Exploring the Visual Basic Editor in Access
If you use Access a lot, you are familiar with its database layout. When you open Access, a
standard view looks like Figure 1-2. You have the Office ribbon across the top and a window
on the left-hand side that lets you define and edit various database objects such as tables,
queries, forms, and reports.
Readers who have already used Access 2007 will be familiar with the new ribbon style
menu, but if you are upgrading from an older version of Access, you will find that the user
interface is completely different than what you are used to. In some ways, first-time users
have a big advantage here because they are not looking for menu options in the old places. It
can be quite frustrating if you know the old menu system and are trying to adjust to the new
ribbon.
Fortunately, the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) window has stayed much the same as in older
versions of Access, so if you have used Access 2003/2007 to design VBA code, you will not
find too many differences.4 Microsoft Access 2010 VBA Macro Programming
Figure 1-1 The Macro editor window showing the Add New Action drop-down