The final component we will be building for our database is the user interface. A User Interface should provide the user with an attractive and easy way of using the database.
From the users perspective, the only relevant components within the database are the Address Book Form and the Address Report. The Query and Table (though important to the functionality of the database) are not necessary from the user's perspective.
Microsoft Access has the ability to create a User Interface in the form of a Switchboard Manager. The Switchboard Manager allows the developer of the database to create a window or windows that allow the user to switch between various components within a database easily without having to access menu items within the toolbars or the various database tabs.
When the application asks you if you wish to create a switchboard, select Yes.
You should then see the window below.
Click on the Edit button to edit the contents of the switchboard.
Next, select New. When the Edit Switchboard Item appears, edit the contents of the window as indicated below. You will need to type in manually the text displayed on the switchboard. The other items are selected from the pull down menu's. This item in the switchboard will be used to open the Address Book Form (that you created earlier).
Click on OK.
Click on New again (Edit Switchboard Page Window)and edit the contents of the window as indicated below. This Item will be used to display the Address Report (that you created earlier).
Once this is done, click on OK and you should return to the Main Switchboard window (see below).
Next click Close.
Click Close again to close the Switchboard Manager.
Click on the Forms tab of your database and you should see the Switchboard form there (see below). Open the form to see how easily you can move from one task to another without using the main database window.
The last thing we need to do now is to set the database to automatically open the switchboard when the database is started. To do this, select Tools - Startup on the main menu (see below).
Edit the contents of the Startup menu as indicated below (you will need to give the application a Title as well as indicate the the Switchboard form is to be displayed on startup).
Click on OK.
Close the entire database and re-open it to see that the switchboard starts automatically.
Your database is now complete. Take the time to make any last minute corrections to your database before I mark it.
Last Updated Feb. 27/99