Access 2007 Tip - Adding a Background Picture to a Form

MS Access 2007 Tip - Adding a background picture to a form.

A student in a recent Access class asked, "How do I add a picture  or logo as a background graphic on my form?"

The steps to do this  are simple, and involve accessing the properties of a form.

• Open the form in design view.
• Right-click on the form's name in the navigation pane.
• Select Design View.
  
  
  
• Once the form opens in design view, make sure you've selected the Design tab on your ribbon.
  
  
• In the far right side of the ribbon, click Properties (in the Tools group).
  
  

• Once the properties box opens, click the format tab.
  
  
  
• Click next to the Picture property. Click the button that pops up, and select the picture you would like to have become the background of your form. You can also change the picture tiling, alignment, type and size mode properties to make additional changes to your pictures.

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Is it time to upgrade from MS Excel to MS Access?

Excel is an extremely powerful application with database capabilities. While you can use functions to extend the database capabilities of Excel, Access is much better suited to handle databases. A task that takes 3 Excel functions, for example, is accomplished very easily with Access.

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Here are 7 signs that it is time to upgrade your Excel spreadsheet to an Access database.

1. Your spreadsheet has several hundred rows. The larger your spreadsheet, the more complicated it becomes to update and analyze.
   
   
2. You'd like to control the kind of data other users enter. With Access, you can limit what users are allowed to enter. You can specify that the data must be of a particular type (ex., numbers only) or length, and more. If someone tries to enter information that doesn't fit, they get an error message.
   
   
3. You'd like to control the values other users enter. In addition to restricting the types of values users can enter, you can also restrict the specific values.
   
   
4. You want to quickly find matches between two sets of data. Excel uses functions to find data matches. In my opinion, the process in Access is much more intuitive.
   
   
5. You want to quickly find which values in one set of data doesn't exist in the other. Again, this is a task you can accomplish using Excel functions. Access has a Find Unmatched query that is simple to create and use.
   
   
6. You want to quickly identify and/or delete duplicates. With Excel 2007, the process of deleting duplicates is easy. Identifying duplicates requires a few more steps: you have to use Conditional formatting. By contrast, Access has a Find Duplicates query that makes identifying duplicates easy.
   
   
7. You want to prevent users from entering duplicate values. In Access 2007, you can set a field to prevent users from entering duplicate values. When they try, they will get an error message and Access will prevent them from adding duplicate data.

As I mentioned earlier, Excel will accomplish some of these tasks – it just takes extra effort. Access, on the other hand, takes care of these tasks easily. Why not do things the simple and straightforward way by upgrading your spreadsheets to Microsoft Access databases?

For Advanced Excel training in Atlanta, check out our classes in Excel Functions & Formulas, Excel PivotTables, and Excel Lookup Functions.

If you are ready to upgrade to Microsoft Access, our Access Comprehensive Course (offered in Atlanta) provides all of the training you need to master Access 2007. The next class starts soon, call 770.498.7333 or click the link for details.

MS Project Tip - Import Tasks from Excel

Often, there are multiple people who have to give input on planning a project. You can make the process easier by having each member enter their tasks into Excel, merging the lists, and importing the list into Project.

Step 1 - Enter the task lists into Excel.

• Click the Microsoft Office button and click New.
• In the New Workbook window, click Installed Templates.
• Choose Microsoft Project Task List and then Create.
• Send the task list to the members of your team, and have each member create their tasks. Make sure they enter valid information in each column.
• When you receive the information, combine the sheets and organize the tasks.
• Save the file as an Excel 97-2003 workbook.

Step 2 - Import the Excel task list into MS Project

• Open MS Project.
• Open the project plan.
• On the Standard toolbar, click Open, and open the Excel workbook. (You may have to change the file type to 97-2003).
• The Import Wizard box will pop up.
• In the Data type screen, select Project Excel template and click Next.
• In the Import Mode section, choose one of the following 3 options.
• Import as new project.
• Add tasks to the end of current file.
• Insert the imported tasks somewhere in the Project task list.

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• Intro to MS Project 2007
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