Microsoft Access accessibility Page 1 of 14

Microsoft Access accessibility

Access contains accessibility features that make it easier to use for people who are blind or have low
vision, or have limited movement or dexterity. Learn about accessibility features.

What do you want to do?

Use the keyboard instead of the mouse
Use keyboard shortcuts

Manage relationships by using the keyboard

Place a text box or other control on a form or report by using the keyboard

Place a text box or other control on a data access page by using the keyboard

Copy a text box or other control on a form or report by using the keyboard

Rearrange columns in Datasheet view by using the keyboard

Customize toolbars and menus

Change the size of all toolbar buttons at once

Organize toolbar buttons, menu commands, or menus into groups by using separator bars

Create a custom toolbar for the current database

Create a custom toolbar for all databases

Change the fonts and background colors in a Help topic

Customize text boxes or other controls

Create custom colors for a section or control on a form or report

Change the background color of a control or section

Enter data
Insert repeated entries in a column by using the keyboard

Make Access correct text automatically

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Additional services
Learn more about accessibility information on the Web

About accessibility for people with disabilities

This topic provides reference information about:

Accessibility features in Microsoft Access

Customizing the operating system

Printed information about Microsoft services

Accessibility features in Microsoft Access

If you have disabilities, you can do the following to take advantage of accessibility features in Access:

View and print lists of all available shortcut keys.

Use the keyboard to define relationships, add or copy text boxes or other controls on forms and
reports, and rearrange columns in Datasheet view.

Create a toolbar that contains only the buttons and menus you use most often for the current
database or for all your databases. You can also increase the size of the buttons and group related
buttons together.

Set menus to display all commands all the time, as in Microsoft Office 97. You can also change
toolbars to appear as they did in Office 97.

Create custom colors or change the background color for a section or control on a form or report.

Insert repeated entries in a column quickly by using the keyboard.

Automatically correct common typing errors and even specify a list of errors you want corrected
as you type.

Learn about making Access more accessible.

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Customizing the operating system

If you're running Microsoft Windows 95 on your computer, you can set or change system accessibility
options. For example, with the Windows MouseKeys feature you can use the numeric keypad to move
the mouse pointer and to click, double-click, and drag objects. To change the accessibility options, press

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CTRL+ESC to open the Windows Start menu, select Settings, and then select Control Panel. Select
the Accessibility Options icon, press CTRL+TAB to select the tab you want, and then use the keyboard
to select the options you want. For Help on an option, select the option and press SHIFT+F1.

If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can learn more about using accessibility features
included in Microsoft operating systems and other Microsoft products.

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Printed information about Microsoft services

More complete information about Microsoft services for people with disabilities is available in an
appendix in the Discovering Microsoft Office 2000 book, available with Office 2000. For example,
you'll find information about how people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can contact the Microsoft
Sales and Information Center or the Microsoft Support Network. You'll also find information about
obtaining Microsoft documentation from Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, Inc., for those who have
difficulty reading or handling printed documentation. The appendix also describes third-party hardware
and software products that make personal computers easier to use for people with disabilities, and lists
organizations to contact for more information.

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Keyboard shortcuts
You can use shortcut keys for quick access to frequently used commands or operations. The topics
below list the shortcut keys available in Microsoft Access. You can also use access keys to move the
focus to a menu, command, or control without using the mouse. Learn how to perform tasks with access
keys.

This topic provides links to topics in the following areas:

General shortcut keys

Shortcut keys for working with text and data

Shortcut keys for navigating records

Shortcut keys for working in data access pages

Which shortcut keys do you want to use?

General shortcut keys
Global Microsoft Access shortcut keys

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Database window shortcut keys

Work with menus

Work with toolbars

Work in windows and dialog boxes

Work with the Open, File New Database, and Save dialog boxes

Get Help from the Office Assistant

Work with the Help window

Send e-mail messages

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Shortcut keys for working with text and data

Select text and data

Edit text and data

Return to top

Shortcut keys for navigating records

Navigate in Datasheet view

Navigate in subdatasheets

Navigate in Form view

Navigate in Print Preview and Layout Preview

Navigate in the Database Diagram window in a Microsoft Access project

Navigate in the Query Designer in an Access project

Return to top

Shortcut keys for working in data access pages

Work with data access pages in Page view

Work with data access pages in Design view

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Work with a PivotTable list

Work with a spreadsheet

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Note To learn about keyboard shortcuts you can use in the Visual Basic Editor, open the editor and
start Visual Basic Editor Help. In the Help window, press CTRL+TAB to select the Contents tab. Select
Visual Basic User Interface Help and press ENTER; select Shortcuts and press ENTER; and then
select the topic you want to view and press ENTER.

