ACC97: New Features in Microsoft Access 97ID: Q160874
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Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.
This article summarizes many of the new features in Microsoft Access 97.
It contains the following sections:
Feature Description
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Lightweight forms Enables you to open forms and reports faster
and reports than in previous versions because there is no
class module attached to the object.
Delayed loading Software components that are not required
for all databases, such as Visual Basic for
Applications and Data Access Objects, do not
load into memory until they are needed.
Improved call-tree Modules, including form modules, do not load
loading into memory until the Visual Basic code in them
is executed.
ActiveX controls Improved performance of embedded ActiveX
controls.
Lookup fields Data in a lookup field that comes from another
table does not automatically refresh when the
other table is updated. You can refresh the
data manually by pressing F9.
Analyzer Wizard The Analyzer Wizard analyzes your database,
suggests the best ways to optimize its speed
and performance, and then automatically makes
the changes that you approve.
Feature Description
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Publish to the Web Converts your data or reports into HTML so you
can create dynamic, interactive database pages
and share them across a company Intranet or
the World Wide Web.
Import/Link HTML files Import or link (read-only) tables or lists from
an HTML file using the Get External Data command
on the File menu.
Export objects Exports reports to static HTML format, and data
to HTML format sheets and forms to static or dynamic HTML
format, by using the Save As/Export command on
the File menu.
Access FTP and HTTP Import or link (read-only) data on FTP or HTTP
servers servers, export a database object to an FTP
server, and add or modify a list of FTP server
locations all in the Look In box of the Open
dialog box.
New replication features Enable you to synchronize a database replica
with a replica or Design Master on an Internet
server.
New sample applications Make it possible to view examples of
Internet features in the Northwind sample
database and the Developer Solutions sample
application.
Feature Description
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Office Assistant The Office Assistant provides you with help for
your Microsoft Office programs. Click the Office
Assistant button on the toolbar.
Outlook Journal The Outlook Journal can track when a database
file is opened or closed, or when an object is
printed. For details search the Microsoft
Outlook Help file.
Outlook Contacts You can import data from Microsoft Access into
your Contacts folder in Outlook. You can also
export Outlook data into a Microsoft Access
database. For details search the Microsoft
Outlook Help file.
Feature Description
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Web toolbar Enables you to easily browse Microsoft Access
databases, objects, or Office documents using
functionality similar to the Microsoft Internet
Explorer toolbar.
Web Find Fast Locates Microsoft Access databases and other
Microsoft Office documents that are indexed
by database and file properties.
Feature Description
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Show Me Help Enables you to find out what is going on behind
the scenes in many of the Northwind tables,
queries, forms, and reports.
Hyperlinks Enable you to open objects in the database and
documents on an Intranet or the Internet.
Alternate methods Accomplish similar tasks by separating
information onto separate tabs or pages, and
using Visual Basic for Applications and macros
to respond to events.
Feature Description
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Improved class modules Class modules are displayed on the Modules
tab. You can see all class modules that are not
associated with a form or report.
Feature Description
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Improved Customize The Customize dialog box for command bars can
dialog box be used to create menu bars, shortcut menus, and
toolbars. You can also modify built-in toolbars,
menu bars, and shortcut menus from this same
location.
CommandBars You can now create the new style of menu bar,
shortcut menu, or toolbar from existing macros,
including menu bar macros used in earlier
versions of Microsoft Access.
Feature Description
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Improved Lookup field New method for refreshing data in a Lookup
field, list box, or combo box.
Date representation New interpretation of data in Microsoft Access
assumes that dates entered with an abbreviated
year format from 00-29 indicate the twenty-first
century.
IntelliMouse support New support for IntelliMouse enables you to
scroll in a datasheet or form using the
IntelliMouse wheel.
Filtering data New Filter for Input enables you to right-click
a form or datasheet field, and then on the
shortcut menu type the exact value you are
searching for in the Filter box, or type an
expression that you want to use as your Filter
criteria.
Feature Description
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View button The View button on the toolbar makes it easy to
switch to other views of a database object.
Multiple pages The Multiple pages button enables you to select
the number of pages to preview.
