Getting to Know Microsoft Access 2003, Part 4 - Navigation
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To navigate among the records you have already created use the navigation buttons at the bottom of the Datasheet window. You use these to scroll forward or backward between records. Alternatively, you can also use the ‘Go To’ field box in the top-left of the toolbar to specify exactly which record you want to view.
Making Data Entry more Efficient
Access has two tools to make your data entry more efficient: input masks and lookup fields. We have already discussed these tools briefly in a previous lesson, but I’m going to give you more detail here about both of these tools because they are incredibly useful.
Input masks make fields that are fill in the blank instead of just empty. This can be especially useful when you include phone numbers and other formatted numbers in your tables, because it provides a consistent way to enter data. An input mask only controls how the data is entered however, not how it is displayed (see the format property for this – covered briefly in the last lesson). You can set both the format property and an input mask on any field to specify how the data is entered, and how it is displayed, respectively.
Use the Input Mask Wizard to create an input mask for text or date/time fields. To do so, put your insertion point in the field in which you’d like to have the input mask and set the Input Mask property in the properties box in Table Design view. Click the Build button (…) to the right of the drop-down arrow in the Input Mask property field. A dialog box appears which allows you to select a previously defined input mask. Select the input mask that makes the most sense to you and click ‘Next.’ In the second dialog box decide whether to make any changes to the input mask template; click ‘Next’ when you are done. In the third dialog box choose whether or not to include literal characters with the data – this takes up more disk space, but may be worth it in the long run, depending on the size of your tables. Click ‘Finish’ to complete the wizard.
You can also create your own mask, if you don’t want to use the wizard. Instead of clicking the Build button in the Input Mask property field, put your insertion point into the property field and just type the input mask ‘code.’ The programming for creating input masks is pretty easy but there are too many options and symbols to list here; I suggest you use the Access help feature to learn more about creating your own input masks.
Next: Lookup Fields >>
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