Copy a text box or another control on a form or

report by using the keyboard
1. Press ALT.

2. Press CTRL+TAB until the Object combo box on the Formatting (Form/Report) toolbar has the
focus, and then press ENTER.

3. Press F4 to open the Object combo box.

4. Press the DOWN ARROW key to select the control, and then press ENTER.

5. Press CTRL+C to copy the control to the Clipboard.

6. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to open the Object combo box.

7. Press the DOWN ARROW key to select the section, and then press ENTER.

8. Press CTRL+V to paste the control in the upper-left corner of the section. To paste multiple
copies, press CTRL+V repeatedly.

9. To adjust the location of the control by using property settings, select the control and press
ALT+V+P to display the control's property sheet. Press CTRL+TAB to select the All tab. Adjust
the Left and Top property settings to move the control to the desired location on the form or
report, and then press ALT+F4 to close the property sheet.

Alternatively, press CTRL+ARROW to manually move the control and SHIFT+ARROW to

resize the control as needed. Learn about shortcut keys for editing controls.

Place a text box or another control on a data

access page by using the keyboard

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1. Open the data access page in Design view.

2. Press ALT.

3. Press CTRL+TAB to put focus on the toolbox.

Note If the toolbox is not displayed, press the access keys ALT+V+O.

4. Press TAB repeatedly until you select the desired control.

5. Press SHIFT+ENTER to add the control to the upper-left corner of the selected section.

6. Make sure the control is still selected, and press the access keys ALT+V+P to display the control's
property sheet. Then, press CTRL+TAB to select the All tab.

7. Adjust the Left and Top property settings to move the control to the desired location on the form
or report, and then press ALT+F4 to close the property sheet. Alternatively, press
CTRL+ARROW to manually move the control. Learn about shortcut keys for editing controls.

Place a text box or another control on a form or

report by using the keyboard
1. Press ALT.

2. Press CTRL+TAB twice to put focus on the toolbox.

Note If the toolbox is not displayed, press CTRL+SHIFT+F10 to display the toolbar shortcut
menu. Use the DOWN ARROW key to select Toolbox, and then press ENTER.

3. Press TAB repeatedly until you select the desired control.

4. Press SHIFT+ENTER to add the control to the upper-left corner of the form or report detail
section.

5. Make sure the control is still selected, and press ALT+V+P to display the control's property sheet.
Then, press CTRL+TAB to select the All tab.

6. Adjust the Left and Top property settings to move the control to the desired location on the form
or report, and then press ALT+F4 to close the property sheet. Alternatively, press
CTRL+ARROW to manually move the control and SHIFT+ARROW to resize the control as
needed. Learn about shortcut keys for editing controls.

Learn how to copy the control on a form or report by using the keyboard.

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Rearrange columns in Datasheet view by using

the keyboard
1. Move the insertion point to a field in the column of the datasheet or subdatasheet you want to
move. Learn about navigating in a datasheet or navigating between a datasheet and subdatasheet.

2. If the entire field is not already highlighted, press F2.

3. To select the entire column, press CTRL+SPACEBAR. You can select more than one column by
pressing SHIFT+LEFT ARROW or SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW. (This has to be done before you
enter Move mode.)

4. To turn on Move mode, press CTRL+SHIFT+F8.

5. To move the column to the right, press the RIGHT ARROW key.

To move the column to the left, press the LEFT ARROW key.

6. To turn off Move mode, press ESC.

Define relationships by using the keyboard

1. Close any tables that you have open. You can’t create or modify relationships between open
tables.

2. If you haven’t already done so, switch to the Database window. You can press F11 to switch to
the Database window from any other window.

3. Press ALT+T to select the Tools menu, and then press R to open the Relationships window.

4. If your database doesn’t have any relationships defined, the Show Table dialog box appears
automatically. If you need to add the tables that you want to relate, and the Show Table dialog
box does not appear, press ALT+R to select the Relationships menu, and then press T to open the
Show Table dialog box. If the tables that you want to relate already appear in the Relationships
window, skip to step 7.

