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Intro

In lesson 329 you will learn how to build a purchase order report in Microsoft Access, including how to send the report to vendors, handle situations where no data is found, and mark purchase orders as closed once completed. We will also cover how to receive parts from vendors, track shipments, and manage items as received. Additionally, you will see how to send emails through Microsoft Outlook, both for individual purchase orders and bulk email blasts. The lesson is taught using Microsoft Access 2003, but most topics apply to earlier versions as well.

Transcript

Welcome to Microsoft's Access 329, brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com.

I'm your instructor, Richard Rost.

There is a lot of material to cover in today's class. We're going to build a purchase order report that we can actually send out to the vendor.

We're going to learn about the no-data event and what happens when you try to open a report and nothing shows up.

We're going to mark purchase orders closed so that you can't add any more parts to them.

Then we'll see how we can receive parts from the vendor when our shipment actually comes in. We get to mark those as received.

We're also going to learn about email and sending email through Outlook. Access and Outlook work pretty well together except for one minor glitch.

I'll show you how to email your single purchase orders to the vendors, and I'll show you how to send bulk email through Outlook in case you want to send an email blast to all of your customers, for example.

In this class, I'll be working with Microsoft Access 2003. However, most of the material should be backward compatible with all previous versions of Access, back to about Access 2000.

I strongly recommend you sit back and relax, watch the lesson one time through, then watch it a second time following along with the examples, and build the database that I build in class.

Don't try to apply what you learn immediately to whatever other databases you might be working on.

The database files for this class can be found online at accesslearningzone.com/students. You'll find a list of all the sample database files there.

Again, it's strongly recommended that you build the databases in class that I am building.

If you have any questions about the material covered in today's class, please feel free to post a note in the student interaction forums. You'll see the student interaction forums next to the video window.

If you're watching this class on our website or you're using our video player software and you're connected to the internet, you should see the little student interaction forums pop up right next to the video player.

If you have any other Access questions, please visit the forums on the website at accesslearningzone.com/forums. We've got brand new interactive forums as of October 2008. I created all brand new forums.

You can log on, check them out, and chat with me, other students, and other Access experts.

Of course, I can't stress enough again: do the examples yourself. You will benefit the most by building the databases that I build in class.

Quiz

Q1. What is the primary project you will work on in Access 329?
A. Designing a payroll system report
B. Building a purchase order report to send to vendors
C. Creating an inventory forecast spreadsheet
D. Developing a customer feedback survey

Q2. Which event in Access will you learn about that is triggered when a report has no data to show?
A. OnOpen event
B. No-Data event
C. AfterUpdate event
D. OnClick event

Q3. What happens to purchase orders once they are marked as closed in the course material?
A. They are deleted from the database
B. No more parts can be added to them
C. They are automatically sent to vendors
D. Only administrators can view them

Q4. What new process will you learn regarding parts received from the vendor?
A. Sending parts back to the vendor
B. Marking parts as lost
C. Marking parts as received in the database
D. Creating a shipping label for each part

Q5. What capability will you gain regarding email and Access by the end of the class?
A. How to fax reports using Access
B. How to synchronize email with Excel
C. How to send emails through Outlook, both individually and in bulk
D. How to import emails directly into Access tables

Q6. Which versions of Microsoft Access are the lessons in this class compatible with, as mentioned in the introduction?
A. Only Access 2003
B. All versions after Access 2013
C. Access 2000 and up, including Access 2003
D. Access 97 only

Q7. What is recommended regarding how to watch or participate in this class?
A. Try to apply the lessons immediately to other databases
B. Watch once, then follow along building the sample database on a second viewing
C. Only read the lesson summary
D. Skip the example building step

Q8. Where can you find the database files used in the class?
A. Only available on a USB drive
B. Sent by email to each student
C. Online at accesslearningzone.com students section
D. Included as attachments in the course forum

Q9. If you have questions during the course, what is the recommended way to get help?
A. Email the instructor directly
B. Search for help on unrelated forums
C. Post a note in the student interaction forums next to the video window
D. Wait for the next scheduled live Q&A

Q10. What is the best way to maximize your learning from this Access class, according to the instructor?
A. Watch the video without doing the examples
B. Only take notes without practicing
C. Build the databases yourself following the examples in class
D. Share your answers with classmates

Answers: 1-B; 2-B; 3-B; 4-C; 5-C; 6-C; 7-B; 8-C; 9-C; 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 focuses on Microsoft Access 329 and covers several important topics related to managing purchase orders. In this lesson, I will walk you through creating a purchase order report that you can send out directly to your vendors.

One topic we will address is the no-data event in Access reports. I will explain what happens when you open a report and there is no data to display, so you know how to handle those situations effectively.

We will also make sure that completed purchase orders are marked as closed, preventing any additional parts from being added to them. This helps maintain the integrity of your records.

When it comes time to receive items from vendors, I will show you how to mark those parts as received within your database, keeping your inventory up to date.

Another key area we will explore is sending email through Microsoft Outlook. Access and Outlook integrate well for the most part, although there is one minor issue that I will address and provide solutions for. I will guide you through emailing individual purchase orders to your vendors, as well as sending bulk emails using Outlook if you need to send notifications or messages to all of your customers.

Throughout the course, I will be using Microsoft Access 2003. However, most of the techniques we cover should be compatible with earlier versions of Access, going back as far as Access 2000.

I recommend that you watch the lesson once from beginning to end before following along with the examples and building the database as I do in the class. It's best not to try applying these concepts to your own existing databases right away. Focus instead on recreating the database I build in the lesson, as this hands-on practice is the most effective way to learn.

The sample database files for this class are available at accesslearningzone.com/students, where you can find a complete set of example files for your use.

If you have any questions about today's material, feel free to post them in the student interaction forums. These can be accessed either on the website or next to the video window if you are using our video player software. The forums offer a place to interact with me, fellow students, and other Access experts.

Remember, the best way to master these skills is to do the examples yourself and build the databases as shown in the lessons.

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

Building a purchase order report for vendors
Understanding the no-data event in Access reports
Marking purchase orders as closed
Receiving parts and marking them as received
Sending email through Outlook from Access
Emailing single purchase orders to vendors
Sending bulk email through Outlook