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The Web Browser
Introduction
A web browser is a control that shows a file. The file can be a regular
picture or a web address that is identified as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A web browser
is very flexible with the type of document it can show. Still, you must follow some rules to
prepare the document.
The primary type of document intended for a browser is a webpage. You
probably already know how to create such a document. A browser can also be asked to
display a picture. The web browser of Microsoft Windows supports various
or all types of pictures, including those with the extensions .bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, etc.
A web browser can be added only to a form. To get it, after displaying
the form in Design View, in the Controls section of the Design tab of the Ribbon, click
the Web Browser Control 
and click the form.
 Practical
Learning: Introducing the Web Browser
- On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
- In the list of files, click StatesStatistics1
- In the Navigation Pane, right-click the States form and click Design View
- On the form, click the State's Website tab (you may have to click it twice
until the orange rectangle appears) to select it
- In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Web Browser Control
- Click inside the orange rectangle in the tab on the form.
If a wizard starts, click Cancel
- Enlarge and heighten the control to occupy most of the tab page
- On the form, click the Wikipedia tab to select it
- In the Controls section of the Ribbon, click the Web Browser Control
and click inside the orange rectangle in the tab on the form.
If a wizard starts, click Cancel
- Apply the same location and the same size as the other browser
Characteristics of a Web Browser
Probably the most important detail of a web browser is the
document it displays. This is specified by the Record Source property. You
cannot create a web browser on a table. Instead, you can create a text-based
field, then use it as the record source of a browser. When performing data
entry, enter the name of the file with extension, the complete path and name of
the file, or the URL of the web page that the browser would display.
Practical
Learning: Using a Web Browser
- On the form, click the State's Websize tab and click the WebBrowser on it
- In the Property Sheet, click Data.
Click Control Source and set its value to StateWebsite
- On the form, click the Wikipedia tab and click the WebBrowser on it
- In the Data tab of the Property Sheet, set the Control Source to Wikipedia
- To preview the form, right-click its tab and click Form View
- Close the form
- When asked whether you want to save, click Yes
Web Browser Events
The web browser has many events appropriate for its
functionality:
We already know that you can submit the path of a file or a URL
to it. When a file path or a URL is given to a web browser, before it processes
it, the control fires an event named On Before Navigate. If
there is no problem in this event, the control shows the file or the web page.
When the control has finished displaying the document, the web browser fires the
On Document Complete event. If there is a change on the
document, the control fires an On Progress Change event.
When a web browser has received a file path or a URL, it
makes an attempt to show that file or the web page. If it encounters a problem,
it fires an On Navigation Error event.
At any time, and if you allow it, the user can change the
document the control is displaying. When a new document must be displayed, the
control fires an On Updated event.
Attachments
Introduction
The OLE Object provides a convenient means of adding an
external file to a record. One of the problems with it is that it can add only
one object. Sometimes you want to associate many documents to one record and you
may have a different number of objects for different records. Microsoft Access
solves this problem through an attachment. An attachment is a technique of
associating one or more files to a record.
Practical Learning: Introducing Attachment Fields
- On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
- In the list of files, click Altair Realtors1 from the
preious lesson
- In the Navigation Pane, right-click the Properties table and click Design View
Creating an Attachment Field
You can create an attachment field in the Datasheet View or in the
Design View of a table. To create an attachment in the Datasheet View:
- Click Click to Add. In the list that appears, click Attachment
- To insert a column that would hold attachments, click a cell of the
column that will precede it. On the Ribbon, click Fields. In the Add &
Delete section, click More Fields and click Attachment
If creating a table in Design View and if you are creating a
new column, to configure it to hold one or more attachments, specify its Data
Type as Attachment. If a field has already been created and the records have
been added to the table, you cannot change the data type of a field to
Attachment. You would receive an error when you try to save the table:
In other words, you can specify the Attachment type only if
you are creating a new field.
