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Anatomy of a Table

Accessories for Records of a Table

The Scroll Bars

If you start entering data into a table and there are more records than the height of the table can display, the table would be equipped with a vertical scroll bar. On the other hand, if the number of columns or their total width is larger than can be displayed, the table would be equipped with a horizontal scroll bar:

Scroll Bars

The scroll bars allow the user to view the hidden parts of the table.

Practical Learning: Introducing Tables Accessories

  1. Start Microsoft Access
  2. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Ceil Inn1 database
  3. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Customers to open the file
  4. Resize the table as follows and notice the scroll bars

    Scroll Bars

The Navigation Buttons

The lower left side of the table is made of buttons used to navigate the records. A text box shows the index (in the English meaning of the word) of the current report. A last button is used to create a new record. The roles of the buttons are:

Button Name Role
First Record Allows moving to the first record of the table
Previous Record Allows you to move one record back (if there is one) from the current record
Current Record Displays the number representing the current record out of the total number of records
Next Record Allows moving you one record ahead
Last Record Allows moving you to the last record of the table
New (Blank) Record Used to enter a new record on the table

Practical Learning: Introducing Tables Accessories

Navigation Buttons

Characteristics of Columns of a Table

The Caption of a Column

The caption is text that the user sees on the column header. The caption of a column is not closely related to the name of the column. This means that the caption can be completely different from the name of the column. If you don't specify a caption for a column, Microsoft Access uses the name of the column as caption.

To specify the caption of a column:

Practical Learning: Setting Objects Captions

  1. On the Ribbon, click File
  2. From the files that accompany these lessons, open the Cruise1 database
  3. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Employees: Table.
    Notice the words in the columns headers (the captions)

    The Captions of Columns

  4. To switch the table to Design View, right-click its tab and click Design View
  5. In the top section of the table, make sure EmployeeNumber is selected
    In the lower section of the window, click Caption
  6. Type Empl #
  7. In the top section, click MiddleInitial and press F6
  8. In the lower section of the window, click Caption
  9. Type MI
  10. Complete the series of captions as follows:
     
    Field Name Caption
    EmployeeNumber Empl #
    FirstName First Name
    MiddleInitial MI
    LastName Last Name
    MaritalStatus Marital Status
    DepartmentCode Department
  11. Right-click the tab of the table and click Datasheet View
  12. When asked whether you want to save, click Yes
  13. As seen in Lesson 2, you can resize a column to be enough to show the caption on the column header. This is especially useful after setting the caption of a column.
    Right-click the column header of each column and click Field Width:

    Fields Widths

  14. In the Column Width dialog box, click Best Fit

    Employees: Captions

  15. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
  16. In the list of files, click Ceil Inn1 used earlier
  17. When asked whether you want to save, click Yes
  18. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Customers to open the table in Datasheet View
  19. In the table, click any cell under PhoneNumber
  20. On the Ribbon, click Fields
  21. In the Properties section, click the Name & Caption button Name and Caption
  22. In the Enter Fields Properties dialog box, click Caption and type Phone #

    Enter Fields Properties

  23. Click OK
  24. In the same way, set the captions of the other columns as follows:
     
    Column Caption
    AccountNumber Account #
    FirstName First Name
    LastName Last Name
    PhoneNumber Phone #
    EmergencyName Emergency Name
    EmergencyPhone Emergency #
  25. Right-click the column headers of Account #, Emergency Name, and Emergency # click Field Width. Then click Best Fit

    Employees: Captions

  26. In the Navigation Pane, right-click Employees and click Design View
  27. Create the captions as follows:
     
    Column Caption
    EmployeeNumber Employee #
    FirstName First Name
    LastName Last Name
    HourlySalary Hourly Salary
  28. Close the Employeees table
  29. When asked whether you want to save the changes, click Yes

The Status Bar of a Table

When a field receives focus on a table, you can display a sentence on the status bar. To specify the text of the status bar:

