Microsoft Access - How to Bypass Database Startup

A common problem with inheriting Microsoft Access databases from other people is that you might not be able to get into the database without the startup form loading. You also might not be able to get to the database window to make any changes.

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Now, assuming the database isn't an MDE file (which is an encrypted database that you can't modify), and the previous developer didn't tightly secure it using the User-Level Security Wizard, you should be able to get to the database window by simply bypassing the startup routine.

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Any Access developer can specify a startup form and even hide the database window in the database setup options. You can even create an AutoExec macro that runs too.

If you hold down the SHIFT key when you first start your database - as soon as you double-click the icon to open it - this should bypass the startup options and bring you right to the database window.

If not, then the previous developer might have taken additional steps to secure the database. But, this simple solution will get you into 99% of the databases you're going to come across.

If this doesn't work, another easy solution you could try is creating a new, blank database and just importing all of the objects from the old database. You'll get all of the tables, queries, forms, and reports (and macros/modules too if you select them) but you won't have any of the database properties, such as the startup options. Just don't import the AutoExec macro if it exists.

Microsoft Access - How to Bypass Database Startup

Richard Rost is President of 599CD Computer Training and Access Learning Zone.

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Microsoft Access 2007 Training

Access 2007 was the most advanced version of the world's most popular desktop database system. It saw radical interface changes. Gone were the traditional menus and toolbars, to be replaced with what is known as the Ribbon. Beginners will have few problems getting to grips with the Ribbon, but users of previous versions of MS Access may benefit from Microsoft Access 2007 training.

Creating forms now becomes easier. To create a very basic form all you need to do is select the table or query and then click on a form button. Customization of forms is still a skill that can be acquired on a good training course. Access 2007 also has a few new options for the type of forms you can create.

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Tables can be created in a number of ways also. You can add and rename columns in run mode or in design mode. Tables I believe are the most important object in an Access database and a good understanding is needed. What do you want the table to store, how do you index the fields, how do you remove rows of information. Also you need to be able to eliminate duplicate information.

It is always worth learning some database theory. For example, primary and foreign keys, referential integrity, indexes etc. Of course one can still create systems without this knowledge, but problems are bound to occur in the long run.

Interfacing MS Access 2007 with the other products in the MS Office suite is also a useful specialty to have. It is possible to make Access talk to Outlook and Excel for example. By doing this you can create very powerful scalable systems.

You may be thinking you can manipulate records on MS Excel. That is true to a point. Access is designed to store and manipulate large volumes of data. This has always been why it is such a powerful system. It is also important to use the right tool for the job.

Keeping up to date with the latest Microsoft tools will enable you to build stable, robust applications. Once you have mastered the basics you could move on to VBA programming. This is a more advanced topic and one that should only be approached once you feel you have a good command of Access.

Learning a new technology is always a challenge, but if approached correctly can bring enormous benefits to your organization as well as your own skill set.

Whether you choose to get Microsoft Access 2007 training by learning online, from a book or training course, a good knowledge of Access will compliment any other MS Office products you currently use.

Microsoft Access 2007 Training

Get the #1 solution for Microsoft Access Training

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Building Tables in Microsoft Access

Access can be intimidating, if you're not accustomed to working with databases. The terminology can be confusing and is generally the first topic I teach when starting databases. Generally each table of information represents one entity - such as a person, a book, a place etc. Each table will contain fields that represent categories of information such as a person's name, Date of Birth or suchlike.

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Tables can be linked together to avoid duplication, which is the main reason why one would choose Access rather than Excel. The process of breaking your data down in order to avoid duplication is called Normalisation and is a difficult topic to grasp.

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If you're starting from scratch, launch Access and select New > Blank Database. Give your new database a name and click Create. This step creates the database, but has not yet created a table where data can be stored.

You can create a table in Access in three different ways:

Using the Datasheet View

Using The Table Design View'

Importing data from another program already stored in tabular format

To create a blank table, select Create > Table. After doing this, Access will show your new table as a tab and the Add New Field column will be active.

Access also provides table templates you can use when creating a new table. If you prefer to use a table template, select Create > Table Templates. A list of available templates will be displayed. Select the template you would like to use. Access will use the template to create a table. The newly created table will display the default template fields. The Add A New Field column will be active, so you can create additional fields if necessary.

You can add new fields and populate them with data as you go. Once you have finished adding fields and data, you should save your table. Select the Save menu option and type in a name for your table. Remember that your table is a structure within your database. The two are related, but they're different structures. You can repeat this procedure for any number of tables in your database.

You'll want to use the Design view to create tables if you want to specify a field description. A field description is text that appears in a box when you mouse over a database field. This is especially helpful if you're designing a database that will be used by many different people.

You'll also want to use the Design view to create tables if you want to specify custom data formats. You can create rule-based data validation schemes and establish default values for data fields in Design view. These features are not available to you when you create tables using the Datasheet view.

