Microsoft KB Archive/295358

= Description of new features and enhancements in Access 2002 =

Article ID: 295358

Article Last Modified on 8/19/2004

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Access 2002 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q295358



Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

This article applies to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb) and to a Microsoft Access project (.adp).



SUMMARY
Access 2002 has addressed a variety of customer requests by making enhancements and behavior fixes. There are also some new features available. This article discusses these changes.



MORE INFORMATION
PivotChart and PivotTable Views

Microsoft Access 2002 introduces PivotTable and PivotChart views to tables, queries, views, stored procedures, functions, and forms. You can now perform data analysis and build rich PivotTable and PivotChart view solutions more quickly than ever before. PivotTable and PivotChart views can be saved as data access pages that can be viewed by anyone who has Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later. You can also use subforms in PivotTable and PivotChart views in exactly the same fashion that they are used with forms in Datasheet view today. Developers will also find it easy to write code behind forms in PivotTable and PivotChart views and take advantage of new events available in PivotTable and PivotChart views.

XML Support

In addition to being the standard technology for interchanging data on the Web, Extensible Markup Language (XML) is quickly becoming the preferred technology for exchanging data between business software applications. Microsoft Access 2002 provides powerful, intuitive ways of sharing XML data regardless of differences in the platform, data format, protocol, schema, or business rules. By using the familiar user interface of Access, you can easily create XML data or schema documents from Jet or SQL Server structures and data. The schema created by Access will contain Access-specific information that may require transformation by your application. You can also import XML data from other applications to use in forms, reports and data access pages within your database. Access also provides methods for easily controlling your data by making it simple to create and apply schemas and style sheets. Access allows you to easily describe and deliver rich, structured XML data to and from any application in a standard, consistent way. For example, you can use Access to create a schema that describes the structure of your data and then send the schema to your vendors so that they know exactly how to expect your data to appear in their invoices.

Extended Property Support with Microsoft SQL Server 2000

The built-in integration between Microsoft Access 2002 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 has been improved significantly by the inclusion of support for extended SQL database properties from within your Access project. By using extended properties in your Access 2002 projects, you can implement such features as lookup relationships, validation rules (also called constraints), text formatting, and subdatasheets. You can use extended properties with tables, views, stored procedures, and functions, just like you can with similar objects in Access data files. Using extended properties makes it easy to save column widths, row heights, fonts, and input mask settings from one Access project session to another. Extended properties make it even easier to migrate your business applications from Access databases to Access projects connected to Microsoft SQL Server.

Round-Tripping

You can now work with and modify Access 2000 files in Access 2002 without converting the file format. This allows you to easily share different versions of database files with other Access users.

Multiple Undo and Redo

You now have the ability to undo and redo multiple actions in Design view in all objects in your Microsoft Access databases and in views, stored procedures, and functions in your Microsoft Access project.

Updateable Off-line Data Access Pages

You can now take the data access pages in your Access project off-line, make changes to them on your laptop, and have them automatically synchronize when you reconnect to the SQL server. Changes to the off-line pages are made to an Access project connected to a local Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (formerly known as MSDE (Microsoft Data Engine)).

Conversion Error Logging

If problems are encountered when you convert from Access 95 or a later version, Access 2002 will now create a table that lists information about each error, making it much easier to identify and solve problems.

Subforms/Subreports That Live in Design view

You can now open subforms or subreports in their own Design view window directly from within the form or report or from the View menu. Scrolling has also been improved so that it is easier to work with subforms and subreports in Design view.

Password Security in an Access Project

You can now change the logon password specified in an Access project connected to a Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 or later version database directly from your Access 2002 menu.

The Linked Table Wizard

The Linked Table Wizard guides you through the process of creating a link in your Access project to an external OLE DB data source. The wizard creates a view in your SQL Server Database for each linked table.

Improved Support for International Complex-Scripts

Access 2002 now exposes complex-script interface items easily, which means that with a simple click, you can switch the reading direction from left-to-right to right-to-left in language-specific objects.