Practical Learning: Setting Status Bar Text for Fields

  1. The Customers table of the Ceil Inn1 database should still be opened in Datasheet View.
    On the Ribbon, click Home if necessary.
    To switch the table to Design View, in the Views section of the Ribbon, click the View button Design View
  2. In the top section of the table, click AccountNumber and press Tab twice
  3. In the Description field for the AccountNumber field, type
    Unique number that identifies the resident
  4. In the same way, using the Description side of each field, create the status bar texts as follows:
     
    Field Name Description
    AccountNumber Unique number that identifies the resident
    EmergencyName The person to contact if there is an issue with the customer
    EmergencyPhone The phone number to call in case of an emergency with the customer
  5. To save the table, in the title bar of Microsoft Access, click the Save button
  6. To switch the table to Datasheet View, in the Views section of the Design tab of the Ribbon (if necessary, on the Ribbon, click Design or click Home), click the View button Datasheet View

    Status Bar Text

  7. Click any cell under Emergency Name

    Status Bar Text

  8. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
  9. In the list of files, click Cruise1 used earlier
  10. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Employees to open the table
  11. In the table, click any cell under Empl #
  12. On the Ribbon, click Fields
  13. In the Properties section of the Ribbon, click Name & Caption Name and Caption
  14. In the Enter Field Properties dialog box, click Description and type A unique number that identifies the employee

    Enter Fields Properties

  15. Press Enter

    Status Bar Text

  16. In the same way, create a description for the other columns as follows:
     
    Column Description
    Empl # A unique number that identifies the employee
    Department The cruise department that defines the employee's function(s)
    Nationality The country that is the employee formal residence
  17. Click any cell under Department

    Status Bar Text

The Text Alignment of a Column

The text alignment specifies on what side the values of a column would be displayed, to the left, to the center, or to the right within the cells. To specify the text alignment of a column of a table, first display it in the Datasheet View. Click any cell under that column. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Text Formatting section, click:

Practical Learning: Aligning Fields Text

  1. The Employees table should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    On the table, click any cell under Empl #
  2. On the Ribbon, click Home
  3. In the Text Formatting section, click the Center button Center
  4. On the table, click any cell under MI
  5. In the Text Formatting section of the Ribbon, click the Center button Align Text Center

    Table

 

Design Accessories: Colors

Introduction

The color is an aesthetic visual characteristic of a human being's perception of red, green, blue and/or other aspects such as transparency (seeing through an object). To specify or change the color of something, you will be asked to click a button or the arrow of a button. This action will display a table of colors:

Font Color

If you see the desired color, click it. If not, click the More Colors... button. This action will display a Colors dialog box:

Colors

In the Standard property page, if you see a color you like, click it. If you don't, click the Custom tab. This action will display a geometric figure and other controls you can use to create a color:

Colors

The Background Color of a Table

To control one of the background colors of a table, first display it in Datasheet View and click the Home button on the Ribbon. In the Text Formatting section, click the arrow of the Background Color button:

Background Color

Background Color

Practical Learning: Setting the Background Color of a Table

  • The Employees table of the Cruise1 database should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    On the Ribbon, if necessary, click Home.
    In the Text Formatting section, click the arrow of the Background Color button (the button that displays a pouring bucket) and click the Dark Blue color (Standard Colors: 9th column - 7th row)

    Background Color

The Alternate Row Color of a Table

The alternate row color is the color use to paint the background of every other row in the table. To specify the Alternate Row Color of a table, while it is displaying in Datasheet View, click the arrow of the Alternate Row Color button:

Alternate Color

Practical Learning: Setting the Alternate Background Color of a Table

  • Still in the Text Formatting section of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Alternate Row Color button and click the Light Blue color (Standard Colors: 7th column - 7th row)

    Background Color

Design Accessories: Fonts

Introduction

The font is the design used to paint text on a table, a form or a report. In a table, you can apply only one font to all columns and records.