To create a table in Design view, select Create > Table Design. Access will open a new tab with controls that will allow you to define your data fields. For each field you create, you will need to assign a name, a data type, a description and you'll need to define the field's properties.

Field names can be up to 64 characters in length. They cannot contain periods, exclamation points, backquotes (`) or square brackets and they must be unique.

Access recognises the following data types for data fields: text, memo, number, date/time, currency, autonumber, yes/no, OLE object, hyperlink, attachment, and lookup wizard. The text field can contain up to 255 characters. For fields that will include free-form information or notes, the memo data type is more appropriate. It will accommodate up to 64,000 characters. Most of the other data types are generally self-explanatory. OLE Objects allows data from other programmes to be included in the database. Lookup Wizard allows you to create a list of possible values that can be selected by the user. This is a good way to ensure that this field always contains uniform entries.

Field descriptions can be up to 255 characters in length. The description field will appear in the status bar when you're entering data in a field.

Field properties include the field size; the acceptable data format; any default values; whether or not the field is required; and whether or not the table will be indexed on this field.

Building Tables in Microsoft Access

Notes for editors: Claire Blinman is the training manager at Computer Training Solutions in Bristol. For more information visit our website at http://www.computertrainingsolutions.co.uk or call 0800 0196882

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Top Factors Making Microsoft Access a Popular Tool

Microsoft Access is used extensively by small and medium enterprises to manage complex data as well as to analyze it quickly and efficiently. For users just making a shift to Access from other databases, here is an overview on what makes Access such a popular tool.

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While Access database was every effective in maintaining a database, the only drawback was that users who did not have an Access client could not view the data or make modifications. With Access 2010, it is now easy to extend the Access database to the Web and provide users access online. Using just a browser, users can easily view the data and make modifications that are synchronized with the database. If the user is offline, it is possible to make these changes offline and then use Microsoft Server 2010 to synchronize the changes the next time the user is online. These kinds of modifications do increase the chances of the database getting corrupted but we will see later how to recover MDB data easily and effectively in case the database does get damaged.

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The new Access 2010 allows you to use multiple data connections so that you can collect information from other sources or just link them. By providing conditional formatting and powerful calculation tools, you can generate reports that are not only appealing visually, with the rich and dynamic images but also create a lot of impact. Since Access now supports data bars, you can easily track trends and provide management with a lot of insight into what the data is revealing.

Using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Access 2010, it is possible to provide better protection to the data stored in the MDB files. The database can be stored centrally so that all the necessary data compliance, audit requirements and backup requirements can be met adequately. Access 2010 provides better manageability and increased accessibility. In the rare cases of corruption in the MDB file, it is easy to carry out an Access repair to recover MDB data from the central server.

Users can now implement database templates created by others or share their own designs. By making pre-built templates available to the entire Access community, it is now easier for users to quickly create databases from the pre-designed template by customizing them according to their needs rather than having build them up from scratch.

If you would like to create navigation forms that use Access data, you can do so by simply choosing from the pre-defined navigation templates made available by Access 2010. You can very quickly develop professional looking, web-like forms without having to spend any time in coding.

The enhanced Macro Designer in Access 2010 makes it possible for users to create robust applications by enabling them to easily develop highly complex code. Further, coding errors are reduced leading to lesser corruption and users are more productive. It pays to spend some time and money in having a good design for the database. A poorly designed database can have lot of corruption issues that can only be resolved by powerful tools such as Advanced Access Repair. Working on files that even the Compact and Repair tool cannot fix, this tool not only helps recover MDB data but more importantly restores it in the same structure as in the original, corrupted file.

Top Factors Making Microsoft Access a Popular Tool

Product can be found at http://www.repair-access.com/.

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User-Level Security in Access

"Permission Denied". Aaargh! Although frustrating when you are denied access to Access (no pun intended), it can be a godsend if there is someone else trying to access YOUR database and your data, if the security holds firm.

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Security is a constant hot-topic in the world of databases, mostly because of increased laws, (the data protection act put paid to many illegal uses of personal data and took steps to correct it). There are also a few high-profile cases where data has been lost or stolen en mass. Whatever the reason - you don't want it to happen to you or your work. At best, you have to start it all over again, at worst - you can leave you (or your customers) open to fraud.

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Access makes good use of user-level security. That is, each level of security is decided at user level, then group level, and so on. Take the example of a call centre that has a database of the customers to cold-call that day. The users (the workers) must have access to potential customer's names and phone numbers in order to do their job, but it may be wise not to give them the name and phone number of the senior management team, or the company sponsors, which should be reserved at a higher security level (let's say, the board of directors). Therefore each user will belong to a group, with different security levels. Within the group, further individuals can be granted bespoke rights, and that's how user-level security can be very effective.

