Commands are just one click away
on the Quick Access Toolbar.
And the QAT, as its also called, always shows.
When you customize it to
see the commands you use the most,
you're more efficient and more productive.
For instance,
When designing forms and reports,
I love the commands to Align objects!
Left, Right, Top, and Bottom
The QAT also gives you a way
to use commands that aren't on the ribbon --
like Make Vertical Spacing Equal
Did you know that Access can distribute controls like that?
Access can do lots of things!
its amazing.
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I've just installed Office 365 on this machine.
When you open Access for the first time,
the default Quick Access Toolbar,
or QAT, is in the upper left.
It doesn't have much on it yet,
so it shares space with the title bar.
So far, there are just 3 commands, Save, Undo, and Redo.
However, the Quick Access Toolbar is a wonderful way
to help you work faster, and can have a lot more commands.
To customize the QAT, you can
click the arrow down at the end,
and choose More commands... from the list of choices.
A dialog box opens.
On the left are commands you can pick from to add.
On the right are commands on your QAT.
Above the left list is a drop-down
to choose what command set you want displayed.
By default, these will be the Popular Commands.
Although I'm not sure whose definition of 'popular' they're using.
You can also choose Commands Not in the Ribbon,
All Commands, Macros, or commands from particular ribbons.
I like to change this to show All Commands.
If this is your first time customizing the QAT,
you might want to take an hour or so
to browse through what's available.
There's a lot!
On the right, I click the command
that I want new commands to go below.
I generally add what I want below the default commands.
First, I'll add a few separators to save time later
from having to scroll up to the top of the list
to get a separator when I want it.
After postioning to the last item,
I double-click on the separator, several times
Now I click the first separator I added,
and start adding new commands.
Click on the left list to select it.
Then when you type a letter,
it jumps to the commands that start with that letter.
Scroll to what you want, then double-click it.
This adds it to your QAT commands.
Once you're done customizing the QAT,
you can export it to a file by clicking
the Import/Export drop-down in the lower right
and then choosing Export all customizations.
This opens the File Save dialog box
so you can put the file where you want it.
I normally change the folder and the name of the file
to include the version of Access I'm using
and yymmdd to indicate the date.
This time though, I will just
accept the default folder and filename
since there isn't anything I care about finding later.
Click the Save button to create a file
that can be copied and shared.
I noticed that the first time I do this,
the commands disappear from the menu.
Now I realize that its good to close the QAT to save it,
and then come back before exporting.
It doesn't matter right now though,
because I'm going to import customizations from a file.
Notice that before you customize the QAT,
you can choose if the new QAT
will be accessible for all documents
or just the database that you have open.
If you want the command to be accessible anytime
you use Access, leave this set for all documents.
I customized my QAT on another computer
and saved customization files.
Here are 3 customization files,
2 are for Access and 1 is for Excel.
I customize the QAT in all my applications.
The latest here, for Access, is a couple years old,
and my QAT has changed since then,
but importing this one will still save some time.
Copy the path to the clipboard
so navigating to the file will be faster.
In the lower right, drop the Import/Export list
and choose Import customization file.
Then browse to the folder where it is.
If the path is on the clipboard,
like it is for me right now,
paste it in the File name box using Ctrl-V,
press ENTER to show the files,
and choose the one you want.
What happens if I pick a file for Excel?
Let's find out.
A dialog box appears asking if I want to
Replace all existing customizations and I click "Yes".
Now Access tells me that
Only a customization file from Microsoft Access can be imported.
Now let me pick one that really is for Access!
Now I choose Import again,
paste my path, press Enter,
and pick the latest Access customization file.
Again, I click Yes to
Replace all existing Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar customizations for this program.
Voila! there they are!
I make the dialog box taller by clicking
on the grabber handle in the lower right
and dragging it down.
In the first group, with the default commands,
I also have Save As,
which I mostly use when I've changed the design of a query,
and want to give it a new name.
The advantage of this is that you can see what you're working on
when the dialog box pops up for a new name,
so it's easier to type a good one.
In the next set of commands
is the Relationships icon since I use this one a lot,
and icons to Switch and Tile Windows.
The next set has commands for working with queries
to switch views between Design, Datasheet, and SQL,
Clear the grid when I want to get information
from the same tables but different columns.
When the query I'm building uses tables that are linked through ODBC,
Open Database Connectivity,
converting it to pass-through will make it execute faster.
This Design View command is also for Forms and Reports,
so its the same one as the Design View for a query.
In the next set are commands to switch views for forms and reports.
Then come commands to Hide and Unhide Columns in datasheet view,
Refresh records, and Freeze and Unfreeze columns.
You'll notice that when there isn't a specific icon,
Access just uses a round green circle,
and you can hover over it to see what it really is.
The next several commands work in form and report design.
First are command to line up selected controls
to the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom.
These are some of my favorites.
After that are commands to Make Horizontal and Vertical Spacing Equal.
Then come commands to resize (controls)
to the Shortest or Tallest one,
or the Narrowest or Widest one.
When you want controls to move together,
you can Group them.
To move them independently, you can Ungroup them.
When you have controls that share space,
to make what is selected be on top, you can Bring to Front,
or if you want the selection to be behind everything,
you can Send to Back.
Special Effect determines how control borders will appear.
They can be Flat, Raised, Sunken, Etched, Shadowed, or Chiseled.
When forms are created using the wizard,
the controls are grouped into a layout,
and often, I want to Remove that Layout
so individual controls can be sized and positioned.
About tells you what version of Access you're using,
whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit,
your Product ID, the Session ID, License Terms,
and a link for other connected services.
Finally, if you have Embedded Macros, you can
Convert Macros to Visual Basic
for the active object.
This puts everything in the code behind the form or report,
in one place, so it's easier to see what is going on.
When you click OK, a message appears telling you that
You must close and repoen the current database
for the specified option to take effect.
This might be true the first time you customize the QAT,
but after that, it seems to change right away.
Now that there are so many icons on the QAT,
it's good for it to have its own line.
The whole thing doesn't even show.
Click the double arrow right
at the end to show More controls,
then click the drop-down arrow at the end
to show the menu, and choose Show Below the Ribbon.
Since the ribbon is collapsed,
the Quick Access Toolbar is displayed
directly below the ribbon names.
In summary, you learned about useful commands
you can add to a Quick Access toolbar
so you can work more efficiently.
I actually made a database in Access for this.
Amazing what Access can do
when you don't see the boundaries
that others who don't know it can impose.
To share your QAT with others,
or on another machine that you set up,
you can export your customizations to a file.
Then, QAT customizations can be imported.
I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.
To download the QAT that I demonstrated,
go to MsAccessGurus.com
Click on the Tools menu, and choose QAT.
You can download either an Access 2013 or 365 version.
If you need a lower version, send me an email
and I'll try my best to get one up.
If you're in a position to give a little,
at the bottom of the page is a Donate button.
I really appreciate every donation.
I spend a lot of time developing things to help you,
so its really nice to get your little Thank You's back.
If you're building an Access application,
let me help you.
I can connect to you,
and we work together.
Let me alleviate your frustration
and give you a leg up.
I'd love to help you.
You know your business.
I know how to automate,
and teach so you understand.
I also have extensive libraries
that we can pull in as needed.
Email me, training@msaccessgurus.com
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks for joining me.
Through sharing, we will all get better.