MS-Access / Getting Started

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Creating a New Web Database

When you first start Access 2010, you see the New tab on the Microsoft Office Backstage view.

Using a Database Template to Create a Web Database

Web databases are a new templafeature for Access 2010, so even if you're an experienced developer, you might find that studying the built-in web application templates will help you understand how to design and work with web databases. You might find that one of these applications meets most of your needs without any modifications. You can also build on and customize the basic web application design and add new features as your application needs grow.

On the New tab of the Backstage view, you can access the built-in locally installed web templates by clicking Sample Templates under Available Templates in the middle of the screen. When you click Sample Templates, the center section of the New tab changes to show a graphic representing each of the local database templates available in Access 2010.

Access 2010 includes over 10 locally installed database templates, five of which are web templates-Assets, Charitable Contributions, Contacts, Issues, and Projects. You can differentiate which templates under Sample Templates are web templates by looking for the world icon in the template graphic and by the word Web included in the file name. When you click one of the web template graphics in the center of the New tab, Access displays the file name and a larger graphic in the right task pane. Click the Projects Web Database template in the middle of the screen to see the file name and graphic for the Projects Web Database Template. You can work with all five local web templates from the New tab in the same way. This example will show you the steps that are needed to build a Projects web database.

Access suggests a name for your new web database in the File Name text box and a location to save the file beneath the File Name text box. You can modify the name of this web database by typing in the File Name text box. If you want to change the suggested save location, click Browse to open the File New Database dialog box.

You can select the drive and folder you want by clicking the links on the left and browsing to your destination folder. After you select the specific folder to which you want to save this new web database, click OK to return to the New tab on the Backstage view. Your new folder location is shown beneath the File Name text box. If you decide at this point not to create the web database, click the Home button near the top of the screen to return to the main Home page of the New tab to stop the process. Click Create to start the template instantiation process.

A progress bar appears on the screen informing you to please wait while Access creates the web template. After a few seconds of preparation, Access opens the new Projects web database and displays the Login form.

Dismiss this Login form for now by clicking the X button in the upper-right corner of the form window. After you close this form, Access displays the Main navigational form for the Projects web database.

This Projects web database is a complete application that can track the progress of your various projects. The database comes with tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros. Close this form by clicking the X button in the upper-right corner of the form window or by right-clicking the Main tab and clicking Close Form on the shortcut menu. Expand the Navigation pane now to see all the various objects contained in this database.

In a web database, like the Projects one here, any web objects-tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros-have a globe on the object icon to indicate they are web objects. In this Projects web database, as well as the other four built-in local web templates, all objects are web objects which means they will publish and render in a web browser. You can also use this application in Access client if you do not want to publish to a SharePoint server. We'll discuss designing and working with all the various web queries, forms, reports and macros. For now, close this new web database by clicking the File tab on the Backstage view and then clicking Close Database to return to the New tab.