Access 2010: The Missing Manual

The New Features in Access 2010

Access 2010 doesn’t represent as radical a change as Access 2007, which revamped the program’s main window and introduced the now-infamous ribbon. However, Access 2010 still has an impressive number of enhancements, most notably:

• Backstage view. Earlier in this Introduction, you got a glimpse of Access’s new control center for managing databases. Whether you need to open an existing database file, create a new one, print your work, or tune up Access options, backstage view gives you a bit more breathing room. You’ll learn more about this mega-timesaver in Chapter 1.

• Report refinements. Access fans have been creating reports (printable lists and summaries of their data) for years. Access 2010 gives reports a minor tune-up, with new support for Office themes (reusable font and color settings) and data bars (which represent numeric values with bars of different length). Chapter 10 has the details.

• The WebBrowser control. This frill lets you put a web browser in one of your custom-designed database forms. For example, imagine equipping your database with your company’s website or an online product page. Chapter 13 shows how you can use the WebBrowser to display Amazon sales figures for a table of books.

• Navigation forms. As you design better and more complex databases, you’ll need a way to get around. For years, the only solution Access had for database navigation was the clumsy and irredeemably ugly switchboard manager. Access 2010 tosses that feature out and replaces it with slick navigation controls that make moving around your database as easy as browsing a website. Chapter 14 shows you how.

• Trusted databases. Access 2010 remembers the databases you trust on your computer (Opening Databases). That means there’s no need to click Enable Content every time you open your database. It’s a small feature, but a nice one.

• Revamped macro designer. The old macro designer was a place no Access fan wanted to linger. Its dense grid of information was a depressing combination: boring and confusing. The new macro designer is dramatically different. It’s cleanly organized, with helpful pop-up tips, a collapsible display that lets you home in on the important stuff, and a drag-and-drop feature that lets you rearrange your actions with the mouse (see Chapter 15). All these changes reflect Microsoft’s new vision—that macros will become an increasingly useful part of the database developer’s toolkit, not just a poor substitute for Visual Basic code.

• Data macros. Data macros are macros that leap into action when someone inserts, edits, or deletes a record. This feature has a few quirks, but it still gives you a powerful way to track changes, synchronize data, and perform sophisticated error-checking. Chapter 16 includes examples of all these techniques.

• Web databases. Wouldn’t it be cool to view your Access database on the Web? And wouldn’t it be even better if you could print reports and use forms to edit that database, all without leaving the comfort of your browser? And wouldn’t it be just a little mind-blowing if a large crowd of people could use your web database all at once, even if they didn’t have Access installed on their computers? For the first time, Access 2010 makes these scenarios possible. You’ll get the scoop in Chapter 23.

• Easier ribbon customization. In Access 2007, changing the ribbon was nearly impossible, unless you were willing to become a master programmer. In Access 2010, you just need a leisurely trip to the Customize Ribbon section of the Access Options dialog box (Personalizing the Ribbon), where you can add, remove, and reorder Access’s panoply of buttons to suit your preferences.