Access Open Programs Seminar
Open External Files and Web Pages in Access
Welcome
This seminar will teach you how to open other programs, documents, and custom web page addresses from inside your Microsoft Access databases. Have you ever wanted to build a database to store an unlimited number of documents or other file attachments with each record?
Perhaps you'd like to double-click on any of those files and have them automatically open up in the appropriate program? Open a Word document representing the employee's resume, or automatically have an Excel spreadsheet open up for the client's purchase order. Perhaps you'd like to click on a button next to the customer's address and have your web browser open up directly to that address into Google Maps?
 Resources
Main Seminar Goals
- How to display external images in Access Forms
- Allow unlimited external attachments per customer
- Use the Shell function to open files of known type
- How to determine which application to open
- Use ShellExecute to open w Windows default app
- Open a Web page to a custom URL in default browser
- Load Google Maps to a Specific Address
Topics Covered
We'll start out by building the sample database we'll use in class. This will be a simple customer table, with a related (one-to-many) table to store an unlimited number of attachments per customer. We'll create a centralized Attachments folder and we'll copy some sample files there. You'll learn how to display an external image on a form.
Next you will learn how to double-click on those attachment filenames and have them open up in the program you specify using an event with a little bit of VBA code and the SHELL function. You will learn how to determine what program to use to open the file (TXT files in Notepad, DOCX files in Word, etc.)
It's nice to be able to specifically control which program you want to open a specific type of file, but sometimes you want Access to just use the default program that's installed in Windows. This is called the "default handler" for that file type. You may not know if they have Adobe Acrobat installed for PDF files, so in that case Windows might open them in Word. In the next lesson we'll learn about the ShellExecute function which can deal with this scenario.
Next we'll build a button that we can click on to open the customer's address up directly in Google Maps. This will involve creating a custom URL and launching the default browser. You'll also see how you can open Windows Explorer to browse folders, and how to use a mailto link to send email.
Finally we'll learn some advanced features about the ShellExec subroutine we build in class. We'll see how to set up error handling for when a file cannot be opened, learn about public and private constants, and learn about different arguments for ShellExec like "OPEN" and "PRINT".
If you want to be able to work with external files and programs with Access, this is the perfect seminar for you. You will learn everything mentioned above. You will have access to the full database that we build in class with all of these features. If you have any question whether this seminar is right for you, please feel free to contact me.
Pre-Requisites
It is strongly recommended that you have completed my entire Access Beginner and at least the first three lessons in my Expert series.
Version
I am using Access 2013 in this seminar, however the lessons are perfectly valid for all versions of Access with a few minor addendums that I have noted on the Lessons Page.
Enroll Today
Enroll now so that you can watch these lessons, learn with us, post questions, and more.
Questions?
Please feel free to post your questions or comments below. If you are not sure as to whether or not this product will meet your needs, I'd rather help you before you buy it. Remember, all sales are final. Thank you.
Keywords
microsoft access open other programs, shell, shellexec, shellexecute, launch exe, open pdf, open word doc, open excel, open web page, open web browser, open google maps, show customer on map, database, microsoft access, access tutorial
Intro In this seminar, we'll learn how to use Microsoft Access to open and display external files and launch other programs from your database. We'll review how to show external images in Access forms, then step through using the Shell function to open files like Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, and pictures in their associated applications. You'll see how to work with the ShellExecute function to open files in their default programs, including cases where you don't know the exact application. We'll also cover how to launch web browsers to specific URLs, such as displaying a location in Google Maps.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're going to use Access to open up other programs to display files.
If you want to display a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, 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're going to learn how to open other programs using Access.
This course could be considered a sequel to my Access Imaging Seminar. I'm going to assume that you've taken the Access Imaging Seminar because some of the material I'm going to cover today is a bit of a review from topics 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 (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 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 aren't necessarily a good way to store your data. I personally don't like storing files inside my database because your database gets bloated. If you start putting lots of pictures, spreadsheets, and other types of attachments in your database file, it gets big, slow, and much more likely to become corrupt. There are many reasons why you don't want to store files inside your database.
