Information Systems for Managers

Create Data Entry Form in Access 

We will start by letting Access automatically create a data entry form (hereinafter called just form), and then customize it to our needs.

Click on the Forms button, then double-click Create Form by using Wizard.

Access (and other Microsoft products) make use of Wizards to automate many tasks. Often, it is efficient to let the Wizard do most of the work for you and then manually finish the task. We'll adopt this strategy in creating the form. Typically, a Wizard will ask you a series of questions. In this example, supply the following answers:

• Which fields do you want on your form? - We'll be using all the fields from the Correspondence table, so you can move all the fields from the "Available" to the "Selected" area. The double arrow (>>) will do this quickly.
• What layout would you like for your form? - You can experiment with the different layouts, but for this exercise, choose Columnar.
• What style would you like? - Again, you can play with the different styles; for this exercise we'll use the simple Standard style.
• What title would you like for your form? - In this exercise the database is fairly straightforward, so we can call it Correspondence. In more complex databases with multiple forms and tables, you would want to give the form a more descriptive name.

On the last screen, make sure the option is chosen to "Open the form to view or enter information" and then click on the "Finish" button.

After a few seconds, the data entry form will appear on your screen.

Note how the form uses combo boxes for the CorrespondenceForm, AssignedTo, Category, ResponseForm, and Closed fields. This reflects the specifications chosen as the table was defined. For the other fields this form is very utilitarian; it only provides spaces to enter data into the table. The VCR-type buttons on the bottom of the form are used to navigate through the table and add new records.

The form can be customized to provide more help to the person entering data. To get started, we must go from a data-entry to a form-design mode. Click View on the menu on top of the screen, then Design View.

There are many tools available to customize the form; we'll only touch on a few of them. First, you have to understand the terminology of what's happening.

Each component on the form is called a control by Access. So a form consists of a set of different kinds of controls. Controls can be used to accept data into the table, perform processing, or simply display data. In defining controls that accept data, Access has to be told which data element is linked to the control. Types of controls include:

• Text boxes - for accepting and displaying data. Text boxes have two comoponents; a label that describes what goes in the text box, and the space for actually entering and displaying data. The label is also called a "prompt". Most of the controls in this form are at present text boxes.
• Labels - for displaying static information. Labels can be used to display a title of the form, for instance.
• Combo boxes - for providing the user with a list of predefined valid values from which to choose. For instance, we previously specified that whenever the "AssignedTo" field is displayed for data viewing or entry, a combo box control is used.

Note that to the left is a Toolbox, which displays the types of controls that are available. (If you don't see a toolbox, click on "View" menu at the top of the screen, then select "Toolbox."). To add a new control to the form, simply click on the control in the Toolbox, then click on the chosen location on the form. To manipulate a control, you first have to select it. This is done by clicking on it. A control will show that it's selected by "handles" around it. Once selected, a control can be moved, resized, or have its properties adjusted.

Each control has a set of properties that you as the designer can change to affect how the control operates. Some of the more important parts of a control's properties include:

• Data source - which data element in the table is this control associated with
• Input mask - defines how data would be accepted and formatted as it is typed into the field. An input mask is like a template or a pattern. They are useful for guiding the user through entering data into a particular field. Access has several commonly-used input masks that are available, like date, phone numbers and social security numbers. An input mask for social security number would only accept the digits 0 through 9. The user would not have to enter the dashes, but they would appear on the screen. For example, the user would just type the 9 digits in a row (i.e.:352449888) but it would appear as 352-44-9888. The dashes would not be stored in the table.
• Default value - a value for the field that will show up when the user starts to enter a new record.

Below is the form after having been customized. The following things have been done, to hopefully stimulate your imagination as to the possibilities:

• The IDNumber is automatically maintained by Access. As such, you don't want the user changing it. The Locked property for this control has been changed to Yes, which prevents the user from making changes to this field. Clicking on the X will close the Properties panel.
• The controls for the two date fields (DateReceived, ResponseDate) have been given input masks that make them accept data in the form of mm/dd/yy. To do this, right-click on the control, click on Properties, then click on the Data tab. Clicking on the Input Mask area will reveal a small box, as illustrated in the diagram above. Clicking on the box will invoke Access' Input Mask Wizard, which will ask you to select a predefined mask, or create your own. Select Short Date, then click on Finish.
• A Label control has been added to the right of the SenderName field, prompting the user to enter last name first.

Here's what the form now looks like, with some data entered. Note how the combo box for AssignedTo works.

There are many more things you can do in Access to customize the form. You can add graphics, lines, and color, change fonts, and do a multitude of special processing to make the form more user-friendly and ensure proper data entry.

The next step after creating the form is entering some records. This is necessary to do the next steps, designing a query and a report.

Next: Designing a query