Exploring Microsoft Access 2013

Comprehensive
Chapter 8
Get Connected

Series Editor Mary Anne Poatsy

by Krebs, Cameron, Williams

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall. 1

 Chapter Objectives
• Create a Hyperlink field
• Add an Attachment field
• Add attachment controls to forms and
reports
• Export data to Excel
• Export data to Word
• Export data to a PDF or XPS document

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 Chapter Objectives (cont.)
• Export objects to another Access database
• Link to an Access table
• Link to an Excel spreadsheet
• Import an Excel spreadsheet
• Import a text file

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 Create a Hyperlink Field
• Hyperlink – data type that links to any file or
Web page
• Uniform resource locator (URL) – location of
a Web page on the Internet

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 Create a Hyperlink Field
• Edit a hyperlink in datasheet view
– To avoid launching the hyperlink, right-click and
select Edit Hyperlink
• Remove a hyperlink
– Right-click and select Remove Hyperlink

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 Add an Attachment Field
• Attachment field – allows you to attach files
to a database
– Similar to an attachment in an e-mail
– Attach multiple files
– Files are copied into the database
– Files open within Access
– To edit, files must be opened in their native
application
– Attachments increase size of database

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 Add an Attachment Field
• Add attachment field in Design view
– Add field and select Attachment as the data type
• Add or edit attachments in Datasheet view
– Double-click the paperclip icon in the attachment
field to open the Attachments Dialog Box
• Remove attachments in Datasheet view
– Double-click the paperclip icon in the attachment
field to open the Attachments Dialog Box

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 Add an Attachment Field
• Examples of external files used with an
attachment field
– Images
– Scanned documents
– Excel spreadsheets
– PDF documents

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 Add Attachment Controls to Forms and
Reports
• Attachment control – lets you manage
attached files in forms and reports
• Attachment toolbar – enables you to open
and to advance through multiple attachments

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 Export Data to Excel
• Exporting an Access table to Excel
– Generally uncomplicated
– Data in Access tables is structured in a manner
that Excel understands
– Field names become the column headings
– Table records become the rows

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 Export Data to Excel
• Exporting an Access query to Excel
– Allows you to export only a subset of a table
– Same rules for exporting a table apply

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 Export Data to Excel
• Exporting Access forms and reports to Excel
– Results unpredictable
– Subform data in forms does not export
– Report grouping in Access may not match
grouping in Excel

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 Export Data to Word
• Select data with a tabular layout
– Tables, queries, tabular reports
– Other objects have unpredictable results
• Rich Text Format (RTF) – format that files
exported from Access to Word are created in
– Universal file format that supports basic
formatting

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 Export Data to Word
• Modify an RTF file in Word
– After exporting an Access table to an RTF file, it
can be modified in Word
– Save in Word format to access advanced
formatting

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Export Data to a PDF or XPS Document

• Reasons to export to PDF or XPS format

– Portable Document Format (PDF) files can be
opened and viewed with a free reader download
– XML Paper Specification (XPS) files can be
opened and viewed with a free reader download
– No special software to buy
– Cannot edit once exported to PDF or XPS format

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Export Objects to Another Access Database

• Reasons to export tables to another database

– To use same structure in another database
– Saves time vs. creating tables from scratch

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 Link to an Access Table
• Importing creates a copy of external data
– Does not link to source file
– Increases size of database
– Three most common import formats: Access, Excel,
text
• Linking connects without importing data
– Can link to tables in another database
– Creates a new table with connection to source table
– Cannot link to queries, forms, reports, macros, or
modules
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 Link to an Access Table
• Examine the tables in the source database
– Examine before you link
– Verify contents, field names, and other elements

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 Link to an Excel Spreadsheet
• Three options for using data from an Excel
spreadsheet
– Manually enter data into a database table
– Link from Access to Excel
– Import into Access from Excel

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 Link to an Excel Spreadsheet
• Verify the Format of an Excel Spreadsheet
– Continuous rows and columns
– No blank rows or columns
– No extraneous or explanatory text
– Column headings should match

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 Import an Excel Spreadsheet
• Factors to consider when importing an Excel
spreadsheet into an Access database
– A large Excel file will increases file size of
database
– More control over imported data
– No dependency to an external source

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 Import an Excel Spreadsheet
• Examine the Spreadsheet Before Importing
– No extra rows of data that do not comply with
the format of an Access table
– Column headings should appear in first row
– Remove blank rows

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 Import a Text File
• Text files – common methods of exchanging
information between two computer systems
• Created by software, not created by people
• Common text file formats
– CSV text files use a comma to separate one
column from the next
– Fixed-length text files allocate a certain number
of characters for each field

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 Import a Text File
• Examine text files before importing
– Open in Notepad
– Confirm contents are relevant to database
– Verify format of file is consistent
– Verify fields and data values correspond to
Access tables

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 Summary
• In this chapter you learned to:
– Create a Hyperlink field
– Add an Attachment field
– Add attachment controls to forms and reports
– Export data to Excel
– Export data to Word
– Export data to a PDF or XPS document

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 Summary (cont.)
– Export objects to another Access database
– Link to an Access table
– Link to an Excel spreadsheet
– Import an Excel spreadsheet
– Import a text file

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall. 26

 Questions

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 Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

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