Of course, not all Access user-level security functions are for sinister reasons, where data might be stolen or accessed maliciously. Often the security is in place to prevent accidents - if the intern in your office accidentally was given Access to read/write/edit your database up to the very highest level, and accidentally made a couple of wrong commands, the entire system could come to a screeching halt, leaving you (the more experienced user) to fix it. There is also data that is so sensitive, it shouldn't be viewed by accident (the database built for a doctor's surgery, listing a patient's medical record is a good example).

In practise, enforcing user-level security is relatively simple in Access. Information files are kept within workgroups, and each one requires a user password for access. Each user has a unique identifier, so the wrong person cannot get into the wrong workgroup. Access has two security levels - administrators ("Admins") group, and the "Users" group. Both are self explanatory - the users are usually read-only, the Admins can manipulate the Access database. There is a myriad of different, custom levels that can be created between the two or you can create your own groups.

It is not up to Access to decide who should have access to what data - it is up to you, (or your company), the owner of the data, to manage it within data protection laws. Enforcing the access is a lot easier, as Access has a built-in security wizard to help you with this task. Also, remember that there is a sandbox mode, which usually bypasses user-level security for the very reason it's just a sandbox and not the "real thing".

Permissions are the fine-tuning security elements you need to think about for each user. Back to our call centre example, although all workers should have customer telephone numbers, the team leaders on the call centre floor should have access to their team phone numbers so that they can be contacted if off sick, late, or for any other professional reason. The kind of data you have (and data tables) will dictate how you decide on different permissions for different users and workgroups. Another thing to consider is that the users might not have access to their actual permissions, which can also be protected.

The security in Access (from version 2003 onwards) is fairly robust, and unless you are so advanced that you can manipulate registry keys, then the user-level security settings are quite safe. Security is no small issue, and can create big mistakes - some of them costly and legal. Enforce your user-level security for every database you create, and you (and your data) can rest safely in the knowledge of protection.

User-Level Security in Access

Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on microsoft access 2003 training, please visit http://www.microsofttraining.net.

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Sibling Rivarly? Microsoft Access versus Excel

Life is more complex than ever. To illustrate my point, consider the following example. Ten years ago when you needed to find a phone number, you would simply go to the family junk drawer and grab "The Phone Book." Today, if you live in any major city or suburb you probably have a choice of three or more brands of telephone directories divided into at least two volumes, residential and business, with one or the other containing the always-confusing government directory section. Or, you could use your computer to conduct any number of internet searches and find the phone number and a collection of additional information that you may never need.

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As life's choices continue to increase, so too will the level of complexity. Similar to the telephone number dilemma, choosing whether to manage your data with Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel can pose a similar challenge. Both products allow you to enter, maintain, manipulate, and print data. Both products, and their competitors, are relatively inexpensive to purchase. So, which product is better? The following information available on the Microsoft Product Website should help you make the right choice.

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Consider the phone number scenario presented earlier. Rather than choosing between multiple phone directories, you've decided to build your own directory to store information about your personal and professional contacts. You want to decide between a spreadsheet program such as MS Excel or a relational database like MS Access. How do you determine which program to use?

To be accurate, Excel and other spreadsheet software programs are not database management systems (typically referred to as relational databases). Spreadsheet software stores data in rows and columns called worksheets. The areas within the worksheet where the rows and columns intersect are called cells. The most common use of spreadsheets is to manage basic information such as telephone numbers, employee names, financial data, calculations, etc.

Access, and other relational database software programs store data in tables that look similar to worksheets but function quite differently. Tables, the foundation of all relational databases function both independently and interdependently with other tables to allow the database user to combine data from multiple sources and analyze and/or report information in almost limitless ways.

Both programs work well for managing data, however, each one has clear advantages depending on the type of data you are managing and what you want to do with it. The key to your decision is whether the data is relational or not. If you can store your data in a single table or worksheet, then you can probably get by using Excel or some other spreadsheet software. If your data needs to be stored in more than one table, then you need a relational database program such as Access or a similar database management program.

Continuing with the contact list example, if you are only going to store your contact's name, address and phone number you may decide to use a simple worksheet using Excel or another product. However, if you plan to store additional information such as personal information, hobbies, job information, gift buying history, networking details, etc., which may apply to more than one contact, you will probably want to use Access or another relational database.

Sibling Rivarly? Microsoft Access versus Excel

Richard Thul, Access Enthusiast for Jennifer Marah Administrative Services

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When Should You Use Microsoft SQL Server Over Microsoft Access?

Two of the coolest tools that have ever come out from Microsoft are certainly Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access. Microsoft Access databases have certainly become more prevalent over the last 2 years as large corporations break the imposed ban on using the tool. Many of our large corporate clients and government clients have stymied development in Microsoft Access for varying reasons which can include security issues or simply the IT Managements belief that they don't want to support the application.

