View system tables in database window

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how can I view system tables in the database window?
Answer: Under the Tools menu, select "Options".

Hide tables as system tables in Access

Question: I've created an Access 2003/XP/2000/97 database and flagged all of the tables as hidden objects. The users have figured out how to display these hidden tables. Is there any way that I can keep my tables from being displayed in the database window?
Answer: If you've tried setting your tables as hidden objects and the users are still able to find them, you can always set your tables up as system tables. Inside of your Access database, there are several system tables that even you can't see. These tables are used internally by the Access database.

Hide tables as hidden objects

Question: In an Access 2003/XP/2000/97 database, I've created a table that I don't want others to see. How can I hide a table from appearing in the database window?
Answer: If you don't want users to see a table in an Access database, you can mark the table as a hidden object.

Open the database exclusively

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, I tried modifying some of the objects in my Access database and I received an error message stating that I needed to open the database exclusively. What does this mean and how do I open a database exclusively?
Answer: Because Access was designed to accommodate multiple users in the system at the same time, you may need to have exclusive access to the database to modify forms, tables, etc. depending on the circumstances.

Display/Unhide the database window

There are different ways that the database window can be hidden in Access 2003/XP/2000/97. As a result, there are also different methods for displaying a hidden database window. We'll go through the options from the easily method to the most difficult.

Method #1

This is the easiest and most common method of unhiding a database window.
Under the Window menu, select Unhide.

Hide the database window

There are different ways that the database window can be hidden in Access 2003/XP/2000/97. We'll go through the options from the easily method to the most difficult.

Method #1

This is the easiest and most common method of hiding a database window.
Under the Window menu, select Hide.

With this method if a user chooses to display the database window, it will remain visible even if the user closes down the database file and reopens it.

View only records with uppercase letters for a certain field in Access

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, if I wanted to view only the records with Uppercase letters for a certain field, how would I do it?
For example, the query would ignore "Bob", but show "JOHN".
Answer: Access was built to be case-INSENSITIVE, but we can always use the ASC function to determine upper vs lower case.

Calculate and format an elapsed time value in Access

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how do I format a time on a report so it appears as elapsed hours and minutes?
For example, 27 hours and 31 minutes appears as 27:31. I can do this for values up to 24 hours. But for anything over 24 hours, the full day(s) are dropped off.
Answer: A "elapsed time" is usually calculated by taking the difference between two dates. So, you will need to store the "from" and "to" dates separately and then calculate the elapsed time.

Convert currency into words

Question: In Access, how can I convert currency to words?
For example,

$100 should read as "one hundred exactly"

Answer: To convert currency into words, you'll need to open your Access database and create a new module.

Generate a random number between 2 user-specified values

In Access, the Rnd function allows you to generate a random number (integer value). You can specify the random number to be a value between 2 user-specified numbers.
The syntax for the Rnd function is:

Int ((upperbound - lowerbound + 1) * Rnd + lowerbound)

upperbound is the highest value that the random number can be.
lowerbound is the lowest value that the random number can be.

Report Example (Employee hours worked per day)

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, I have a database where I report employee hours daily. I need a report that displays the hours worked daily and the total of hours worked per week per employee.
Answer: We've created a sample Access database that contains the tables, queries, and reports required to demonstrate this example.

Display parameter values in a report based on a parameter query

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how do I display parameter values in a report based on a parameter query?
Answer: To display a parameter value in a report, you will need to redesign your parameter query to return the parameter as a field in the result set.
We've created an Access sample that you can download.

Renumber invoices with VBA code

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, I have a database which contains a large number of records. Each week, I need to renumber the INVOICE NUMBER field in a table named DATA with a new batch of numbers.
Answer: You can renumber your invoice numbers using a custom function.
Open your Access database, click on the Modules tab and create a new Module. Paste in the following

Change AutoFormat (background style) for a form in Access

Also learn how to change AutoFormat (background style) for a form in Access 2007 | Access 2003/XP/2000/97.

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, is it possible to change a background style for a form?
Example: I have a user who wants to change the background throughout the application. When it was originally created the autoformat "Expedition" was utilized.
Answer: You can change the background style of an object using an AutoFormat. To do this, open the form in design view. In this example, we've opened the form called Customers.

Prevent the mouse wheel from scrolling through records in a form in Access

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how do I prevent the mouse wheel from scrolling through records in a form?
Answer: You'll have to download the following MouseWheel.dll file and copy it to each computer that you wish to prevent scrolling.

Set form colors to be consistent on different computers in Access

Also learn how to set form colors to be consistent on different computers in Access 2007 | Access 2003/XP/2000/97.

Question: I want to deploy an Access 2003/XP/2000/97 application. The forms have non-default colors. When I test the application over the network the colors change to access default or desktop default. How can I force my colors to the user screen?

Set the background color of a button in Access

Also learn how to set the background color of a button in Access 2007 | Access 2003/XP/2000/97.

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how do I set the background color of a command button?
Answer: Unfortunately, you can't change the back color of a command button. As an alternative, you could create a label and have it behave as a button.

Query to retrieve max date in Access

Also learn how to create a query to retrieve max date in Access 2007 | Access 2003/XP/2000/97.

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how can I build a query to select the latest date among several records?
Answer: To do this, open your query in Design view. Select the field that contains the date values. In this example, we've selected the Order_Date field.

Retrieve the user name from Windows while in a database in Access

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, how can I retrieve the name of the user logged into Windows?
Answer: To retrieve the user name from Windows, create a new Module in Access.
Paste the following code into the Module:

MS Access: Populate underlying table when new entries are keyed into combo box in Accesscombo box

Also learn how to populate underlying table when new entries are keyed into combo box in Access 2007 | Access 2003/XP/2000/97.

Question: In Access 2003/XP/2000/97, I have a form that is bound to a table. I have created a combo box on this form that obtains its values from a field that resides in a different table from the one that the form is bound to. When I enter values in this combo box I want those values written back to the associated field. How do I setup the combo box so that entries in the combo box are written back to the field in the table it came from?