Access Expert Level 9

This class picks up where Expert Level 8 left off. We will start by reviewing my solution to the homework assignment you were given in the last class. You were to use the discount rate on the customer form to set a discount rate on the order form, which in turn sets the discount rate for each line item on the order. This is an exercise in making multiple forms work together to share data.

Next, you will learn how to set up a similar relationship to calculate sales tax. Each customer can have their own sales tax rate (some are tax exempt, others out of the state, etc.). Each order can have its own sales tax rate based on the customer. This will set the sales tax for the line items. We'll also set up a system default values table so we can set the default sales tax rate for new customers.

To add another level of complexity, some products are taxable (computers) while others are not (a gallon of milk). We need to make our database smart enough to realize when to not calculate sales tax based on the product selected. You'll also learn about SQL ALIASes, and how to use the IIF function to display a "T" for taxable in the product combo box.

Now, keep in mind that even if you're NOT ever going to work with sales tax in your database, these techniques are useful for many different types of situations. This is just the example that I've chosen. You should learn this stuff!

Next we'll spend a good deal of time putting together a printable invoice report. You'll learn how to insert a subreport, work with report headers/footers and page headers/footers, create an order query with additional customer data, and more.

Continuning with our invoice report, we'll add the company info to the header. If we're missing a company name, for example, we want to use the Can Shrink property to get rid of that empty space - but there are some problems we have to learn how to address first. We'll learn how to deal with adjacent and overlapping controls in our reports. You'll see how to use a query criteria to open a report to a specific record so you can print just one specific invoice.

This is the ninth class in the Access Expert series. This class is crucial if you want to build an order entry system and calculate sales tax, but even if you think you're NEVER going to need to work with this stuff, the concepts taught in this class will help you regardless of the type of database you're building. Of course, if you have any questions about whether or not this class is for you, please contact me.
 

Complete Outline - Access Expert Level 9