Microsoft Access Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft))
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Unlike other Access components, data access pages are not part of Access databases. The data access page you see inside Access is simply a link to an external DHTML (HTM) file stored on your computer or on a Web server. In addition to this file, the data access page can also have a linked folder of supporting files; if there is such a folder, it must be located in the same folder as the DHTML file to prevent problems when opening the data access page. Figure 18-1 shows a data access page file and its folder in Windows Explorer.
Figure 18-1. A data access page file can have a folder of supporting files.
caution
Don’t move or delete any of the corresponding HTM files of data access pages. Data access pages are dependent on these files. If you delete or move these files to a new location, Access won’t be able to locate them, and you will get an error message when opening the data access page.
A saved data access page exists as a file (and possibly a linked folder) on your computer. You can open a data access page even when Access is closed by double-clicking the HTM file in Windows Explorer on the same computer. The data access page will open in Internet Explorer, as shown in Figure 18-2.
Figure 18-2. Even when Access is closed, you can open a data access page in Internet Explorer.
The Data Access Page Designer introduced in Access 2000 made it much easier to design data access pages and bind them to either Access or Microsoft SQL Server data sources by using DHTML data binding and XML. Once you place a data access page on a Web page, any user with Internet Explorer 5 can access it. For some components, such as spreadsheets or PivotTables, users will also need the Office Web Components, included in Office 2000.
note
Adetailed discussion of DHTML and XML is beyond the scope of this book, but there are a lot of good books on these topics—whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced user. Check out http://mspress.microsoft.com or your favorite bookstore for a title that fits your needs. For information on working with Web servers, FrontPage, and HTML, see Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002 Inside Out by Jim Buyens (Microsoft Press, 2001.
Access 2002 takes a step forward with data access pages by introducing an enhanced PivotTable component and the new PivotChart component, which allow users to dynamically rearrange data (known as "slicing and dicing") to get just the view they want. The PivotChart component replaces the older, non-interactive Microsoft Graph-based Chart component. (This component is still called Charts in some parts of the interface).
The Office Spreadsheet component has also been enhanced, so that you can now bind spreadsheets to data without programming. The Data Access Page Designer has been enhanced in many ways, including two much-requested features: the data access page Designer now supports multilevel Undo and Redo, and Access forms can be saved as data access pages.
For a list of the new data access page features, refer to Chapter 1, "Exploring What’s New in Access 2002."