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.