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Some of the reasons why IT Departments do not want Microsoft Access in their environments are quite valid. For example, the use of Access Databases in high security areas such as in the Education Department for storing student information, Department of Defence systems, Hospitals storing patient data are all valid reasons why data should not be stored in a MS Access Database.

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However, one of the key advantages that Microsoft Access has is the ability to build a software system to manage a range of services very quickly. The downside is that Microsoft Access on its own is very un-secure and can easily be lifted without any trace using a USB Stick or CDROM. But there are ways to secure Microsoft Access and to prevent data from being lifted.

First of all let us look at Microsoft SQL Server...

Microsoft SQL Server is the tool of choice for many corporate environments because it is a commercial database server. Its core role in the commercial world is to store data which is slightly different to Microsoft Access. MS Access whilst it is a database, it is more so a database management system that allows you to build a fully interactive user interface that allows users to enter data and report on data where as Microsoft SQL Server simply stores the data within tables. It doesn't have the ability to provide you with a front-end like ms Access.

Microsoft SQL Server allows you to store large volumes of data which include items like photographs, video, text, numbers and much much more. Now whilst I'm sure everyone is saying, "But Microsoft Access can do that too", you are right to a certain extent but Microsoft Access has very defined limits. Microsoft SQL Server is designed to handle terra bytes worth of data where as Microsoft Access can only hand around 1 Gigabyte of data without having issues.

Can You Use Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access together...

The answer to this question is a resounding YES. In fact my preferred way of developing systems is to utilise MS SQL Server as the datastore and then use MS Access as the Front End. To join the two together I simply link the SQL tables to Microsoft Access via an ODBC connection.

This method is what I consider the best way to build a database system which requires a medium to high level of security and integrity. There are a number of reasons for this -

1. Microsoft SQL Server integrates security into the Microsoft Windows Active Directory Security System

2. Microsoft SQL Server can be setup to automatically back up

3. It can do incremental backups which means it can backup during the day rather than just once at night

4. Using the server with the Active Directory environment means that your users only need to have one username and only need to logon once

5. Microsoft SQL Server databases cannot easily be duplicated or copied without the SQL Server DBA (DBA stands for Database Administrator) knowing

6. It can handle Terrabytes worth of data where as Microsoft Access is questionable over 1 Gigabyte

7. Microsoft SQL Server allows you to do some of the system processes on the server via Stored Procedures and DTS (Data Transformation Services) where as Microsoft Access requires the client to do all the processing

I am quite sure most small business owners will look at this article and say, "Well I can't afford such a system". Well let me tell you, you can. Microsoft many years ago introduced a software package called Microsoft Small Business Server. This package includes professional tools such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange and they competitively priced this package for around 00 Australian. The key reason they did this was so that small businesses would have the ability to access professional resources at an effective and cost efficient price rather than being disadvantaged.

You can buy servers in Australia with Microsoft Small business Server for around 00 to 00 dollars which is far more competitive than what it was a few years ago. It also means that by having Microsoft SQL Server available, the systems they can develop can be as professional as those organisations whom have multi-million dollar budgets.

The time to use ms access on its own is really dependant on whether you need your data to be mobile. If you do and the security of the data is not important, then using Microsoft Access as the data store is appropriate. For example, the other day a company who puts together mining information on key contacts, wanted to distribute their information in database format to people who want to know who's who in the industry. In this case they developed their information in an Access database and distributed it to those who were prepared to buy it in this format. Security in their case wasn't an issue because customers were paying for it, so it was appropriate to develop the system in Microsoft Access rather than any other format that might utilise Microsoft SQL Server.

If for instance, the data you are storing is in fact sensitive or is mission critical but the data needs to be mobile. For example you might need the data for a Financial Planner or Loan Mortgage Broker then in this case your data should be stored in MSDE. MSDE is in fact a cut down version of Microsoft SQL Server and by design it is far more secure than Microsoft Access plus it is much harder to copy the data.

The bottom line is this, if your data is important to your business then your principle data store should not be MS Access, you should be developing a system where your data is stored in Microsoft SQL Server and then using MS Access as the Front-End to manipulate the data. Further to this, you should be integrating your SQL Server logins with your Active Directory Security System. If you use this technique your data will be far more secure than if it is stored in Microsoft Access Exclusively.

When Should You Use Microsoft SQL Server Over Microsoft Access?

Chris Le Roy is a veteran of the software development having worked in the field for over 20 years and has been developing systems using Visual Basic 6, VB.Net, Microsoft Access and SQL Server, ASP, VB Script and Java Script. He currently runs a specialist Computer Training Centre in Townsville Australia, where people from all over the world, train to learn advanced techniques in programming in these applications. Many of his clients specifically focus on Microsoft Access development training. Chris has written a number of training programs, including a Microsoft Access Course and has a number of other Microsoft Office Course available.

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