CMIS 450 

Assignment Setup:
You will need to copy the files LAB09.MDB, BOOKS.BMP, MAINT.BMP, REPORT.BMP, and TRANSACT.BMP from your instructor. You may download LAB09.EXE from my home page.  This is a self-extracting file containing the files needed for this assignment.  Do not use earlier versions of the assignment as LAB09.MDB will contain all corrected work up to this point in the project.

By completing this lab you will learn to rollout an application using MS Access. You will combine all of the objects created in earlier laboratory sessions to create a unified application. This lab teaches you to:

Exercise 1: Creating a Custom Menubar.
In this exercise, you will create a custom menubar for the Member form. The menubar should look like this:

To create a custom menubar for the Member form:

1. Create a macro for the custom menubar.
Select the Macro tab in the Database Window, then click New. Create the File menu title by selecting an action of AddMenu and indicating a value of &File for the Menu Name argument. Then add a second AddMenu entry to create the Records menu title (Menu Name argument should be &Records). Close and save the menubar macro as Member Menubar.

Note: The ampersand is used to indicate the short cut key for a menu option. For example, in the word "&File," the letter following the ampersand will appear underscored in the menu (File). Pressing ALT+ F activates the menu action. The letter directly after the ampersand becomes the shortcut key.

2. Create a macro group for each drop-down list.
Create a macro group for the File drop-down list. In the Macro window, select Macro Names from the View drop-down list. Create the Close entry in the File drop-down by entering a Macro Name of Clos&e and selecting an action of Close with the appropriate argument value. Close and save the macro as Member File Drop-Down.

Create a macro group for the Records drop-down list. In this macro group, create the First entry by entering a Macro Name of &First and selecting an action of GoToRecord, indicating a Record argument of First. Add the Next entry to the macro group by entering a Macro Name of &Next and selecting an action of GoToRecord with a Record argument of Next. Close and save the macro group as Member Records Drop-Down.

3. Update the menubar macro to link the drop-down list macro groups to their menu titles.
Open the Member Menubar macro in Design View. In the first AddMenu entry (Menu Name is &File), update the Menu Macro Name argument to indicate the Member File Drop-Down macro. In the second AddMenu entry (Menu Name is &Records), update the Menu Macro Name argument to indicate the Member Records Drop-Down macro. Close and save the Member Menubar macro.

4. Update the Member form property sheet to utilize the new menubar.
Open the Member form in Design View and access the form property sheet. Update the MenuBar property to reflect the name of the new custom menubar, Member Menubar. Close and save the Member form.

Now re-open the Member form in Form View. Look at the menu bar displayed at the top of the form. Try selecting the menu items. Cool, eh?

IMPORTANT:
At this point (i.e., before it causes a problem later on), go into the Book On Loan report and the Mailing List report and remove the reference to Report Menubar that exists in their report property sheets. The "Report Menubar" doesn’t exist in your MDB file and we aren’t going to create it in this project.

Exercise 2: Creating Switchboards.
In this exercise, you will review the flow of the Library application. This information translates into the menu structure that will be used to control the user’s navigation through the application. You will create the various forms to be used as menu switchboards in the Library application. You will follow the general steps listed below:

The Library Application Flow.

 
To create all the switchboard forms:
You need to create forms that will control how users navigate through the application. In Design View for a new form (not attached to a table or query), disable the Control Wizard in the Toolbox. Create the following four forms. Do not enter any controls on the forms at this time. Select Save As to save a blank form.

Note: The purpose of creating all the forms at this point is to make the form names appear in the appropriate combo boxes.

To Create all the macros for all the switchboard forms:
You will want to keep all these macros in one macro group. Create a macro group (to be called Forms) for all the macros associated with the switchboard forms.

In the macro group, create the three macros needed for the Main Switchboard to open the Transaction switchboard, Maintenance Switchboard, and Reports Switchboard forms. To make the macro name meaningful, list the form name and then the macro name -- for example, Main Transaction.

Tip: You can create a macro, and then copy and paste it to create additional macros. Change the macro name and the names that are referenced.

Within each of these three macros, include an action to hide the Main Switchboard form. Use the SetValue action, and set the Visible value to False. Create a macro that exits Microsoft Access (to be used on the Main Switchboard form). Create three return macros (one for each of Transaction, Maintenance, and Report switchboards) that close the form and set the Main Switchboard Visible value to True. Save the Macro Group as Forms.

