Access Hacks

Hack #100. Use a Smart Tag to Open a Web Page

Quickly review web information when you need to see it.

Developers have mixed feelings about smart-tag technology. Some create sophisticated smart-tag solutions, and others shun their use. If you're open to using smart-tag technology, here is a simple way to use a smart tag to open a web page.

First, a smart tag is associated with a table field. Figure 10-13 shows a smart tag being associated with the Cost field in the tblServices table. After the smart tag is selected, the field's smart tag is available to click.

Figure 10-13. Selecting smart tags

Figure 10-14 shows the table open in Datasheet view. In each row, the Cost field displays a small purple triangle in the lower-right corner. Hovering your mouse pointer over the triangle opens the link to the smart tag.

Figure 10-14. Accessing the smart tag from the Cost field

Clicking the smart tag initiates the action associated with the smart tag. In this example, the action is to open a web page to display some additional business information.

Figure 10-15 shows the web page that opens when the smart tag is clicked.

Figure 10-15. A web site accessed from a smart tag

In most database applications, ...