Appendix B: What’s New in Access 2010
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Access 2007 and 2010 tables support the attachment data type. An attachment field accepts virtu-
ally any type of Windows file, and stores it in the .accdb database file without conversion. A sin-
gle attachment field may contain multiple files, of different types. Attachments are very useful for
storing files that are logically related (such as project files, including Word documents, Excel
spreadsheets, Visio drawings, and so on).Perhaps the most significant addition to Access 2010 tables is the ability to add data macros to a
table. A data macro is much like any other macro except that it’s bound to a table and triggered
when certain data events (Before Change, Before Delete, After Insert, and so on) occur with the
table and its data. Data macros are an excellent way to enforce business rules, transform data, and
perform other operations involving the table’s data. Data macros travel with the table to which
they’re attached, regardless of where the table is used in an Access application. Data macros are
entirely transparent to the user and provide very granular control over a table and its data.Datasheet View
Datasheet view is an excellent tool for reviewing, modifying, or verifying your data. The new enhance-
ments include embedding filters and simple mathematical expressions as part of the view itself.Filtering is now contextual to the field type you choose and many new point-and-click sorts are
available. Figure B.7 shows the filters Access supports for date fields. Similar filters are available for
numeric and text data, as well.You can also click on a field within a row and get additional sort-and-filter options based on the
field’s content. Figure B.8 shows a few of the filtering options for text data.FIGURE B.7
Datasheet view supports a number of powerful filtering and sorting options.50_475348-bapp02.indd 125950_475348-bapp02.indd 1259 4/1/10 2:01 PM4/1/10 2:01 PM