Access 2003 for Starters: The Missing Manual

Appendix C. Access 2003, Menu by Menu

• File Menu

• Edit Menu

• View Menu

• Insert Menu

• Format Menu

• Records Menu

• Tools Menu

• Window Menu

• Help Menu

ACCESS LETS YOU VIEW YOUR INFORMATION in so many different kinds of windows (and lets you open so many at once), that it’s oddly comforting to know you can depend on one thing—the menu bar. Stretching across the top of the main Access window, it offers a standard set of command menus: File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, Window, and Help. Although these menu items undoubtedly look familiar, some of the commands you find on them are specific to Access. Moreover, the contents of a menu often change depending on what kind of Access window you’re working in (Table, Form, Design view, and so on). In fact, some menus appear and disappear from the menu bar according to which window you’re working in, like the Records, Query, and Pivot Table menus.

Microsoft clearly values your time as well as your screen space. You can’t add records in Design view, for example, so Access doesn’t clutter up your screen with that menu. Similarly, the Insert menu changes wildly whenever you switch windows to show you only those items you’re likely (or allowed) to insert in that particular view. So if you can’t find a menu or command you’re looking for, it may be because you can’t use it in the current window or view anyway. Try clicking a different window or form. Table view, in general, is likely to give you the most options.

This appendix lists all commands on Access’s main ...