5. In the Show Table dialog box, select the first table that you want to relate, and then press ENTER
to add it to the Relationships window.

6. Repeat step 5 for any other tables you want to relate, and then press ALT+C to close the Show
Table dialog box.

7. Press ALT+R to select the Relationships menu, and then press R to open the Edit Relationships
dialog box.

8. Press ALT+N to open the Create New dialog box.

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9. In the Left Table Name box, select the name of the table that contains the primary key.

10. In the Right Table Name box, select the name of the table that contains the foreign key.

11. In the Left Column Name box, select the primary key field, and in the Right Column Name
box, select the foreign key field.

The related fields don’t have to have the same names, but they must have the same data type and
contain the same kind of information. In addition, when the matching fields are Number fields,
they must have the same FieldSize property setting. There are two exceptions to matching data
types: you can match an AutoNumber field with a Number field whose FieldSize property is set
to Long Integer; and you can match an AutoNumber field with a Number field if the FieldSize
property for both fields is set to Replication ID.

12. Press ENTER.

13. In the Edit Relationships dialog box, use the arrow keys to make sure that the two columns
contain the field names you want; you can change them if necessary, or you can specify additional
fields if you are using a multiple-field primary key.

Set relationship options if necessary. For information about a specific item in the Relationships
dialog box, select the item and then press F1.

14. Press ALT+C to create the relationship.

15. Repeat steps 5 through 14 for each pair of tables you want to relate.

Notes

If you need to view all the relationships that are defined in the database, press ALT+R to select
the Relationships menu, and then press L. To view only the relationships defined for a particular
table, select that table, press ALT+R to select the Relationships menu, and then press D.

If you need to make a change to the design of a table, select that table; press SHIFT+F10 to select
the shortcut menu, and then select Table Design.

You can create relationships for queries as well as tables. However, referential integrity isn't
enforced with queries.

To create a relationship between a table and itself, add that table twice. This is useful in situations
where you need to perform a lookup within the same table. For example, in the Employees table
in the Northwind sample database, a relationship has been defined between the EmployeeID and
ReportsTo fields, so that the ReportsTo field can display employee data from a matching
EmployeeID.

Manage relationships by using the keyboard

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What do you want to do?

Define a relationship

Edit or delete a relationship

Define the default join type

Edit or delete a relationship by using the

keyboard
1. Close any tables that you have open. You can’t modify or delete relationships between open
tables.

2. If you haven’t already done so, switch to the Database window. You can press F11 to switch to
the Database window from any other window.

3. Press ALT+T to select the Tools menu, and then press R to open the Relationships window.

4. Press ALT+R to select the Relationships menu, and then select press R to open the Edit
Relationships dialog box.

5. Press ALT+T. In the Table/Query box, select the name of the table that contains the primary key,
and then make sure that the appropriate table appears in the Related Table/Query box.

6. Set the relationship options if necessary. For more information about a specific item in the
Relationships dialog box, select the item, and then press F1.

7. If you want to delete the relationship, press ENTER, and then press DELETE.

Define the default join type by using the

keyboard
1. If you haven’t already done so, switch to the Database window. You can press F11 to switch to
the Database window from any other window.

2. Press ALT+T to select the Tools menu, and then press R to open the Relationships window.

3. Press ALT+R to select the Relationships menu, and then press R to open the Edit Relationships
dialog box.

4. Press ALT+T. In the Table/Query box, select the name of the table that contains the primary key,

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and then select the appropriate table in the Related Table/Query box.

5. Press ALT+J. In the Join Properties dialog box, select the desired join type.

Option 1 defines an inner join. This is the default.

Option 2 defines a left outer join.

Option 3 defines a right outer join.

Note You cannot change the default join type if the tables are linked tables. If the linked tables are
stored in another Microsoft Access database, you can open the database in which they are stored to set
the join type.

Defining the join type for a relationship in the Relationships window doesn't affect the relationship
itself; instead it sets the kind of join that will be used by default when creating queries based on the
related tables. You can always override the default join type later when defining a query.

Learn more about join types.

Change the size of all toolbar buttons at once

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Customize.

2. Click the Options tab, and then select or clear the Large Icons check box.

Note This setting affects all Microsoft Office programs.

Add separator bars between toolbar buttons,

menu commands, or menus
You can add separator bars to group related buttons, commands, and menus. For example, the New
Database, Open Database, and Save buttons are grouped on the Database toolbar with a bar after the
Save button.

