The following tips will help you work with your Access projects. You may want to check in again later—we'll be adding more tips as we go.

Working with your data

• When you choose "*", all currently defined columns for the tables you are using are included. If a table definition changes, the list of columns returned by "*" changes as well. It is recommended that, if practical, you specify the columns you want to work with instead of using "*".
• Use annotations to describe the relationships between tables in your diagram. You can also generate relationship labels automatically.
• Joins work fastest if the columns in the join condition have been indexed. In some cases, joining on unindexed columns can result in a slow query.
• Add a data row at a specific location in the Grid pane by inserting a blank row and then specifying the data column to insert.
• If you set the maximum record limit to a high value, and browsing your data takes a long time, you can cancel the operation by clicking Cancel Query or pressing CTRL+BREAK.
• To make it easier to type the SELECT statement, right-click the RecordSource property and click Zoom, or click the Build button next to the RecordSource property to open the Query Builder.
• If records are displayed in tabular format, click the label of a field to sort records. The records will display in ascending order. To sort records in descending order, click the label again.
• You can often use the IN operator to search for multiple values in the same data column.
• If you are searching for a range of values, use the BETWEEN operator instead of linking two conditions with AND.
• You can repeat an AND condition by adding it once, and then using the Cut and Paste commands from the Edit menu to repeat it for other OR conditions.
• To insert the current date when entering data in Datasheet or Form view, press Ctrl + Semicolon.
• To do calculations in Access, write an expression using Expression Builder.

Settings and customizing

• To determine the case sensitivity of a Microsoft SQL Server installation, execute the system stored procedure sp_server_info, and then examine the contents of row 18. If the server has been installed with the case-insensitive setting, the option for sort_order will be set to nocase _iso.
• To make it easier to see long expressions on your screen, resize the columns in the Grid pane.
• To center the entire diagram in the window, use Select All to highlight all objects in the database diagram and then choose Zoom Selection from the Zoom submenu on the View menu. This will zoom your diagram to fit in the current diagram window size.

Working with files

• To view a list of shortcuts to Access projects that you have opened previously, click History on the left side of the Open dialog box.
• You can find a list of recently used files at the bottom of the File menu. If the list isn't displayed, click Options on the Tools menu, click the General tab, and then select the Recently used file list check box.
• To create a shortcut, drag a database object in an Access project or Access database to the desktop.