A well designed database stores data in a normalized format with dates defined in a field so that new data is simply added as additional records. However, people want to see data with dates grouped by columns. This can be done by using a crosstab query. However, when creating reports based on crosstab queries, we need to control the specific column names that are returned by the query. Otherwise, the report cannot refer to the query's fields.

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Here's a neat trick that you can use to filter a Continuous or Split form while your users are typing in a Combo Box. As the user types, the form filter updates to display full or partial matches for the value entered.

This example uses a slightly modified version of the Northwind 2007 Template, available for download from Microsoft. The "Customer List" form is a Split form that displays a list of all customers. We want to allow users to filter this list to easily find a customer, even without knowing the full customer name.

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Before Access 2010, Access supported a wide variety of expressions in different areas of the application.  Tables and fields, queries, form and report properties, controls, and macros can all use expressions to evaluate data or logic to drive the behavior of an application. In the past, each of these contexts in which an expression is used have shared a single, common expression evaluation engine. This means that no matter where you use an expression, the functions and operators available to you will likely be the same. Things change when you start to build web databases with Access 2010.

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Working in an ice cream factory in Chicago led Juan Soto to found IT Impact, Inc.,  an Access development consulting firm. The ice cream factory's large Enterprise Resource Planning system required that he spend hours manually calculating whether a final batch of ice cream really made the company money. He had to factor the waste for every step of the manufacturing process and soon realized that he could automate the analysis with Access. He built a complex Access system which was soon used throughout the entire operation.

In this Q&A, we asked Juan to share his experiences and knowledge that he's gained designing and building Access solutions that help businesses build customer relationships.

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Guest blogger Juan Soto, an Access MVP and founder of IT Impact, Inc., shares five tips on upgrading Access to SQL, including information about using the SQL Server Migration Assistant, adding tables, bit fields, and foreign keys. You can also read more about Juan and his knowledge of Access in our Q&A with him.

 

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Recently, someone posted a comment on IT Impact Inc.'s blog asking how to get SharePoint to remember his password when he logged in via Access. He wanted to avoid having to log in every time. Ben Clothier, a Senior Access Developer at IT Impact, knew the answer. He wrote a detailed blog post (with plenty of screenshots) that we'd like to share with you. ITImpact has been building custom databases with Microsoft Access since 1994, serving customers around the world. Ben Clothier has been Microsoft...

The ControlTipText property is usually associated with providing static information. But it can also be used to display real-time info in a wide range of scenarios.

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When Donna took on the role of Director at Choral Arts (a non-profit singing ensemble), she inherited a disorganized database with redundant, unreliable data. We helped Donna devise a data model and import her data into a new set of normalized tables.

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Our good friends at accesshosting.com are offering 30-day trials of two Access "cloud" solutions. Curious? Here's the deal...

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When you need to use Excel to analyze data in an Access database, you have several options: you can copy and paste the data, create a data connection from Excel, or export the data to an Excel file. Your best choice depends on what you want to do. Copy/Paste If you just need some values from Access one time -- and you don't care whether the data changes in Access later on -- copy/paste is a quick and dirty way to get the job done. Export If you don't care whether the data changes but expect to get...