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Customize.

2. Show the toolbar, menu bar, or shortcut menu you want to group related buttons, menus, or
commands on.

3. Leave the Customize dialog box open. On the toolbar, menu bar, or shortcut menu, right-click the
button, menu, or command before which you want to add a separator bar, and then click Begin A
Group on the shortcut menu.

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To remove the separator bar, click Begin A Group again to uncheck it.

Create a custom toolbar for the current database

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Customize.

2. On the Toolbars tab, click New.

3. In the Toolbar Name box, type the name you want, and then click OK.

4. On the Toolbars tab, click Properties.

5. Set any properties you want, and then click Close.

The new toolbar is now placed to the right of the Customize dialog box.

6. To complete the toolbar, do the following:

 Add buttons from the Customize dialog box. For more information, click .

 Move or copy a button from another toolbar. For more information, click .

Notes

You can also add menus to a toolbar.

Microsoft Access can automatically create a toolbar containing buttons that run existing macros.
For more information, click .

You can attach the custom toolbar to a form or report. For more information, click .

Create a toolbar for all Access databases and

Access projects
To design a toolbar that's available in all your Microsoft Access databases and Microsoft Access
projects, add buttons to the blank built-in toolbars, Utility 1 and Utility 2.

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Customize.

2. On the Toolbars tab, select the check box for Utility 1 or Utility 2 in the Toolbars box.

3. To complete the toolbar, do the following:

 Add buttons from the Customize dialog box. For more information, click .

 Move or copy a button from another toolbar. For more information, click .

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Note You can also add menus to a toolbar.

Change the fonts and background colors in a

Help topic
What do you want to do?
Change the text and background color in a Help topic

Change the font in a Help topic

Make Access more accessible

Not sure which choice you want?

Create custom colors for a section or control on

a form or report
If the palette doesn't have the color that you need, you can create your own custom colors.

1. Open a form in Design view or a report in Design view.

2. Open the property sheet for the section or control.

3. Click the ForeColor (for text in a control), BackColor, or BorderColor property.

4. Click the Build button next to the property box to open the Color dialog box.

5. Click Define Custom Colors to expand the dialog box.

6. Click one of the Custom Color boxes on the left side of the dialog box.

7. Click on any part of the color refiner box that has the color you want. The color refiner box
displays all of the available custom colors.

8. Drag the arrow beside the luminosity bar to define the brightness of the color selected in the color
refiner box.

Microsoft Access displays the color you create in the left side of the Color/Solid box. If you want
to see the solid color most closely resembling the one you've created, double-click the right side of
the Color/Solid box.

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9. Click Add To Custom Colors.

Access displays the custom color you created in the Custom Color box.

Note You can also create a color by typing numbers in the Red, Green, Blue, Hue, Sat (saturation),
and Lum (luminosity) boxes.

Change the background color of a control or

section
1. Open a form in Design view, a report in Design view, or a data access page in Design view.

2. Click the control or section that you want to change.

3. On the Form/Report Formatting toolbar or the Data Access Page Formatting toolbar, click the
arrow next to Fill/Back Color .

4. Click a color in the palette.

Notes

If you want to use the same color for another control or section, you can just click Fill/Back
Color (you don't have to click the arrow next to the button and pick the color again from the
palette). If you want to set different colors for several controls at once, click the arrow next to
Fill/Back Color , click the border of the color palette, and drag it to another location. This
way you don't need to click Fill/Back Color each time you want to apply a color.

If the palette doesn't include the color that you want, you can create your own custom colors.

How?

Set screen resolution to show more or less on the

screen
1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Display icon .

3. Click the Settings tab.

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4. Under Display Area, drag the slider to change the screen resolution.

Note Your monitor and video adapter determine whether you can change your screen resolution.

Work with AutoCorrection

What do you want to do?
Automatically correct typing when I'm entering data

Correct two capital letters in a row automatically when I'm entering data

Automatically capitalize names of days when I'm entering data

Add an AutoCorrect entry while checking spelling

Stop the automatic correction of an entry I make when I'm entering data

Stop automatic corrections that occur when I'm entering data

Use AutoCorrection in a text box or combo box control

Insert the value that is in the same field in the

previous record
1. Open a Datasheet.

2. Click in the field in which you want to insert the value.

3. Press CTRL+APOSTROPHE (').

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