Open Programs Lessons

Welcome to Access Open Programs. Total running time is 1 Hour, 19 Minutes.

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Lessons

Addendum

Since releasing this class, I've put together some additional videos for my TechHelp series that have to do with hyperlinks, including links to other external files. Watch both of these. I've included the Members Only Extended Cut for students of this seminar.

There are also 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Shell Execute function in the Code Vault for students of this class:

Shell Execute 32-bit
Shell Execute 64-bit

Resources

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Intro

In this lesson, you will learn how to use Microsoft Access to open external programs and display files such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, images, text files, and web pages. We will review how to display external images in Access forms, cover using the Shell function to launch specific applications for different file types, and introduce the Shell Execute method to open files with their default Windows programs. You will also learn how to open the default web browser to view custom URLs from your database. This training assumes you have completed the Access Imaging Seminar and are using Access 2013 or later.

Transcript

Welcome to the Opening Other Programs seminar brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.

Yes, the name of this seminar is Opening Other Programs. The reason why is because we are going to use Access to open up other programs to display files. If you want to display a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet or a text file in Notepad or a PDF file, perhaps you want to display a picture using your picture editor. Perhaps you want to open a web browser and browse to a specific URL or web page address.

I racked my brains for about 30 minutes trying to come up with a really cool name for the seminar, and it all came back to this: we are going to learn how to open other programs using Access.

Now, this course could be considered a sequel to my Access Imaging Seminar. I am going to assume that you have taken the Access Imaging Seminar because some of the stuff I am going to cover today is a little bit of a review from some things we covered in the Imaging Seminar.

The Imaging Seminar focused primarily on working with picture files, images, JPEGs, GIFs, bitmaps, and so on. I showed you how to work with the different types of OLE objects. An OLE object, or Object Linking and Embedding, is basically any type of file. It could be a picture, a Word document, or an Excel spreadsheet. We focused primarily on storing those objects inside of our database. We learned how to embed and link those objects into our tables and forms.

We also learned how OLE objects and the built-in file attachment type are not necessarily a good way to go about storing your data. I personally do not like storing files inside my database because your database gets bloated. If you start putting lots of pictures and spreadsheets and other types of attachments in your database file, it gets big, it gets slow, and it is much more likely to become corrupt. There are many reasons why you do not want to store files inside your database.

A little bit later on in the Access Imaging Seminar, I showed you how to display external images in your forms and your reports. You simply store the full path and file name in a text field in your database, and you can then use that to display the image right inside your database. You do not have to actually store the file in the database to display it. We set up a default shared images folder.

I also showed you how to use the common dialog control to click on any file to browse your hard drive, pick a file, and it would copy that file to the shared images folder. I am not going to cover that in today's seminar. I have already spent about an hour covering it in the Access Imaging Seminar. If you want to be able to browse and pick a file, I strongly recommend you pick up the Access Imaging Seminar if you have not already watched it.

Today, I am just going to assume you are going to manually copy the files to your shared images folder. Now, with all that said and done, I really did not show you a lot about how to work with other types of files that are stored externally from your database.

So, today we are going to first review how to display external images in your Access forms. That is easy. Then I am going to show you how to use the Shell function, which is built into Access, to open external files where you know the file type: Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, picture files, and so on. I will show you how to open up a specific program like Notepad or Microsoft Word to display that known file type.

We will need to learn how to teach Access to determine what type of application to open. However, sometimes you may run into a situation where you do not know what default program to open it with. You may, for example, send someone a Word document and they do not have Microsoft Word on their system. However, WordPad, which comes with Windows, will open a Word document. Or you might not know what program handles images on their system, so you do not know whether to open Photoshop or a different type of graphics program.

That is where we are going to use the Shell Execute function, which is a function we are going to have to actually put in the system ourselves. It does not come with Access. We will use that to open the file in whatever its default handler is - whatever program is installed on the computer that opens that file type based on the file extension.