The Name of a Font

A font is primarily known by its name. The names of fonts are set and controlled by the operating system and you can simply use the font available in your computer. Applying a font primarily consists of specifying the name of the font that must be applied to a table or control. To specify the font applied to a table, while the table is displaying in the Datasheet View, on the Ribbon, click either Home or Format. Click the arrow of the Font combo box and select the desired font.

Practical Learning: Setting the Font of a Table

  • The Employees table should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    On the Ribbon, click Home if necessary.
    In the Text Formatting section, click the arrow of the Font combo box (the top-left combo box of the Text Formatting section) and click Garamond

    Setting the Font of a Table

The Size of a Font

The size of a font of a table is the combination of the width and height available to paint the letters in the cells. To specify the font size of a table while in the Datasheet View, on the Ribbon, click either Home or Format. Click the arrow of the Font Size combo box and select the desired size.

You can also access the combo box and type the number.

Practical Learning: Setting the Font Size of a Table

  • The Employees table should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    In the Text Formatting section of the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Font Size combo box (the top-right combo box of the Text Formatting section) and click 12
     
    The Size of a Font

The Style of a Font

A font has four styles:

Style Example
Regular Regular Text
Bold This text is bold
Italic Italicized section
Underline The words are underlined

To change the font style of a table, display it in the Datasheet View. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Text Formatting section, click the button that represents the desired style: Bold Bold, Italic Italic, or Underline Underline.

Practical Learning: Setting the Font Style of a Table

  • The Employees table should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    In the Text Formatting section of the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the Bold Highlighted Bold button
     
    The Style of a Font

The Font Color

By default, text of a table is painted in black. To change the font color on a table, display it in Datasheet View. On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Home section, click the arrow of the Font Color button.

Practical Learning: Setting Text Font on a Table

  1. The Employees table should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    In the Text Formatting section of the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Font Color button (the button that displays A) and click the More Colors button
  2. In the Colors dialog box, click Custom
  3. Set the color values as follows:
     
    Red: 255
    Green: 250
    Blue: 135
    Colors
  4. Click OK

    Table

The Grid Lines of a Table

To set the grid lines of a table, in the Datasheet View, on the Ribbon, click Home. In the Text Formatting section, click the Gridlines button Gridlines. A window would appear where you can select an option by clicking its button:

Grid Lines

If you click:

  • Gridlines: None, the gridlines would be removed from the table 
  • Gridlines: Vertical, only the vertical lines that divide the columns would display on the table
  • Gridlines: Horizontal, only the horizontal lines that divide the records of the table would display
  • Gridlines: Both, both the vertical and the horizontal lines would display. This is the default

Practical Learning: Setting the Grid Lines of a Table

  1. The Employees table should still be displaying in Datasheet View.
    In the Text Formatting section of the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Gridlines button and click Gridlines: Horizontal

    Employees Table

  2. Close the table
  3. When asked whether you want to save, click Yes
  4. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
  5. In the list of files, click FunDS1 from Lesson 3
  6. In the Navigation Pane, right-click the Employees table and click Design View
  7. Create the captions as follows:
    Field Name Caption
    EmployeeNumber Employee #
    FirstName First Name
    LastName Last Name
  8. In the Navigation Pane, right-click the ShoppingSessions table and click Design View
  9. Create the captions as follows:
    Field Name Caption
    ReceiptNumber Receipt #
    EmployeeNumber Employee #
  10. In the Navigation Pane, right-click the SoldItems table and click Design View
  11. Create the captions as follows:
    Field Name Caption
    SoldItemID Sold Item ID
    ReceiptNumber Receipt #
    ItemNumber Item #
    SubCategory Sub-Category
    ItemName Item Name
    ItemSize Item Size
  12. In the Navigation Pane, right-click the StoreItems table and click Design View
  13. Create the captions as follows:
    Field Name Caption
    ItemNumber Item #
    SubCategory Sub-Category
    ItemName Item Name
    ItemSize Item Size
  14. Close Microsoft Access
  15. When asked whether you want to save, click Yes every time
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