After creating an attachment field on a table, you can
configure it on a related form. In the Controls section of the Ribbon, the
attachment is represented
 .
Practical Learning: Creating
an Attachment Field
- In the top section of the table, click the first empty cell under Field Name, and type Pictures
- Press Tab and, in the Data Type, select Attachment
- Save and close the table
- In the Navigation Pane, right-click the Properties form and click Design View
- In the Design tab of the Ribbon, in the Tools section, click Add Existing
Fields
- From the Field List, drag Pictures and drop it on the form
- Move the accompanying label above the newly added control and change its
text to Picture(s)
- Appropriately position and resize the attachment placeholder as you see
fit
- Save the form and switch it to Form View
Using an Attachment
You can add the attachment(s) either in the Datasheet View of a table or in
the Form View of a form. Once the object is displaying, you can either double-click the field or
right-click the field and click Manage Attachments. This would open the Attachments dialog box:
In the Attachments dialog box, to create an attachment, click the Add button.
This would open the Choose File dialog box. It behaves like the Open dialog box. When using it,
select the file or object and click Open. The selected object would be added to the Attachments
list view. In the same way, you can add the other objects one at a time. Alternatively, to add
many objects, in the Choose File dialog box:
- To select objects one at a time:
- Click one of the objects to add
- Press and hold Ctrl
- Click each object to add, one object at a time
- After selecting the desired objects, release Ctrl
- Click Open
- To select objects in a range:
- Click one object at one end of the range
- Press and hold Shift
- Click the object at the other
end of the range
- Release Shift
- Click Open
- To select objects in a range:
- Click somewhere on the left (or the right) or the top (or the bottom)
side of an object at one end of the range and hold the mouse down
- Drag in the opposite direction to draw a fake rectangle that would
touch or include the objects to be added
- When the objects have been included in the range, release the mouse
- Click Open
To remove an item from the collection, click it in the
Attachments list box and click Remove. Once you are ready with the list of
attachments, click OK.
After the attachments have been created, to access those of
a record, navigate to that record. Then, right-click the placeholder of the
attachment. A menu would come up. Among other menu items, the menu has a Forward
and a Back options:
- If the record has only one attachment, both menu items would be disabled
- If the record has only two items, when you access the record, the Forward
menu item would be enabled and the Back option would be disabled. You can
click Forward to access the next object. At this time, the Forward menu item
would be disabled and the Back option would be enabled. You can click Back
to access the previous object
- If the record has more than two items, when you access the record, the
Forward menu item would be enabled and the Back option would be disabled.
You can click Forward to access the next object. You can keep clicking
Forward to advance in the collection. You can click Back to access the
previous object. From the second object to the one before the last, both the
Forward and the Back menu items would be enabled. When you get to the last
object of the collection, the Forward menu item would be disabled and the
Back item would be enabled
Practical Learning: Attaching
Objects to a Record
- For each record, right-click the placeholder under Picture(s) and click
Manage Attachments...
- In the Attachments dialog box, click Add...
- From the resources that accompany these lessons, inside the Houses folder,
locate a file whose 6 (first) characters are the same as the property
number.
If the file name does not end with a, such as 475974.bmp, click it:
If the file name ends with a, such as 524880a.bmp, click it and click Open.
Then click Add again and add additional files with the same 6 digits in the
name and that ends with a letter such as a, b, c, etc
- After adding the picture(s), click OK
- Navigate to each record. Right-click the picture and review the pictures
attached to each record
- Close the form
- Close Microsoft Access
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and click the form or report.
This will open the Insert Picture dialog box from which you can locate and
select the picture.
.
This would open the Insert Logo dialog box where you can select a picture.
and click the desired area of the form or report. You can then design the size
and position of the frame as you see fit. Since the object is (supposed to be) bound to a field on the source
table (or the source report), specify its column in the Record Source
property.
and click the form or report. A wizard will help you select the object you want to add
to your form or report. In the same way, you can add as many unbound objects as you need to a
form or report.