Part I: Access Building Blocks
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Clipboard
The Clipboard group contains the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands. These commands work like
the commands in other applications (such as Word and Excel). The Paste command’s down arrow
gives you three choices: Paste, Paste Special, and Paste Append. Paste Special gives you the option
of pasting the contents of the Clipboard in different formats (Text, CSV, Records, and so on). Paste
Append pastes the contents of the Clipboard as a new record — as long as a row with a similar
structure was copied to the Clipboard.
Sort & Filter
The Sort & Filter group lets you change the order of the rows as well as limit the rows being dis-
played — based on criteria you want.
Records
The Records group lets you save, delete, or add a new record to the datasheet. It also contains
commands to show totals, check spelling, freeze and hide columns, and change the row height and
cell width.
Find
The Find group lets you find and replace data and go to specific records in the datasheet. Use the
Select command to select a record or all records.
Window
The Window group includes two buttons that help you control the items (forms, reports, tables,
and so on) that are open in the main Access window:
l Size to Fit Form: The Size to Fit Form button resizes the form in the window to fit the
size set when the form was created. By default, Access forms have a sizeable border, which
means the user might drag the form to a new size. The Size to Fit Form button restores a
form to the size specified at design time.
l Switch Windows: The Switch Windows button lets you choose a different open window
to work with. A form or report needed by the user might be under another form or report,
and the Switch Windows button provides a quick way to select which object is on top of
the other objects in the Access main window.
Text Formatting
The Text Formatting group lets you change the look of text fields in the datasheet. Use these com-
mands to change the font, size, bold, italic, color, and so on. Selecting a font attribute (such as
bold) applies the attribute to all fields in the datasheet (see the Note just below this paragraph for
the only exception to this rule). Use the Align Left, Align Right, and Align Center commands to
justify the data in the selected column. Click the Gridlines command to toggle gridlines on and off.
Use the Alternate Fill/Back Color command to change the colors of alternating rows or to make
them all the same. All the controls in the Text Formatting group are disabled when the focus is on
a field that is not either the Text or Memo data types.
