Exploring the Access 2010 Interface - Page 3

Taking Advantage of the Quick Access Toolbar

Above the Backstage view is the Quick Access Toolbar. This special toolbar gives you "quick access" to some of the more common commands you will use in Access 2010, and you can customize this toolbar to include additional commands. Here are the default commands available on the Quick Access Toolbar:

• Save.  Saves any changes to the currently selected database object
• Undo.  Undoes the last change you made to an object or a record
• Redo.  Cancels the last Undo change you made to an object or a record

At the right end of the Quick Access Toolbar is a small arrow. Click that arrow, and you'll see the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu, as shown in Figure  2-14.

Figure  2-14.  The default Quick Access Toolbar contains the Save, Undo, and Redo commands for the current object, and the command to customize the toolbar.

The upper section of the menu displays common commands that you might want to add to the Quick Access Toolbar. Note that the three default commands "Save, Undo, and Redo" have check marks next to them. You can click any of these to clear the check mark and remove the command from the Quick Access Toolbar. You can click any of the other nine commands (New, Open, E-Mail, Quick Print, Print Preview, Spelling, Mode, Refresh All, and Sync All) to add them to the right end of the Quick Access Toolbar. Near the bottom of this menu is More Commands, which allows you to fully customize what commands are available and how those commands appear on the Quick Access Toolbar. The Show Below The Ribbon option on the menu allows you to move the Quick Access Toolbar above or below the ribbon, depending on your preference.

To customize the Quick Access Toolbar, click the arrow on the right end and click More Commands near the bottom of the list. The Access Options dialog box appears, with the Quick Access Toolbar category selected, as shown in Figure  2-15.

Figure  2-15.  You can add or remove commands on the Quick Access Toolbar and change their sequence using the Customize category in the Access Options dialog box.

On the left, you can see a list of built-in Access commands that you can select to add to the Quick Access Toolbar. By default, the list shows commands from the Popular Commands category "commands that are used very frequently." You can change the list of commands by selecting a different category from the Choose Commands From list. The All Commands option displays the entire list of Access commands available in alphabetical order. Just below the list of available commands is a check box that you can select to show the Quick Access Toolbar below the ribbon. Clear the check box to show the Quick Access Toolbar above the ribbon.

The list on the right side of the screen by default displays what options are available on every Quick Access Toolbar for all your database files. If you add, remove, or modify the commands shown in the list on the right when you have chosen For All Documents (Default) in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list, the changes are reflected in every database you open with Access 2010. To customize the Quick Access Toolbar for only the specific database you currently have open, click the arrow in the drop-down list and select the database file path for your current database from the list, as shown in Figure  2-16.

Figure  2-16.  You can add or remove commands on the Quick Access Toolbar for the current database by selecting your database from the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list.

When you select the current database, the command list below it is now empty, awaiting the changes you request. Find a command in the list on the left, and then either doubleclick it or click the Add button in the middle of the screen to add this command to your custom Quick Access Toolbar, as shown in Figure  2-17. If you make a mistake and select the wrong command, select the command in the list on the right and click Remove to eliminate it from your custom list.

Figure  2-17.  Add a command to the Quick Access Toolbar by selecting it in the list on the left and then clicking Add.

In addition to the built-in commands, you can select any macros you have defined in this current database. To do this, select Macros in the Choose Commands From list on the left.

A list of all your saved macro objects appears, and you can add these macros directly to your custom Quick Access Toolbar, as shown in Figure  2-18. We added one macro called mcrSample to this Tasks Sample database to illustrate the next steps.

Figure  2-18.  Add a saved macro object to the Quick Access Toolbar by selecting it in the list on the left and then clicking Add.

You can also assign custom button images to the macro objects you select. To do so, select one of your macros in the list on the right, and then click the Modify button to open the Modify Button dialog box shown in Figure  2-19. From here, you can choose one of the predefined button images available and also change the display name for this option on your custom Quick Access Toolbar.

Figure  2-19.  You can change the button face and the display name in the Modify Button dialog box.

After you have all the commands and macros that you want on your custom Quick Access Toolbar, you might decide that you do not like the order in which they appear. Access 2010 allows you to modify this order easily using the Move Up and Move Down arrow buttons at the far right of the dialog box. (You can rest your mouse pointer on either button to see the button name.) Select a command you want to move in the list on the right and click the up arrow to move it up in the list, as shown in Figure  2-20. Each successive click moves that command up one more place in the custom list. Likewise, the down arrow shifts the selected command down in the list. In Figure  2-20, you can see that we have moved the macro titled Greeting above the Options command.

Figure  2-20.  You can change the order of the commands on your Quick Access Toolbar by clicking the Move Up and Move Down arrow buttons.

From top to bottom in the list on the right, the commands appear from left to right on the Quick Access Toolbar after the commands assigned to all databases. When you are completely satisfied with your revisions, click OK to save your changes. Observe that your custom Quick Access Toolbar now appears on the screen above or below the ribbon, depending on the choice you have selected. Figure  2-21 shows our completed changes to the Quick Access Toolbar for this specific database.

Figure  2-21.  Our two additional commands now appear on the Quick Access Toolbar for this database.

To remove an item from your custom Quick Access Toolbar, reopen the Access Options dialog box with the Quick Access Toolbar category selected again by clicking the arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar and then clicking More Commands. To remove an item, select it in the list on the right and click Remove, and Access removes it from your list of commands. If you inadvertently remove a command that you wanted to keep, you can click the Cancel button in the lower-right corner to discard all changes. You can also find the command in the list on the left and add it back. Keep in mind that you can remove commands for all databases, or for only the current database.

If you want to restore the Quick Access Toolbar for all databases to the default set of commands, select For All Documents (Default) in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list, click the Reset button in the lower-right corner of the screen, and then click Reset Only Quick Access Toolbar from the drop-down list. To remove all custom commands for the current database, select the database path in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list, click Reset, and then click Reset Only Quick Access Toolbar. Before removing any commands on the Quick Access Toolbar, Access displays the warning message shown in Figure  2-22. If you click Yes to this Reset Customizations message, Access resets the Quick Access Toolbar for this current database back to the defaults.

Figure  2-22.  Access asks you to confirm resetting the Quick Access Toolbar back to the default commands.

If you modify the Quick Access Toolbar for all databases, you can export your customizations to a file that can be imported to another computer running Access 2010. Click the Import/Export button at the lower-right corner of the screen and then click Export All Customizations, as shown in Figure  2-23. You can choose a location to save this customization file for use on other computers. To import the Quick Access Toolbar customizations onto another computer, open Access 2010 on the second computer, reopen the Access Options dialog box with the Quick Access Toolbar category selected, click the Import/Export button at the bottom of the screen, and then click Import Customization File. Your custom Quick Access Toolbar options for all databases created on the first computer now appear in the Access program installed on the second computer.

Figure  2-23.  You can export and import your custom Quick Access Toolbar commands to other computers.

Microsoft Access 2010 Inside Out ByJeff Conrad, John Viescas Publisher:Microsoft Press Released:August 2010 Pages:1488