How to use the new features and the new enhancements that are in Office Access 2003

Microsoft has addressed a variety of customer requests by making enhancements and by making behavior fixes to Microsoft Office Access 2003. There are also new features that are available in Access 2003.

Enhanced security features

The following enhanced security features are included in Access 2003:

• Enhanced security features to help decrease the chances of Access 2003 being targeted in malicious attacks
• Enhanced security features for Microsoft Jet functions
• Use of digital signatures
• Enhanced security macro features that are not found in other Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel

Create a backup copy of a database or of a project feature

In Access 2003, you can easily create a backup copy of the current Access database or of the current Access project in the Access user interface.

To create a backup copy, click Back Up Database on the File menu.

Create a local table from a linked table

When you copy a linked table, you now have the option to paste by using the Structure Only (Local Table) option or to paste by using the Structure and Data (Local Table) option. You have the option to use the Append Data to Existing Table option. You also have the option to create a new linked table by using the Linked Table option.

Change the font for Query Design view and for SQL view

In Access 2003, you can change the font that you use in Query Design view and in SQL view. To change the font, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Tables/Queries tab.
3. In the Query Design Font group, select the font and the font size that you want.

Sort feature in the Combo Box Wizard and in the List Box Wizard

In Access 2003, you can specify up to four different fields that you can sort by either in ascending order or in descending order when you create combo boxes or when you create list boxes with the wizard. You can use the sort feature when you use the Lookup Wizard.

View object dependencies

In Access 2003, you have a way to view dependencies for tables, for queries, for forms, and for reports. You can view the list of objects that depend on the selected object, and you can also view the objects that the selected object depends on. You can use this new feature to quickly determine the role of the object in relation to the rest of the database. Dependency information is not available for data access pages, for macros, for modules, and for Access projects (.adp). To view dependency information, the Track Name AutoCorrect Info option must be turned on. To turn on the Track Name AutoCorrect Info option, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the General tab, click Track Name AutoCorrect Info.
   
   Note The Perform Name AutoCorrect option does not have to be turned on.

Propagate changes in field properties to the corresponding bound control

In earlier versions of Access, whenever you modified the inherited property of a field, you had to manually modify the property of the corresponding bound control in each of the forms and in each of the reports that contained the control. Now when you modify an inherited field property in Table Design view, Access 2003 displays an option to update the property of all controls or of some controls that are bound to the field in your forms and in your reports. To enable or to disable this feature, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Click the Tables/Queries tab, select or cancel the selection of the Show Property Update Option.

Automatic correction of text as you type

Access 2003 provides automatic text correction and automatic data correction as you type. You can use the AutoCorrect feature to automatically correct text that you frequently mistype and to automatically replace abbreviations with long names. The AutoCorrect feature works with text in a datasheet and with text in a form in Form view. By default, the AutoCorrect feature is enabled for all text boxes and for all combo boxes in Form view. To disable this feature for a specific control, set the AllowAutoCorrect property of the control to No.

Improvements to Help topics

If you need help while you are using Access 2003, you can use any one of the following features:

• The Type a Question for Help box
• The Access Help task pane
• The Office Assistant
• The F1 (Help) key

The Help topics for Access 2003 are still divided between topics about Access 2003 features and topics about Access 2003 programming. When you work with Access 2003 features, the Help system queries the Access 2003 features topics. When you are in the Visual Basic Editor, the Help system queries the Access 2003 programming topics. There are now more function-reference topics and method-reference topics that are included in Access 2003 Help. Topics on any function and on any method that you use in Expression Builder are now included in the Access 2003 Help topics. This makes it easier to find the information that you are looking for in Access 2003 Help. Additionally, you can now access the Microsoft JET SQL Reference topics while you work in Access 2003 or while you work in the Visual Basic Editor.

The Access 2003 Help system permits you to type a keyword or a question in the Type a Question for Help box or in the Search box in the Access Help task pane. A list of matching topics in order of relevance is returned to you. You can also send direct feedback to Microsoft by using the Contact Us link in the Access Help task pane. The Expandable Links feature in the Access 2003 Help topics is also new. The Expandable Links feature makes all information easily accessible in the same window.

SmartTags property

You can now use the SmartTags property of a field or of a control in Design view of a table, of a query, of a form, or of a data access page to add a smart tag to the field or to the control.

Error Checking feature

Error Checking is a new feature that is used to flag common errors on forms and on reports. Error Checking presents the option to you to correct the common errors. You can look for errors for an unassociated label and control, for new unassociated labels, for keyboard shortcut errors, for control properties that are not valid, and for common report errors. To enable Error Checking, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Under the Settings option, click to select the Enable Error Checking check box.
3. Under the Form/Report Design Rules section, select the types of errors that you want to find.

Link to Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services lists

Access 2003 introduces the ability to import, to link, and to export Windows SharePoint Services lists by using a built-in wizard or by programmatically using the TransferDatabase method. To export, you must have a site that uses Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 or later. When you use the TransferDatabase method to import or to link to a Windows SharePoint Services list, you must know the GUIDs that SharePoint uses to identify both the list and the view of the list that you want to import or to link to. To import or to link to a Windows Sharepoint Services list, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Get External Data.
2. Select Link, or select Import.
3. In Files of Type, select Windows SharePoint Services.

Microsoft Windows XP theme support

Forms in databases and in projects that are created in Access 2003 automatically inherit the Windows XP theme. This is true provided that the theme is not Microsoft Windows Classic and that your operating system is Windows XP Service Pack 1 or later. Themes affect only certain form controls and only if the controls are configured with specific properties and with specific property settings. To enable or to disable this feature, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Forms/Reports tab, click to select the Use Windows Themed Controls check box.

For data access pages, you can select from a list of themes that are installed with Access. You can make your selection when you open a page in Design view or when you create the page with a wizard. When you apply a theme to a data access page, the following elements are customized:

• Body style and heading style
• Background color and background graphic
• Table border color
• Horizontal lines
• Bullets
• Hyperlink colors
• Controls

You can also select options to apply brighter colors to text and to graphics, to animate certain theme graphics, and to apply a background to your data access page. Theme graphics are animated only when you view the data access page in a Web browser. Theme graphics are not animated when you view the data access page in Access 2003. A variety of themes are available on your hard disk after you install Access 2003. If you have Microsoft FrontPage 4.0 or later installed, you can use the FrontPage themes also. Additional themes are available from the World Wide Web.

To download these themes, click Microsoft Office Online on the Help menu.

Improved XML support

In Access 2003, you can specify a transform file when you import data from XML or when you export data to XML. The transform is then applied automatically. When you import XML data, the transform is applied to the data as soon as the data is imported and before any new table is created or an existing table is appended to. When you export data to XML, the transform is applied following the export operation. There is also a new TransformXML method that you can use to apply a transform to an existing XML file. Additionally, if a database contains lookup values that are stored in another database, you can now include these related tables when you export. You can also include any predefined filter for an object or any sort order for an object when you export the object.