Microsoft Access basic questions

[sfsdfd]

I've been using Excel for years to organize data - not just numerical data, but also documents that primarily contain text. I've thought about converting it to a database since it's more appropriate, and recently I made the switch to Access. It's remarkably easy to use - once you set up the database, the record view works almost exactly like Excel (only the data is a lot better formatted, and the filtering and query features are excellent.)

The interface, however, appears to be pretty non-user-friendly. I have some questions - any insight that you might have would be helpful:

1) When you have one control window that you use to access all of the other windows, it's terribly annoying that those windows overlap and obscure the control window. I can't find a way to keep it on top, or a hotkey that will bring it to the front. Any ideas?

2) Is there an easy keyboard shortcut to switch from one window to another? In Excel, Ctrl-PageUp/PageDown switches worksheets. I can't find any such equivalent in Access, and it slows me down as I hunt for the right window (including Ctrl-Tab, which I thought was the universal switch-subwindows key combination.)

3) In Excel, when the text you've entered into a cell exceeds the width of the cell, you can have the text wrap to the next line and the row height auto-adjust, and if you select the cell you can see all of the text in the edit bar at the top of the window. But Access doesn't appear to have anything like this, so when you enter text longer than the size of the cell, it's hard to see (you have to cursor back and forth.) Any solutions to that?

- David Stein

[X]

1) What do you mean by a "control window"? Are you talking all datasheet views here or a mixture of forms and datasheets?

2) Don't know offhand.

3) In datasheet view, not that I know of. You can wrap text in boxes on forms that are tied to the cells though.

[Groucho]

I don't think that you can wordwrap in the datasheet view, but you can resize the columns however you want. Or look at the data via a form or a report.

[X]

Originally posted by Groucho
I don't think that you can wordwrap in the datasheet view, but you can resize the columns however you want. Or look at the data via a form or a report. :lol:

Good one, Groucho!

[dtcarson]

2. On my machine with Access and Win 2k, Alt-Tab takes me from window to window.

[LarLar]

1. F11 brings the Database window to the top

2. In Access 2002: Tools-Options on the View tab click the checkbox for "Windows in taskbar". According to the tooltip, you have to install MS IE Active Desktop. Lets you Alt-Tab like dtcarson said.