Now, since we are learning how to open up external programs, which is the topic of the seminar, we are also going to see how to open up the default web browser. Whether it is Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Firefox, we can send the user to a custom web page by designing the URL ourselves and then launching the default web browser. For example, I will show you how to load Google Maps up to a specific address. We will put the person's address in the database, you will click on a button, and it will launch the web browser and take them right to that address.

There are all kinds of things you can do once you know how to open up external programs using Access. That is why I really had a hard time coming up with a name for this seminar, because it is more than just working with external files - we can also work with web page addresses. Basically, we are opening up other programs.

Again, I strongly recommend the prerequisite Access Imaging Seminar. If you have not taken that, I strongly recommend that first. Then continue on with the lessons for today.

I am going to be using Access 2013 in this class. I am pretty sure everything I am going to show you works with 2007 and 10 as well. Of course, if you are using an older version of Access, you really should upgrade to 2013. With Microsoft's new Office 365 subscription programs, price is really no longer a concern for most people.

I think that the stuff I am going to show you today works with Access 2003, but I cannot guarantee it. I still do not have 2003 installed on any of my machines, so I really cannot test it. If you are using 2003 or older and you are trying the seminar and something really does not work, let me know. If I cannot come up with a solution for you, I will figure something out.

If you need help, feel free to post in the forums on my website. You can find the forums at AccessLearningZone.com/forums. The sample database for this class can be found on the databases page. You will need the password that was emailed to you when you purchased this seminar.

If you get stuck and you cannot figure it out and you do not have time to wait for a response in the forums, you can always contact me or my team at the TechHelp page: AccessLearningZone.com/TechHelp. We have both free and paid assistance available.

That is all for the intro. In the next lesson, we will get started building our database.

Thanks for watching.

Quiz

Q1. What is the main focus of the "Opening Other Programs" seminar?
A. Learning how to store more data in Access tables
B. Using Access to open and interact with external programs and files
C. Creating forms and reports with Access
D. Synchronizing two Access databases

Q2. Which of the following is NOT a recommended use of OLE objects or file attachments in Access, according to the seminar?
A. Storing lots of images and files within the database
B. Displaying images external to the database
C. Linking to external document locations
D. Using the database to display but not store files

Q3. What major issue can occur if you store many files such as images or documents directly inside your Access database?
A. The database becomes read-only
B. The software will stop working
C. The database can become bloated and corrupt
D. Your files get lost automatically

Q4. What method does the seminar recommend for displaying external images in Access forms?
A. Embedding images as OLE objects
B. Storing only the file path and name in a text field
C. Using a hyperlink field type
D. Saving images as binary data in a memo field

Q5. What is the Shell function in Access used for in the context of this seminar?
A. Backing up Access databases to the cloud
B. Opening external programs to view known file types
C. Encrypting important data
D. Syncing Access with online forms

Q6. What is an advantage of using the Shell Execute function over the Shell function?
A. Shell Execute backs up your files automatically
B. Shell Execute allows files to be opened in their default associated applications without knowing the exact program
C. Shell Execute loads files into Access memory
D. Shell Execute only works with images

Q7. What example is provided for using Access to open a web browser and direct it to a customized URL?
A. Opening Bing search results
B. Launching Google Maps to a specific person's address from your database
C. Opening Yahoo Mail login page
D. Launching Microsoft Word online

Q8. What prerequisite is strongly recommended before taking the "Opening Other Programs" seminar?
A. Access VBA Programming Seminar
B. Access Imaging Seminar
C. Access Security Seminar
D. Access Macros Seminar

Q9. According to the video, which versions of Access are supported by the techniques taught in this seminar?
A. Only Access 2013
B. Access 2007, 2010, and 2013; possibly 2003 but not guaranteed
C. Access 2000 only
D. Only Access 2016 and newer

Q10. If a student needs additional help beyond the seminar and forums, where else can they seek assistance?
A. Only community forums
B. The database tutorials page
C. The AccessLearningZone.com TechHelp page, which offers both free and paid help
D. The Microsoft Support phone line

Answers: 1-B; 2-A; 3-C; 4-B; 5-B; 6-B; 7-B; 8-B; 9-B; 10-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from Access Learning Zone covers the topic of opening other programs using Microsoft Access. My goal here is to show you how we can use Access not just for databases, but also as a launching point for opening a variety of different external programs and viewing different types of files. For example, if you want to view a Word document, open up an Excel spreadsheet, display a text file in Notepad, launch a PDF, or show an image file using your favorite image editor, these are all scenarios we're going to tackle. This also includes opening a web browser and sending it directly to a specific web address.