To add the buttons to the switchboard forms and attach the macros:
Open the Main Switchboard form in Design View. Disable the Control Wizards (the Control Wizards button in the toolbox should appear raised).

Add command buttons to the form for the following functions: Transaction, Maintenance, and Print Reports. Attach the macros that you created in the forms macro to the appropriate buttons.

Add buttons to the Transaction Switchboard, Maintenance Switchboard, Maintenance Switchboard, and Reports Switchboard forms. Refer to the graphic of the application flow presented earlier. Note that we did not develop the forms corresponding to the Loan Book, Reserve Book, and Titles. When control is transferred to these, you should have the macro generate a message box that says "This Will Open The Loan Book Form," or some similar message depending on the form..

At this point, your Forms macro group should contain 14 macros named something like:
  Main Transaction
  Main Maintenance
  Main Reports
  Exit Access
  Exit Transaction
  Exit Maintenance
  Exit Reports
  Transaction Loan
  Transaction Reserve
  Maintenance Member
  Maintenance Titles
  Reports Loanhist
  Reports Books on Loan
  Reports Mailing List

To test the functionality of the switchboard forms:
From the Main Switchboard, test each button to ensure that it opens the correct form. Return to the Main Switchboard. From each subswitchboard, test each button to ensure that it opens the correct form. Return to the subswitchboard. Fix any problems, and retest until the switchboards are working properly.

To complete the Main Switchboard form:
After you have tested the functionality of the switchboards, you can add graphics and enhancements to the forms. A sample showing approximately how the Main Switchboard should appear is provided below (or on the next page).

Add the graphics required to make your switchboard forms look similar to the ones pictured. The graphics are provided in the four BMP files you copied from the ftp site. The content of these graphic files are shown at the end of this document.

NOTE: DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE BACKGROUND GRAPHICS DESIGN YOU SEE ON THE SWITCHBOARDS SHOWN HERE--SOME OF THEM WERE CREATED BY USING MICROSOFT PAINTBRUSH AND INSERTED AS .BMP FILES.
 

This next screen is displayed whenever you select the "Loan" or "Reserve" options on the Transactions Switchboard because we did not develop the forms corresponding to these actions. You DO NOT HAVE TO DEVELOP THESE FORMS. Simply code message box macros like the one shown in the next screen.
 

 
Exercise 3: Creating a Startup Macro.
In this exercise, you will create a macro that automatically starts your application.

To create an automatic startup for your application:
Use Startup from the Tools menu to have the West Overshoe application automatically open the Main Switchboard when the database is opened. Close the database and then reopen it. Notice that Microsoft Access automatically opens the main switchboard.

Exercise 4: Setting Database Options.
In this exercise, you will set various database options to control the functionality of Microsoft Access available to users. You will use macro actions to accomplish this.

To disable database options:
Create an AutoExec macro to hide the Form View and Print Preview toolbars (hint: use the ShowToolbar action). This will prevent users from gaining access to the design mode and making changes to the database design.

To enable database options:
Create a macro to be executed when the Main Switchboard is exited. This macro should enable the display of the two toolbars that were shut off.

Tip: Copy the AutoExec macro to the Exit App macro and then reverse the settings so that all the options that were disabled are now enabled.

Add an action to Close the Main Switchboard form. Save the macro as Exit App. Attach the Exit App macro to the Exit Microsoft Access button on the Main Switchboard form. You will replace the macro that was previously attached.

To test the macros:
Run the Autoexec macro. Verify that the options that were disabled are not available to the user.

Run the Exit App macro, and then verify that the options are enabled.

Exercise 5. Final Modifications to the Main Switchboard.
Remove the Control Box button and Minimize and Maximize button from the Main Switchboard form by setting these form properties to No and None, respectively.
 

TRANSACT.BMP
 

MAINT.BMP
 

REPORTS.BMP
 

TURN IN FOR GRADING:
Turn-in a single high-density 3.5 inch floppy disk (your work should easily fit on a single disk) with your name printed on the disk using a felt-tip pen (do not use pencil or I will not grade the disks). The disks will be returned to you after I grade them.

You do not have to turn-in your answers to the questions posed in the exercises above. The questions are provided merely to stimulate your thought processes.