Microsoft Access-Forms And Reports

OVERVIEW

Access Forms creates the user interface to your table. Although you can use Datasheet to perform many of the same functions as forms. Forms are used as an alternative way to enter data into a database table. It provides a different way of viewing table data. Access enables us to create forms that can be used to enter, maintain, view, and print data.

              The Form is constructed from a collection of individual design elements called controls or control objects. Control are the components we see in the windows dialog boxes of the access and other windows applications like buttons, check boxes etc. We use text boxes to enter and edit data, labels to hold field names and object frame to display graphics.

              A Form Wizard is provided to assist you in the construction of forms. Four types of forms can be created. These include single-column (displaying one record at a time in a vertical format), tabular (displaying multiple records in a row-and-column format), main/sub-form (combining the tabular formats into one form), and graph.

Create Form by Using Wizard:

To create a form using the assistance of the wizard and follow these steps:

• Click the Create form by using wizard option on the database window.
• From the Tables/Queries drop-down menu, select the table or query whose datasheet the form will modify. Then,select the fields that will be include on the form by highlighting each one the Available Fields window and clicking the single right greater symbol>to move one field at a time to the Selected Fields window. To move all of the fields to select Fields, click the double greater symbol >>. If you make a mistake and would like to remove a field or all of the fields from the selected Fields window, click the left to remove a field or all of the fields from the Selected Fields window, click left arrow < or left double arrow << buttons. After the proper fields have been selected, click the Next > button to remove on to the next screen.

• In the second steps I have the screen to select the layout of the form.

1. Columnar Form: A single record is displayed at one time with labels and form fields listed side-by-side in columns. In a columns form, each field appears in a separate line with a label to its left; only one record is shown on each screen. The wizard fills the column with as many fields as will fit and so forth.
2. Justified Form: A single record is displayed with labels and forms fields are listed across the screen.
3. Tabular Form: Multiple records are listed on the page at a time with fields in columns and records in rows. Tabular forms display fields in horizontal row, with field labels at the top of the form. Each new row represents a new record. Tabular forms are best when you want to display just a few relatively narrow fields and   you want to see several records at once. To avoid spending most of your time scrolling back and forth in a tabular form, add just a few fields to the form.
4. Datasheet Form: A datasheet form initially displays data in datasheet view, much as it appears when you open a table, or run a query, or when you use the Form view toolbar button to switch to datasheet view in any form. This type of form is often used as the basis for sub forms. 

• click the Next > button to move on to the next step.
• Select a visual style for the form from the next set of options and click Next >.
• On the final screen, enter the title you want to display on your form in the text box and than name the form in the space provided. Select "Open the form to view or enter information" to open the form in Form in Form View or "Modify the form's design" to open it in Design View. Finish to create the form.

Create Form in Design View:

To create a form scratch without the wizard, follow these steps:

• Click the New button on the form database window.
• Select "Design View: and choose the table or query the form will be associated with the form the drop-down menu.
• Select View/Toolbar from the menu bar to view the floating toolbar with additional options.
• Add controls to the form by clicking and dragging the field names from the Field List floating window. Access create a text box for the value and label for the field name when this action is accomplished. To add controls for all of the fields in the Field List, double-click the Field List window's title bar and drag all of the highlighted fields to the form.

ADDING RECORDS USING A FORM

Input data into the table by filling out the fields of the form. Press the Tab key to move from field to field and create a new record by clicking Tab after the last field of the last record. A new record can also be created at any time by clicking the New Record button at the bottom of the form window. Records are automatically saved as they are entered so no additional manual technique needs to be executed, by clicking Record Control Bar.

Editing Forms:

The following points may be helpful when modifying forms in Design View.

• grid lines - By default, a series of lines and dots underlay the form in Design View so form elements can be easily aligned. To toggle this feature on and off select View/Grid from the menu bar.
• Snap to Grid - Select Format/Snap to Grid to align from objects with the grid to allow easy alignment of form objects or un-check this feature to allow objects to float freely between the grid lines and dots.
• Resizing Objects - Form objects can be resized by clicking and dragging the handles on the edges and corners of the element with the mouse.
• Change form object type - To easily change the type of form object without having to create a new one, right click on the object with the mouse and select Change To and select an available object type from the list.
• Label/object alignment - Each form object and its corresponding label are bounded and will move together when either one is moved with the mouse. However, to change the position of the object and label in relation to each other (to move the label closer to a text box, for example), click and drag the large handle at the top, left corner of the object or label.
• Tab order - Alter the tab order of the objects on the form by selecting View/Tab Order ... from the menu bar. Click the grey box before the row you would like to change in the tab order, drag it to a new location, and release the mouse button. This can also be done by using Tab Property in the properties.

• Form Appearance: Change the background color of the form by clicking the Fill/Back Color button on the formatting toolbar and click one of the color swatches on the palette. Change the color of individual form objects by highlighting one and selecting a color from the Font/Fore Color palette on the formatting toolbar. The font and size, font effect, font, font alignment, border around each object, the border width, and a special effect can also be modified using the formatting toolbar.
• Page Header and Footer: Headers and footers added to a form will only appear when it is printed. select these sections by choosing View/Page Header/Footer on the menu bar. sections by selecting Insert/Page Numbers. A date and time can be added from Insert/Date and Time.... select View/Page Header/Footer again to hide these sections from view in Design View.  

List And Combo Boxes:

if there are small, finite number of values for a certain field on a form, using combo or list boxes may be a quicker and easier way of entering data. These two control types differ in the number of values they display. List box values are all displayed during data entering while the combo box values are not displayed until the arrow button is clicked to open it as shown in these examples:
            By using a combo or list box, the name of the cities does not need to be typed for every record. Instead, it simply needs to be selected from the list. Follow these steps to add a list or combo box to a form:

• Open the form in Design View.
• select View/toolbox to view the toolbox and make sure the "Control Wizards" button is pressed in.
• Click the list or combo box tool button and draw the outline on the form. The combo box wizard dialog box will appear.
• Select the source type for the list or combo box values and click Next >.