I spent some time trying to come up with a more creative name for this seminar, but at the core, this lesson is about opening other programs with Access.

If you have taken my Access Imaging Seminar, you will find that some of today's material will serve as a review. In the Imaging Seminar, we mainly focused on handling image files like JPEGs, GIFs, and bitmaps. I walked you through the use of OLE objects, which stands for Object Linking and Embedding. Essentially, OLE objects allow you to store different file types, such as pictures or Microsoft Office documents, directly in your database tables. There, we mostly talked about how to embed and link these files in tables and forms.

However, we also discussed some major reasons why embedding files inside your database is not a good long-term solution. Storing files within the database can make your file grow rapidly in size, become more sluggish, and increase the risk of corruption. For these reasons, I usually advise against putting attachments right into your database.

The Imaging Seminar wrapped up by showing how to display images in your forms and reports without embedding them in the database. Instead, you maintain a text field with the full path and filename of the file, then dynamically display that image. This approach keeps your database smaller and more optimized. We also set up a default shared folder for images and used Access to browse and pick files to copy into that directory. If you want more details on that browsing functionality, please see the Imaging Seminar, as I dedicated a full hour to it and will not be reviewing it in this seminar.

For today, I am going to assume you will handle placing files in your shared folder yourself. What this seminar adds is working with a broader range of files stored externally, not just images.

Our first step will be to review how to display external images in Access forms. From there, I will introduce you to the Shell function in Access. This lets you open specific external files when you already know the type, such as a Word document, spreadsheet, or image. I will show you how to launch a specific program, like Notepad or Word, to display recognizable files.

Some cases require Access to decide what program to use, and this is where it gets more interesting. For example, suppose you send a Word document to someone who does not have Microsoft Word. Instead, their computer might use WordPad, or a completely different text editor, for that file type. Similarly, different people use different programs for pictures. So, you cannot always assume what the default application will be on any given computer.

To address this, we use the Shell Execute function. This is not built into Access by default, so I will show you how to add it. Shell Execute allows you to open any file with its default handler, whatever application is associated with that file extension on the user's computer.

Beyond handling files, I will also show you how to open up the default web browser from Access, no matter if it is Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, or another. We will see how to send the user to a custom web page, like loading Google Maps with a specific address from your database records. For example, you will be able to store a person's address, then click a button and have the browser open Google Maps to that location.

This ability to launch other programs opens up a wide range of possibilities, both for files and for web access, which is why I ended up choosing such a broad seminar name.

If you have not watched the Access Imaging Seminar already, I strongly recommend it as a prerequisite. It will give you the background you need to get the most out of today's session.

I am using Access 2013 for all of the demonstrations, but you should find everything works in Access 2007 and 2010 as well. If you are on an older version like Access 2003, I advise you to upgrade. With the Office 365 subscriptions, the price is now much more manageable, and keeping current gives you access to all of the latest features. I think most of what I show today works in Access 2003, but I cannot guarantee it since I do not have that version to test with. If you encounter any problems using an older version, let me know and I will do my best to help.

If you ever have questions, feel free to post them in the forums on my website. You will also find the sample database for this class on the databases page, and you need the password that was emailed to you when you purchased the seminar. If you are really stuck and need immediate help, you can reach me or my team at the TechHelp page on AccessLearningZone.com, where both free and paid support is available.

That is all the introduction for today. In the next lesson, we will begin building our database.

You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Displaying external images in Access forms
Using the Shell function to open external files
Opening files in specific programs like Word or Notepad
Teaching Access to determine the correct application for file types
Using the Shell Execute function to open files with default programs
Launching the default web browser from Access
Building a URL to open specific web pages (e.g., Google Maps)