Faster ways to get started
Office Access 2007 provides
templates with which you can easily create databases, tables, and fields. In
addition, there are new views and design tools to help you create new database
objects and to work with data.
Database
templates for building complete applications
Office
Access 2007 includes a suite of professionally designed database
templates for tracking contacts, tasks, events, students, and assets,
among other types of data. You can use them right away or enhance and
refine them to track information exactly the way that you want. Use the
Getting Started with Microsoft Office Access page, which appears each
time that you start Office Access 2007, and quickly get started
creating your database by opening one of the templates.
Field
and table templates
Spending a lot of time designing your fields?
Instead, use the new field templates, which are predefined fields, each with a
name, data type, length, and preset properties. You can drag the fields that
you need directly from the Field Templates pane to a datasheet. Field
templates are based on XML Schema Definition (.xsd) files so that you can set
up your own standard definitions for shared use in your department or
workgroup.
In addition, Office Access 2007
includes table templates for tables that are commonly used in databases. For
example, you can use the Contacts table template to add a Contacts table to
your database. The table already includes commonly used fields, such as Last
Name, First Name, and Address. Field properties are already set so that you can
begin using the table immediately. There are other table templates
available — Tasks, Issues, Events, and Assets — that include
specialized fields designed for the type of data you want to store and track.
Results-oriented user interface
The
new results-oriented user interface — the Microsoft Office Fluent user
interface — makes it easy for you to work in Office Access 2007.
Commands and features that were often buried in complex menus and
toolbars are now easier to find on task-oriented tabs that contain
logical groups of commands and features. Many dialog boxes are replaced
with galleries that display the available options, and descriptive
tooltips or sample previews are provided to help you choose the right
option. No matter what activity that you are performing in the new user
interface — whether it is creating a report or entering data — Access
presents the tools that are most useful to successfully completing that
task.
Microsoft
Office Fluent user interface The new Office Fluent user interface
includes a standard area called the Ribbon, which contains groups of
commands that are organized by feature and functionality. The Ribbon
replaces the layers of menus and toolbars found in earlier versions of
Access.
Use
the Office Fluent Ribbon to locate groups of related commands faster.
For example, if you need to create a form or report, use one of the
commands on the Create tab. The new design makes it easier to find the
commands that you need, and you will discover features that you
otherwise might not notice. Commands are placed closer to the surface,
which means that you do not need to dig for them in menus or memorize
their locations.
Key features of the Office Fluent user interface include:
Command
tabs — Tabs that display commands that are commonly used together so
that you can find the commands that you need when you need them.
Contextual
command tabs — A command tab that appears depending on your context —
that is, the object that you are working on or the task that you are
performing. A contextual command tab contains the commands most likely
to apply to what you are doing.
Galleries
— New controls that display a preview of a style or option so that you
can see the results before you commit to a choice. Galleries are
employed throughout the 2007 Microsoft Office system interface.
Quick
Access Toolbar — A single standard toolbar that appears on the Ribbon,
offering instant, single-click access to the most needed commands, such
as Save and Undo.
Getting
Started with Microsoft Office Access page This page provides
quick access to a library of professionally designed database
templates, in addition to databases that you recently opened and (if
you are connected to the Internet) links to popular Office Online
articles
More powerful object creation tools
Office
Access 2007 provides an intuitive environment for creating forms and
reports, allowing you to quickly create forms and reports that display
sorted, filtered, and grouped information.
Create tab
Use
the Create tab to quickly create new forms, reports, tables, Windows
SharePoint Services lists, queries, macros, and modules. If you
selected a table or query in the Navigation Pane, you can create a new
form or report based on that object in one click by using the Form or
Report command. The new forms and reports that are created by this
one-click process are more visually appealing and immediately useful,
because their design has been upgraded. Automatically generated forms
and reports get a professional looking design with headers that include
a logo and a title. In addition, an automatically generated report also
includes date and time information, and informative footers and totals.
You will find that objects created by using the new, quick create experience take you farther with less effort.
New views: Report view and Layout view
Two
new views let you work with forms and reports interactively. By using
Report view, you can browse an accurate rendering of your report
without having to print or display it in Print Preview. To focus on
certain records, use the filter feature, or use a Find operation to
search for matching text. You can use the Copy command to copy text to
the Clipboard, or click the active hyperlinks displayed in your report
to follow a link in your browser.
Report
view adds the ability to browse, but Layout view lets you make design
changes while you browse. You can use Layout view to make many common
design changes while you view data in a form or report. For example,
add a field by dragging a field name from the new Field List pane, or
change properties by using the property sheet. Layout view supports the
new, stacked and tabular layouts — groups of controls that you can
manipulate as one so that you can easily rearrange fields, columns,
rows, or whole layouts. You can also remove a field or add formatting
easily in Layout view. Design view remains available for more detailed
work, and it has also been enhanced to support layouts.
Improved design and analysis tools
New tools in Office Access 2007 help you to create database objects more quickly and then analyze your data more easily.
Enhanced Field List pane
The
new Field List pane goes beyond the field picker found in earlier
versions of Access, by including fields from other tables. You can drag
fields from the table in your record source, from related tables, or
from unrelated tables in the database. Office Access 2007 is prepared
for creating the infrastructure required, so if a relationship between
tables is needed, it is automatically created, or you are prompted
throughout the process.
Enhanced sorting and filtering tools
Suppose
that you need to quickly find a matching value or sort a column of
data. The new Office Access 2007 AutoFilter feature augments already
powerful filtering abilities so that you can quickly focus on the data
that you need. You can easily select from the unique values in a
column, which is useful for situations when you can't recall the name
that you need, or you can sort the values by using context menu options
in plain language, such as Sort Oldest to Newest or Sort Smallest to
Largest.
The
most common filter options are readily visible in menu commands, or you
can use quick filters to limit information based on the data that you
enter. Quick filter options automatically change based on the data type
so that you will see sensible choices for text, date, and numeric
information.
These
new filtering and sorting features are designed to provide you with a
consistent experience, whether you are using Office Access 2007 or
Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
Totals and alternating background colors in datasheets
New
to Datasheet view is a Total row, in which you can display a sum,
count, average, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, or variance.
After you add the Total row, you point to the arrow in the column's
cell and select the calculation that you want.