Contents
The Access 2007 Interface
Keyboard Shortcuts in Access 2007
How to Create New Databases and Open Existing Databases
How to Save and Close Databases
The Four Types of Access Objects
How to Navigate the Access
Work Space
How to Navigate Access Datasheets
Access Views
How to Print Access Objects
How to Create Tables
How to Populate Tables
How to Create Access Forms
How to Build Access Queries
How to Create Access Reports
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How to Navigate the Access Work Space
To work effectively in Access, you need to know how to navigate around the Access work space.
How to Use the Navigation Pane
Double-clicking on an object listed in the Navigation pane opens up the object and creates a document tab for it in the document pane. The various objects in your database will typically be organized into at least two groups, or divisions; each group gets its own heading in the Navigation pane. For instance, the database in the sample Access 2007 interface image contains two group headings: Contacts and Supporting Objects. You can click on the headings to show or hide the objects that the heading contains.
How to Group Objects in the Navigation Pane
To organize the objects in your database into separate groups, right-click on an empty part of the Navigation pane and choose Navigation Options. In the dialog box that appears, click on the name of the current database in the left menu and then click on the Add Group button. When you click OK, headings for the new group(s) you’ve added will appear in the Navigation pane. Click and drag objects to bring them under your respective group headings.
How to Sort Objects in the Navigation Pane
You can set the order in which the Navigation pane displays the objects in your database by clicking on the tiny down arrow 
at the top right of the Navigation pane. The two main options you’ll see when you click on the down arrow are Navigate to Category and Filter by Group:
at the top right of the Navigation pane. The two main options you’ll see when you click on the down arrow are Navigate to Category and Filter by Group:- Navigate to Category: Sorts the objects in your database by specific categories, such as the type of object or the date on which the object was created. For instance, if you choose the Object Type option, the Navigation pane will display a list of your objects sorted into forms, reports, queries, and tables. To create your own custom category, right-click on any empty portion of the Navigation pane and choose Category > Custom.
- Filter by Group: Lets you choose which groups of objects to show in the Navigation pane. For instance, if you sort by object, you can then use Filter by Group to show only the tables in your database (or whatever combination of groups you’d like to display).
How to Navigate Among Database Objects
In previous versions of Access, objects would appear in separate windows—for instance, if you opened a report and a table, each would appear in its own separate window. This system made it difficult to see which objects were open, as the objects’ windows would obscure one another.
Access 2007 solves the problem with document tabs, which display all the open objects in a database concurrently. (Objects in Access are considered “open” once you’ve double-clicked on them in the Navigation pane to work on them.) Once you open an object, its tab appears at the top of the document pane. Each tab includes the name of the object and an icon indicating its object type (report, form, and so on). The active tab (the tab in which you’re currently working) appears in a different color from the other open non-active tabs.
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