Summary	p. 763
Access and the Internet	p. 765
What's New with Access and the Internet	p. 766
Saving Database Objects as HTML	p. 766
Linking to HTML Files	p. 769
Importing HTML Files	p. 771
Static Versus Dynamic HTML Formats	p. 772
The Publish to the Web Wizard	p. 773
Working with HTML Templates	p. 775
Sending Data to an FTP or HTTP Server	p. 776
Taking Advantage of Hyperlinks	p. 777
The Microsoft WebBrowser Control	p. 778
The Web Toolbar	p. 778
Replication Over the Internet	p. 779
Summary	p. 779
Managing Application Development with Visual SourceSafe	p. 781
What Is Visual SourceSafe?	p. 782
How Do I Install Visual SourceSafe?	p. 782
Using Visual SourceSafe: An Overview	p. 783
The Logistics of Managing a Project with Visual SourceSafe	p. 783
Leveraging the Power of Visual SourceSafe	p. 790
Changes Visual SourceSafe Makes to Access's Behavior	p. 791
Understanding the Limitations of Visual SourceSafe	p. 793
Practical Examples: Putting the Time and Billing Application Under SourceSafe Control	p. 793
Summary	p. 793
Leveraging Your Application: Creating Your Own Libraries	p. 795
Understanding Library Databases	p. 796
Preparing a Database to Be a Library	p. 796
Creating a Reference	p. 798
Debugging a Library Database	p. 805
Securing an Access Library	p. 806
Practical Examples: Building a Library for Your Application	p. 807
Summary	p. 809
Using Builders, Wizards, and Menu Add-Ins	p. 811
Defining Builders, Wizards, and Menu Add-Ins, Builders	p. 812
Using Builders	p. 812
Using Wizards	p. 822
Using Menu Add-Ins	p. 827
Practical Examples: Designing Your Own Add-Ins	p. 829
Summary	p. 833
Putting the Final Polish on Your Application	p. 835
Using External Functions: The Windows API	p. 837
Using the Win32 API	p. 838
Declaring an External Function to the Compiler	p. 838
Working with Constants and Types	p. 843
Calling DLL Functions: Important Issues	p. 848
Examining the Differences Between 16-Bit and 32-Bit APIs	p. 849
Using API Functions	p. 849
Getting Information about the Operating Environment	p. 849
Determining Drive Types and Available Drive Space	p. 854
Practical Examples: Applying What You Have Learned to the Time and Billing Application	p. 857
Summary	p. 857
Database Security Made Easy	p. 859
Reviewing Your Options for Securing a Database	p. 860
Implementing Share-Level Security: Establishing a Database Password	p. 860
Encrypting a Database	p. 861
Establishing User-Level Security	p. 863
Providing an Additional Level of Security: Creating an MDE File	p. 877
Looking At Special Issues	p. 878
Practical Examples: Securing the Time and Billing Application	p. 880
Summary	p. 883
Complex Security Issues	p. 885
Controlling Security Via Code	p. 886
Maintaining Groups Using Code	p. 886
Maintaining Users Using Code	p. 889
Listing All Groups and Users	p. 894
Working with Passwords	p. 896
Assigning and Revoking Permissions to Objects Using Code	p. 900
Encrypting a Database By Using Code	p. 902
Accomplishing Field-Level Security By Using Queries	p. 902
Prohibiting Users from Creating Objects	p. 904
Accomplishing Prohibited Tasks By Logging on a Different User	p. 906
Securing Client/Server Applications	p. 906
Examining Security and Replication	p. 906
Practical Examples: Applying Advanced Techniques to Your Application	p. 906
Summary	p. 907
Documenting Your System	p. 909
Understanding Why You Should Document	p. 910
Preparing Your Application to Be Self-Documenting	p. 910
Using Database Properties to Document the Overall Database	p. 914
Using the Database Documenter	p. 916
Writing Code to Create Your Own Documentation	p. 920
Practical Examples: Applying What You Learned to the Time and Billing Application	p. 921
Summary	p. 921
Database Maintenance Techniques	p. 923
Understanding What Database Maintenance Is All About	p. 924
Compacting Your Database	p. 924
Repairing Your Database	p. 928
Summary	p. 930
Developing a Help File	p. 931
Deciding To Create a Help File	p. 932
Looking at Help from a User's Perspective	p. 932
Planning the Help File	p. 936
Building the Help Components	p. 937
Adding Custom Help to Your Applications	p. 952
Getting Help with Help: Authoring Tools	p. 953
Practical Examples: Adding Help to the Time and Billing Application	p. 954
Summary	p. 955
Distributing Your Application with ODE	p. 957
Distributing Your Application: An Introduction	p. 958
Looking At the ODE	p. 958
Distributing Your Application to Run with a Full Copy of Access	p. 960
Using Full Versions versus Runtime Versions of Access	p. 961
Preparing Your Database for Use with the Access Runtime Version	p. 964
Looking At Other Issues	p. 984
Practical Examples: Distributing the Time and Billing Application	p. 989
Summary	p. 989
Appendixes	p. 991
Table Structures	p. 993
The tblClients table	p. 994
The tblCompanyInfo Table	p. 1004
The tblEmployees Table	p. 1009
The tblErrorLog Table	p. 1014
The tblErrors Table	p. 1018
The tblExpenseCodes Tables	p. 1019
The tblPaymentMethods Table	p. 1020
The tblPayments Table	p. 1022
The tblProjects Table	p. 1026
The tblTimeCardExpenses Table	p. 1031
The tblTimeCardHours Table	p. 1036
The tblTimeCards Table	p. 1041
The tblWorkCodes Table	p. 1043
Naming Conventions	p. 1045
Index	p. 1051
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Alison Balter's Mastering Access Development

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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