Feature Description
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Compact and Repair You can use the Compact Database and Repair
Database commands Database commands on the currently open
database.
Feature Description
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New Hyperlink Enables you to store a hyperlink in a table.
data type
New Hyperlink targets Enables you to jump to a Microsoft Access
database or object from a hyperlink in a
datasheet, form, or report, or from within
other Microsoft Office documents, such as a
Microsoft Word document or a Microsoft Excel
worksheet.
New Hyperlink on forms Enables you to create a label, image control, or
and reports feature command button on a form or report that jumps
to a hyperlink target.
Feature Description
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Form and New wizards enable you to generate forms and
Report Wizards reports specifically for your needs.
Import/Export Wizard Improved Import/Export Wizard walks you
step-by-step through the process of moving
data in different formats into and out of your
database.
Improved replication Improved replication features enable multiple
users from remote locations to update and work
with the same data and synchronize any changes,
even across the Internet.
Partial replication: A new feature of replication enables you to
create a partial replica that contains only a
subset of all records in a full replica by using
a filter to restrict the synchronized data.
Feature Description
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FailOnError property Determines if an update or delete query that is
run against an ODBC data source will terminate
if an error occurs. Enables optimizing of bulk
update queries so they are executed on the
server if the partial-failure behavior of the
Microsoft Jet database engine isn't desired.
RecordSetType property Available on the query property sheet, this
property enables you to specify the type of
result set the query returns, including
snapshots.
MaxRecords property Determines or specifies the maximum number of
records that will be returned by a query against
an ODBC data source.
Feature Description
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Convert Macros to Use to convert macros to Visual Basic
Visual Basic for Applications event procedures or modules
that perform equivalent actions using Visual
Basic code.
Create Menu from Macro Creates a Microsoft Access 97-style menu bar
from macros you created in an earlier version
of Microsoft Access.
Create Toolbar From Macro Creates a toolbar from macros you created in
an earlier version of Microsoft Access.
Create Shortcut Menu Creates a Microsoft Access 97-style shortcut
from Macro menu from macros you created in an earlier
version of Microsoft Access.
RunCommand action New command used to execute a Microsoft Access
menu command in a macro. This action replaces
the DoMenuItem action.
Feature Description
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Select All command Selects all the text in the current procedure,
or, if you are in Full Module view, selects all
the text in the module.
Find Next command Finds the next occurrence of the most recent
search string you specified with the Find
command.
Complete Word command Microsoft Access displays a list of functions,
methods, and properties to choose from to
complete the current word.
Definition command Enables you to select a keyword in the Module
window and view its definition in the Object
Browser.
New Locals pane feature Enables you to display the name, current value,
and type of all variables and objects in the
current procedure while code execution is
suspended.
Feature Description
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Copy To Clipboard Paste code into the Module window by selecting a
method or property in the Object Browser and
clicking the Copy To Clipboard button. Then
switch to the Module window, and click the
Paste button on the toolbar.
<Globals> item in the Displays all members that can be accessed
Classes box globally in the Members Of box.
Go Back and Go Forward Enables you to move backward and forward
Buttons through the elements that you have previously
viewed in the Object Browser.
Help button Displays Help on a selected object, method,
property, or event.
Search Text box Enables you to search a selected type library
and Search button for any class or member.
View Definition button Lets you see the definition for a user-defined
function or Sub procedure from the Object
Browser.
Feature Description
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MDE file Removes editable Visual Basic code and protects
the design of forms, reports, and modules by
saving your database as an MDE file.
Feature Description
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Microsoft WebBrowser Enables you to browse World Wide Web pages,
control access other documents on your computer, your
network, or the Internet, and download data from
the Internet through your application's form.
Additional ActiveX Enable you to develop rich and dynamic Web
controls applications. These controls are available in
Microsoft Office 97, Developer Edition.
Feature Description
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Tab control Enables you to create a dialog box or a form
that divides information onto separate tabs. For more information about new features in Microsoft Access 97, search the Help Index for "new for this version," and then "What's new about Microsoft Access 97?" or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.
Additional query words:
Keywords : GnlOthr
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo Last Reviewed: April 13, 1999