1. Chapter 1 Core Access

   1. Hacks 1–12

   2. Help Users Find the Objects They Need

   3. Personalize Your Access Application

   4. Work Fast and Avoid Typos

   5. Optimize Data Changes

   6. Transfer Data Between Versions of Access

   7. Organize and Enhance Your Macros

   8. Rid Your Database of Clutter

   9. Protect Valuable Information

   10. Work with Any Amount of Data

   11. Find Database Objects in a Snap

   12. Use a Junction Table

   13. Stop the Database from Growing

2. Chapter 2 Tables

   1. Hacks 13–18

   2. Create an AutoNumber Field with a Custom Value

   3. Copy Data Between Tables Without an Append Query

   4. Steer Clear of System Tables

   5. Hide Sensitive Information

   6. Simulate Table Triggers

   7. Create Tables Faster

3. Chapter 3 Entry and Navigation

   1. Hacks 19–27

   2. Help Users Navigate Through Long Forms

   3. Help Users Enter Additional Text

   4. Let Users Add Custom Items to Predesigned Lists

   5. Populate and Sort Lists with Flair

   6. Use Custom Controls on Your Forms

   7. Confirm Record Updates Before Saving

   8. Put a Clock on a Form

   9. Be Tab-Smart

   10. Highlight the Active Control

4. Chapter 4 Presentation

   1. Hacks 28–39

   2. Separate Alphabetically Sorted Records into Letter Groups

   3. Create Conditional Subtotals

   4. Use Conditional Formatting to Point Out Important Results

   5. Provide a Direct Link to a Report

   6. Protect Intellectual Property

   7. Create a Slideshow in Access

   8. Play Videos in Access Forms

   9. View Reports Embedded in Forms

   10. Put Line Numbers on a Report

   11. Shade Alternating Lines on a Report

   12. Save Paper by Reducing Whitespace

   13. Include the Date, Time, and Page Count

5. Chapter 5 Queries and SQL

   1. Hacks 40–54

   2. Return a Sample of Records

   3. Create Bulletproof Insert Operations

   4. Find Unmatched Records on Multiple Field Keys

   5. Place a Grand Total in a Query

   6. Sort Any Arbitrary String of Characters

   7. Summarize Complex Data

   8. Get All Combinations of Data

   9. Don't Let Nulls Ruin Data Summaries

   10. Use a Custom Function in a Query

   11. Create Access Tables with SQL Server Scripts

   12. Use Wildcards in Queries

   13. Get Cleaner Or-Based Criteria

   14. Get Cleaner And-Based Criteria

   15. Create an Outer Join

   16. Use Regular Expressions in Access Queries

6. Chapter 6 Multiuser Issues

   1. Hacks 55–58

   2. Test for Duplication

   3. Distribute a Split Database with Predefined Table Links

   4. Build a Time-Out Feature

   5. Implement Unique Usernames

7. Chapter 7 External Programs and Data

   1. Hacks 59–71

   2. Import Noncontiguous Ranges of Data from Excel

   3. Use Excel to Reorient Access Data

   4. Use Excel Functions Inside Access

   5. Use Word to Compare Data in Two Access Tables

   6. Import Varied XML Data into Access

   7. Export XML Data Sanely

   8. Break Through VBA's Transformation Barrier

   9. Leverage SQL Server Power by Calling Stored Procedures

   10. Manage Word Documents from Access

   11. Use Access as a Front End to MySQL

   12. Send Access Data Through Outlook Automatically

   13. Create Access Tables from Outside Access

   14. Write VBA with the Macro Recorder in Word and Excel

8. Chapter 8 Programming

   1. Hacks 72–91

   2. Store Initial Control Selections for Later Recall

   3. Write Code Faster by Turning Off Syntax-Checking

   4. Substitute Domain Aggregate Functions for SQL Aggregate Functions

   5. Shrink Your Code with Subroutines

   6. Shrink Your Code with Optional Arguments

   7. Protect Programming Code from Curious Users

   8. Build a Secret Developer Backdoor into Your Applications

   9. Help Users Drill Down to a Record

   10. Prevent Users from Disabling Your Startup Options

   11. Inform Users of a Long Process

   12. Allow Users to Choose a Back-End Database

   13. Override the Timeout Interval

   14. Save Values from Unbound Controls for Later Recall

   15. Sort Records Randomly

   16. Bulk-Update Controls on a Form

   17. Provide Complete XML Control to Any Version of Access

   18. Use Custom Enumerations

   19. Convert Text to the Desired Case

   20. Create a Code Library

   21. Automatically Check for Database Table Updates

9. Chapter 9 Third-Party Applications

   1. Hacks 92–95

   2. Document Your Database with Total Access Analyzer

   3. Build an Application Shell with EZ Application Generator

   4. Load Your Database with Test Data

   5. Use Access as an XML Database

10. Chapter 10 The Internet

    1. Hacks 96–100

    2. Export a Report as HTML

    3. Use a Browser Inside Access

    4. Pull the HTML Source Code from a Web Site

    5. Download Files Using the Web Browser Control

    6. Use a Smart Tag to Open a Web Page

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The tool on the cover of Access Hacks is a flour sifter. Ever since humans first produced flour, they have constructed sifters to refine it. The Vikings used round, cup-shaped sieves utilizing horsehair fiber. In preindustrial times,whole wheat was ground in a mill,then sifted through successively finer bolting cloths to get various grades of flour, from dark whole-wheat to almost white for the wealthy.The bran removed while bolting was used by the miller to feed his livestock or was sold to others as feed.

Something similar to this process is still used in modern mills. Wheat first gets broken and separated by plain sifters and purifiers--two advanced sifting mechanisms. During this process the course outer bran skins are sifted from the inner white portions, called endosperm or semolina. Gradually the semolina is milled down into smooth, powdery flour. The clean bran, wheat feed, and flour are each collected in separate channels by a large number of different machines. No hand even touches the wheat until it leaves the mill.

Today flour is generally presifted, but sifting with a hand rotary crank or electric sifter is recommended before baking to remove lumps and further aerate flour, making it livelier for kneading. Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the production editor and proofreader, and Audrey Doyle was the copyeditor for Access Hacks. Darren Kelly provided quality control. Johnna Dinse wrote the index.

Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an original photograph by PhotoSpin Power Photos. Karen Montgomery produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's Helvetica Neue and ITC Garamond fonts.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Keith Fahlgren to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. This colophon was written by Lydia Onofrei.