Appendix B: What’s New in Access 2010
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Fields can easily be added from Datasheet view, and there is now a Field Template pane from
which you can choose a field complete with name, data type, length, and pre-populated properties.
You can also set up your own field templates and standard definitions to share with a workgroup
or department.
Forms
With the expanded field list task pane, you can now add fields that are part of the recordset, as
well as fields from other tables that are not. Access will automatically set up any relationships that
are required as you drag the field onto the form. A split view is available to show both the Form
view and Datasheet view on the same form. The datasheet can be placed on the top, bottom, left,
or right side of a split form. Form design has been greatly enhanced with a new view called Layout
view. With Layout view, you can perform many of the most common form edit tasks while looking
at the data on the form itself as opposed to the standard form design option, which does not dis-
play the recordset.
If you’re tired of the same old colors and options, you’ll really enjoy the new format and color
options. Access now has almost 40 standard themes that can be applied to new or existing forms.
Each theme specifies the fonts, font sizes and colors, and many control colors and other appearance
attributes of the form. A theme can be applied to a single form or to all forms in the application.
Custom themes are easily created from forms in an application and are saved as discrete files in the
Office Themes folder. A portion of the themes supported by Access 2010 is shown in Figure B.10.
FIGURE B.10
Access 2010 comes with a wide variety of built-in themes for forms and reports.
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