Later on in the Access Imaging Seminar, I showed you how to display external images in your forms and reports. You simply store the full path and file name in a text field in your database, and you can use that to display the image right inside your database. You don't 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, browse your hard drive, pick a file, and have it copied to the shared images folder. I'm not going to cover that in today's seminar. I've 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 haven't already watched it. Today, I'm going to assume you're going to manually copy the files to your shared images folder.
With all that said and done, I really didn't show you much about how to work with other types of files that are stored externally from your database. Today, we're going to first review how to display external images in your Access forms. That's easy.
Then I'm 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, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, picture files, and so on. I'll show you how to open a specific program like Notepad or Microsoft Word to display that known file type. We'll need to learn how to teach Access to determine what type of application to open.
Sometimes you may run into a situation where you don't know what default program to open it with. For example, you may send someone a Word document and they don't 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 don't know whether to open Photoshop or a different type of graphics program.
That's where we're going to use the ShellExecute function, which is a function we'll actually have to add to our system ourselves. It doesn't come with Access. We'll use that to open the file in whatever its default handler is, meaning whatever program is installed on the computer that opens that file type based on the file extension.
Since we're learning how to open external programs, which is the topic of the seminar, we're also going to see how to open the default web browser. Whether it's 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'll show you how to load Google Maps with a specific address. We'll put the person's address in the database, you'll 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 external programs using Access. That's why I really had a hard time coming up with a name for this seminar, because it's more than just working with external files; we can also work with web page addresses. Basically, we're opening up other programs.
Again, I strongly recommend the prerequisite Access Imaging Seminar. If you haven't 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'm pretty sure everything I'm going to show you works with 2007 and 2010 as well. If you're 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 the material I'm going to show you today works with Access 2003, but I can't guarantee it. I still don't have 2003 installed on any of my machines, so I really can't test it. If you are using 2003 or older and you're trying the seminar and something doesn't work, let me know. If I can't come up with a solution for you, I'll 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 your password, the password that was emailed to you when you purchased this seminar.
If you get stuck, can't figure it out, and don't 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's all for the intro. In the next lesson, we'll get started building our database. Thanks for watching.Quiz Q1. What is the primary focus of the "Opening Other Programs" seminar?
A. Using Access to open and display files in external programs
B. Creating spreadsheets in Excel
C. Embedding images directly into Access databases
D. Building web applications using Access
Q2. Why does the instructor recommend against storing files directly inside an Access database?
A. It makes the database more secure
B. It improves the display of images
C. It causes the database to become large, slow, and more prone to corruption
D. It simplifies file management
Q3. What is an OLE object as described in the seminar?
A. A type of image file only
B. A file format used only by Access
C. Any type of file that can be linked or embedded, such as Word documents, Excel files, or images
D. A database table
Q4. What is the recommended way to display external images in Access forms, according to the seminar?
A. Store the image as an OLE object in the table
B. Store the image as a text field containing the file path and display the image using that path
C. Use an attached file type field
D. Convert the image to a PDF first
Q5. What function built into Access can be used to open external files when you know the file type?
A. OpenFile
B. StartProcess
C. Shell
D. LaunchApp
Q6. What is the advantage of using the ShellExecute function in Access?
A. It only works with images
B. It opens files with whatever program is set as the default handler for that file type
C. It stores files inside the database
D. It only works on Internet Explorer
Q7. What prerequisite does the instructor strongly recommend before taking this seminar?
A. Access Introduction Course
B. Access Imaging Seminar
C. Advanced Excel Seminar
D. SQL Basics
Q8. How does the seminar suggest you can use Access to interact with web pages?
A. By saving webpages directly in Access
B. By launching the default web browser and passing it a specific URL
C. By embedding browsers in the form
D. By importing web pages as OLE objects
Q9. If a user wants to browse and pick a file through a dialog, what does the instructor recommend?
A. Take the Access Imaging Seminar for details on using the common dialog control
B. Wait for new lessons in this seminar
C. Use only manual file selection
D. Rely on database attachments
Q10. What should a participant do if they are using an older version of Access (2003 or earlier) and encounter issues?
