Fixing Access Annoyances

Glossary

Glossary

ADO

ActiveX Data Objects. One of two commonly used code libraries for Access programmers writing code that interacts with data. See also the entry for “DAO,” and “DAO Versus ADO” in Chapter 0.

automation

Using Visual Basic code from within one Office application (such as Access) to open a different application (such as Outlook or Excel) and use its features.

backend

The MDB file (or other database) where the data (i.e., the tables) are stored in a split database design. See also “frontend.”

bound

Tied directly to a data source. See “Bound Versus Unbound Objects” in Chapter 0 for more info.

calculated field

A field whose value is the result of an expression, such as a field totaling up a customer’s purchases.

connection string

A string used in VB code that tells Access how to connect to a remote database. The string includes the server name and the database name and may contain the username and password.

control

A design element such as a text box, a combo box, or a label used to build forms and reports. Controls are used both to display data and to accept input.

control source

The place where a control gets its data, and where it stores user input. For example, if a text box has a field in a table as its control source, it automatically displays the value in that field—and when a new value is entered into the text box, it will be stored in that field. Not all controls have control sources.

criteria

See “query criteria.”

DAO

Data Access Objects. One of two commonly ...