Improved Accessibility Features

Access 2002 now provides even greater ease in working with forms and reports.
 * Pressing F8 in form or report Design will now display the field list.
 * Pressing ENTER after selecting a field in the field list in form or report Design view will automatically add the field to the form or report design surface.
 * Pressing CTRL+TAB will move the focus from a form or report section to a subsection.
 * Two additional powers (1000% and 500%) have been added to the Zoom option in print preview.

Allow Report Design/Preview, Conversion, and Datasheet Formatting Without a Printer Installed

In earlier versions of Access, you cannot design reports, view reports in Print or Layout preview, convert databases, or use the Datasheet Font dialog box without a default printer installed. This is because the device context information is required to determine fonts, page sizes and margins.

Logic has been added to Access 2002 to allow you to perform these four functions regardless of whether or not a printer is installed. This is accomplished by using default values for settings such as page size and screen fonts.

Design Surface Drop-Down Control Enhancements

In earlier versions of Access, when a control is selected in the form or report designer, the Object, Font, and Font Size drop-down boxes show the control name, font, and font size for the selected control. However, when you click the drop-down box, it always displays an ascending list of values starting at the beginning of the list, even if the value for the selected control falls outside these values.

Access 2002 scrolls the displayed values so that the selected control is selected in the Control drop-down box, the font in the Font drop-down box, and the font size in the Font Size drop-down box.

If the value in any of the three drop-down boxes is not available, Access 2002 operates as in earlier versions and displays the list of acceptable values from the beginning of the list. If the drop-down boxes must be scrolled to display the selected control, control font, or control font size, the list is scrolled far enough up or down to display the selected item.

Added a Select Object Drop-Down Box on the Property Sheet

Access 2002 has added a Select Object drop-down box to the top of the property sheet for the form and report designer property sheets only. It allows you to browse from object to object and change properties without ever leaving the property sheet.

Added a Browse Button to Append and Make-Table Dialog Boxes

A Browse button has been added to the Append and Make-Table query dialog boxes in Access 2002 so that you do not have to type a correct path and file name when the query appends to or makes a table in another database. The Browse button is disabled unless you select the Another Database option.

Display the Path of a Linked Table as a Tool Tip

When you hold the mouse pointer over a linked table in Access 2002, a tool tip is displayed. The tool tip shows the path to the linked table, whether it is an absolute path, a UNC path, or an ODBC link. For ODBC links, the tool tip shows the connection information, which is the same information contained in the Description property of the table.

Display the Table Name for Make-Table and Append Queries as a Tool Tip

Access 2002 displays a tool tip with the name of the table that a Make-Table or Append query generates when it is run. The tool tip appears when you hover over one of these query types. The tool tip displays both the path to the database and the table name if the destination table is another database.

Added Linked Table Manager to Shortcut Menu

A Linked Table Manager option has been added to the shortcut menu for linked tables in the Database window. When you right-click a local Access table, the Linked Table Manager option is disabled.

Added Conditional Formatting to Shortcut Menu

A Conditional Formatting option has been added to the shortcut menu for text boxes and combo boxes in the form and report designers.

Added Unfreeze Column to Shortcut Menu

An Unfreeze All Columns option now appears in the shortcut menu for columns in Datasheet view. It appears below the Freeze Columns option.

Display the Current Printer as Tool Tip for the Printer button

In earlier versions of Access, the word &quot;Print&quot; is displayed as a tool tip when you hold the mouse pointer over the Print button. Access 2002 displays both &quot;Print&quot; along with the currently selected printer. When you hold the mouse pointer over a report in the Database window, the name of the printer is displayed as a tool tip. This is useful because each report can be set to print to a different printer.

Added a Page Setup button to the Print Preview Toolbar

A Setup button has been added to the Print Preview toolbar. When the button is pressed, the Page Setup dialog box is opened. The Page Setup button is only available from Print Preview and Layout Preview. It is not available while in Design view.

Changed the Button for Database Objects Dragged to a Toolbar to Image and Text

When customizing menu bars and toolbars in Access 2000, the default behavior creates a button with an image. This image is the picture used to represent the corresponding object type. This behavior can be a bit confusing because dragging two forms to a toolbar or menu bar results in two buttons with the picture that represents forms.