A. Ignore the problem
B. Ask for help in the AccessLearningZone.com forums or contact the instructor
C. Try to upgrade to Access 97
D. Export their data to Excel
Answers: 1-A; 2-C; 3-C; 4-B; 5-C; 6-B; 7-B; 8-B; 9-A; 10-B
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 using Microsoft Access to open and interact with other programs in order to display different file types. My name is Richard Rost, and in this seminar, I'm going to demonstrate how you can use Access to work with documents, spreadsheets, text files, images, PDFs, and even launch web pages.
Very often, you might have the need to display a Word document, an Excel file, a text file, a PDF, or a picture from within your Access database. You might also want to open a web browser to a specific web page or address stored in your database. After considering different titles, I decided on the straightforward name: Opening Other Programs. That is exactly what we'll be covering.
This seminar builds on concepts from my Access Imaging Seminar. I assume you are already familiar with that content, since some of what we discuss today will briefly revisit topics from the Imaging Seminar. In that seminar, we mainly worked with various image file types such as JPEGs, GIFs, and bitmaps. I covered how to manage OLE objects, explained what OLE (object linking and embedding) entails, and showed how you could embed or link files such as images, Word documents, or Excel sheets into your Access tables and forms.
However, the Imaging Seminar also discussed the drawbacks of actually storing these files inside your database. File attachments and OLE objects can make your database large and slow, increasing the risk of corruption. This is why I generally recommend keeping your files outside the database and only storing the file paths inside Access.
I also showed how to work with external images by saving the full file path in a text field, allowing you to display the image without embedding it. We created a shared images folder and used the Windows common dialog control to make it easier to pick and copy files to this location. We spent a fair amount of time setting that up in the Imaging Seminar, so I won't be repeating those steps today. If you want more detail on browsing for files, I suggest reviewing the Access Imaging Seminar. For today's seminar, I'll assume you'll manually copy files to your designated images folder.
Most of what we'll cover today centers on how to use Access to work with many types of external files that are not images. We'll start with a refresher on displaying external images in Access forms. After that, I'll introduce you to the Shell function, a built-in Access feature that lets you launch specific programs and open files according to their type. For example, you can open Word documents, Excel files, PDFs, or images by calling the program you want directly. This requires knowing in advance which program you want to use for each file type.
Of course, there are many situations where you might not know which program should open a certain file. For example, a user may not have Word installed but could still have WordPad, which is able to open Word documents. Or, you might not know what photo viewer is set as the default. In these cases, we can use the ShellExecute function to open files using their default handlers. ShellExecute is not built into Access, so I'll show you how to add this feature yourself. With ShellExecute, Access will automatically open any file in the user's default application for its file type.
Once you know how to interact with other programs, this opens up a range of possibilities. I'll show you how to launch the default web browser whether that's Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, or another option. You can even create buttons to load Google Maps with a specific address stored in your database, sending your users straight to the right location in their browser.
Knowing how to use Access to open external programs is a very valuable skill. It extends beyond file handling and even lets you work with web addresses right from your database.
If you haven't already gone through the Access Imaging Seminar, I strongly recommend starting there as a prerequisite. Then come back and continue with this seminar.
For this course, I'm using Access 2013 as my demonstration version. The techniques I'll show should also work well in Access 2007 and 2010. If you're still using an older version, I suggest upgrading to at least Access 2013, especially now that Office 365 subscriptions are more affordable. Much of this material should work on Access 2003, but I cannot guarantee compatibility since I haven't tested it personally on that version. If you're trying these lessons in an older Access version and run into trouble, let me know and I'll do my best to help.
If you have questions or need help, you can post them in the forums on my website. The sample database for this seminar is also available on my site's databases page, which you can access using the password that was emailed to you after your purchase.
If you get stuck and need more immediate assistance, you can reach out to me or my team directly through the TechHelp page on my website. Both free and paid support options are available.
That covers the introduction. In the next lesson, we'll start building the sample database together.
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 Reviewing how to display external images in Access forms
Using the Shell function to open external files
Opening specific programs like Notepad or Word from Access
Determining which application to launch for a file type
Using the ShellExecute function to open files with their default program
Opening the default web browser from Access
Launching Google Maps with a specific address from your database |
