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Access Tables and the Internet
Microsoft has made it easier to develop Internet-aware applications by including the Hyperlink field type and by allowing users to save table data as HTML. The Hyperlink field type lets your users easily store UNC or URL addresses within their tables. The ability to save table data as HTML makes it easy for you or your users to publish table data on an Internet or intranet site. The sections that follow cover these features.
The Hyperlink Field Type
By using the Hyperlink field type, your users can store a different UNC or URL address for each record in the table. Although you can type a different UNC or URL address directly into a field, it's much easier to enter the address by using the Insert Hyperlink dialog box (see Figure 2.24). Here, users can graphically browse hyperlink addresses and subaddresses, and the address is entered automatically when they exit the dialog box. To invoke the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, choose Insert, Hyperlink with the cursor placed in the Hyperlink field, or click the Insert Hyperlink button.
Figure 2.24. With the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, users can select or create a hyperlink object for the field.
The Text to Display text box is used to enter the text the user will see when viewing the field data in Datasheet view, in a form, or on a report. The hyperlink can be to any of the following:
- An existing file or Web page
- Another object in the current database
- A new data access page
- An email address
To select an existing file or Web page, click the appropriate Link To icon and either type the file or Web page name, or select it from the list of Recent Files, Browsed Pages, or the Current Folder. The Browse for File button is used to browse for an existing file and the Browse the Web button is used to browse for an existing Web page.To link to an object in the current database, click the appropriate Link To icon. Click a plus (+) sign to expand the list of tables, queries, forms, reports, pages, macros, or modules. Then click the database object to which you want to link.To link to a new data access page that you create, click the appropriate Link To icon. Enter the name of the new page and designate whether you want to edit the new page now or later.To designate an email address you want to link to, click the appropriate Link To icon. Enter the email address and subject, or select from the list of recently used email addresses.After all the required information has been entered, the link is established and the hyperlink is entered in the field. If a UNC was entered, clicking the hyperlink invokes the application associated with the file. The selected file is opened, and the user is placed in the part of the document designated in the subaddress. If a URL is entered, and the user is logged on to the Internet or connected to her company's intranet, the user is taken directly to the designated page. If the user isn't currently connected to the Internet or an intranet, the Connect To dialog appears, allowing her to log on to the appropriate network.
Saving Table Data as HTML
Table data can be easily saved as HTML so that it can be published on an Internet or intranet site. You can save a file as HTML by using the File, Export menu item. The steps are as follows:
Figure 2.25 shows you how your published Access table might look, and Figure 2.26 displays the underlying HTML that can be edited by using any HTML editor.
Figure 2.25. Viewing an HTML document in Internet Explorer after a table was saved as HTML. (Note the ugly gaps for fields lacking data.)
Figure 2.26. Viewing HTML generated when a table is saved as HTML.
NOTEBuilding applications for the Internet is covered extensively in Alison Balter's Mastering Access 2002 Enterprise Development .
Saving Table Data as XML
Access 2003 allows you to export Jet or SQL data to XML, and to import data from XML. Using either code or the Access user interface to export XML data, you can generate data (XML), schema (XSD), and presentation (XSL) files. Although in-depth coverage of Access and XML is included in Alison Balter's Mastering Access 2002 Enterprise Development , this section provides you with basic information about the import and export processes. To export a table to XML, follow these steps:
Figure 2.27. The XML Export dialog allows you to designate the specifics of the export process.
Just as you can export data to XML, you can import XML data into Access. To import XML data into an Access table, follow these steps:
Figure 2.28. The Import XML dialog allows you to designate options used for the import process.