Access 2002 creates the button with an image and text. The image is the picture that corresponds with the object type. The text is the object name.

Added New Hotkeys

  Hotkey       Description -  CTRL+> or    Toggles between views. CTRL+<

F4          Opens and puts focus in the property sheet.

F7          Open the code or macro window for the object with the focus.

SHIFT+F7    Moves focus from code window back to the designer without changing the control focus.
 * In an Access 2002 Form or Report property sheet with the focus on any of the properties, F7 open the Visual Basic Editor to show the code for the form or report.

The behavior of F7 while focus is in the designer depends on a couple of factors. If the option Always use event procedures is enabled the Visual Basic Editor opens to the default event procedure for the selected object. The event procedure is created is it does not already exist. The exception to this is when the default event procedure is set to a macro. In this case, the macro is opened.

If the option Always use event procedures is disabled and the default event of the selected object is set to an event procedure or a macro, the Visual Basic Editor opens to the event procedure or the macro is opened. If the default event of the selected control is not set, the Choose Builder dialog box is presented.
 * If you are in a designer, F4 opens the property sheet for the selected control if it is not already open and puts the focus on the property sheet. This works in .mdb and .adp files anywhere where there is a property sheet. F4 still expands the drop-down box for properties that apply when focus is in the property on the property sheet.
 * When you are in a designer property sheet, SHIFT+F7 moves the window focus back to the design surface without changing the control focus. This works in .mdb and .adp files anywhere where there is a property sheet.
 * When you are working with any table, query, form, report, page, view, function, or stored procedure, CTRL+> or CTRL+< allows you to toggle between views. If there are two possible views, either keystroke takes you to the next view. If there are three views, the CTRL+> takes you to the next view, looping back to the first view in the list if you are already on the third view. The CTRL+< has the opposite behavior. This works in all views.

Added Keyboard &quot;Move with Grid&quot; Functionality

When you press CTRL+ARROW in Access 2000 while in a design surface, the selected object moves without snapping to grid, regardless of the Snap to Grid setting available on the Format menu. Access 2002 has changed the way objects move when you use the arrow keys.

In Access 2002, pressing just the arrow keys moves an object. Whether the object moves with or without the grid depends on the Snap to Grid setting. Pressing the arrow keys in conjunction with the CTRL key moves the object using the opposite of the Snap to Grid setting. The following table shows the behavior in Access 2002 when you use the arrow keys depending on the Snap to Grid setting.

Fixed Control Outlining on Microsoft Windows 9x

On Windows 9x computers, moving controls against normal gray backgrounds is very difficult because the control outlines are almost the same color gray as the standard form background. Access 2002 has added logic to ensure that control outlines are a contrasting color, making them visible all the time.

Support for Find/Replace with Null and Zero-Length Strings

Finding the values Null, Is Null, or &quot;&quot; (zero-length string) previously only worked if the Look In field was set to a specific field in the table being searched and the Match field was set to Whole Field, which are not default settings.

In Access 2002 Null, Is Null, or &quot;&quot; (zero-length string) work the same, regardless of whether you have chosen to Match Case, Search Fields as Formatted, or Look In the whole table. Additionally, this works in an ADP or an MDB.

Also in earlier versions of Access, after you find a null or a zero-length string, you cannot replace it with a value. This situation works like any other replace in Access 2002.

Find What Field in Find/Replace Dialog Box Fills with Highlighted Text

In the Visual Basic Editor, Word, and other Office XP applications, when you select some text and then open the Find/Replace dialog box, the application in question fills the Find What field with the value selected. Access 2002 behaves in the same fashion to be consistent with the rest of Office XP. This behavior is missing in earlier versions of Access. Access only treats text selection, not entire cell selection, as selected items, and truncates any selection greater than 255 characters. If you have a space selected, Access searches for a space, not null values or zero-length strings.

Prior to Access 2002, Access shows the text that was previously searched for in the Find What field. Access 2002 continues to do this, unless you have selected some text. In this case, Access replaces the text last searched for with the selected text. This provides the same functionality as Office XP applications like Word. If Access replaces the last text searched for with the selected text, the last text searched for is moved to the history list available in the Find What drop-down box.

