1Chapter 12Chapter 12
Working With Access 2000 on the
Internet
Working With Access 2000 on the
Internet
12Chapter ObjectivesChapter Objectives
• Review hyperlinks, HTML, and cascading style sheets
• Learn about data access pages
• Explore server-side sorting and filtering
• Learn about scripts and Active Server Pages
12 Working With Access 2000 on the Internet
Working With Access 2000 on the Internet
• Two ways exist to link to Access 2000 database to a Web application: Use the Data Access Page (DAP) object that
exists in Access 2000 Use Active Server Pages (ASP) technology
12HyperlinksHyperlinks
• Hyperlink field Contains the specification for a universal
resource locator (URL) Created in a table simply by choosing the
hyperlink data type as the field format for the attribute when you are designing the table
12HyperlinksHyperlinks
• Two properties that can be manipulated: Hyperlink Address
Specifies the URLMay designate a specific file on a local network or a
local hard drive
Hyperlink SubAddressMay specifies a specific form within the database
12HTMLHTML
• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Not a programming language, but a formatting
language Access 2000 permits tables, forms, reports, and
queries to be saved in an HTML format Static file
When working with forms, only a form’s Datasheet view can be saved as HTML
12Cascading Style SheetsCascading Style Sheets
• Cascading style sheets (CSS) Make it easier to change page formats Contains the definition of various format
properties Can be used to format Web pages
If a change is made in the CSS, then all of the Web pages using it will reflect the change
12 Working With Data Access Pages
Working With Data Access Pages
• Data access pages External files that provide a means to use
Access 2000 on the Internet Stored as separate HTML files
• To preview a page as it would appear in a browser, right-click the shortcut in the Database window and choose Web Page Preview
12 Working With Data Access Pages
Working With Data Access Pages
• You can change the appearance of a data access page: Themes
Formatting templates
Add text, labels, and controls Add a picture or other image file as data in an
OLE Object field
12Data Access Page PropertiesData Access Page Properties
• To view a data access page’s properties, click the title bar of the data access page after opening the Properties window
Figure 12-1 Property sheet for a data access page
12Data Access Page PropertiesData Access Page Properties
• Properties of a data access page: DataEntry
Controls whether new records can be added to the underlying table
MaxRecordsAllows you to designate the number of records sent
to a client computer from a server RecordType
Determines whether a recordset is updateable
12 The Record Navigation Control
The Record Navigation Control
• Record navigation control Unique to data access pages Provides the capability to perform many tasks
involving record navigation, record creation and deletion, and record sorting
12 The Record Navigation Control
The Record Navigation Control
Figure 12-2 Record navigation control instance
12 Grouping Data in Data Access PagesGrouping Data in Data Access Pages
• Grouping data on a data access page is similar to grouping data on a report with a sub-report except: Data displayed is dynamic Data access pages are interactive Data access pages that display grouped data are
read-only
12 Grouping Data in Data Access PagesGrouping Data in Data Access Pages
• Group properties: Expanded by Default
When set to Yes, the data access page automatically displays the data within a grouping
Data Page SizeSettings determines the maximum number of
records to display within a particular grouping level
12 Grouping Data in Data Access PagesGrouping Data in Data Access Pages
Figure 12-3 Expand control instance on a grouped data access page
12 Server-Side Sorting and Filtering
Server-Side Sorting and Filtering
• Server-side sorting and filtering can save time when downloading data to the client
• Establish a default server-side sort order by setting the Default Sort property in the Sorting and Grouping dialog box
• When Access publishes a page as an Active Server Page, a server filter can be applied to perform the filtering operation on the server Only the filtered data are downloaded
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• You can associate VBA program code with events to customize an application in an Internet environment VBScript is a variation of VBA that works with
Internet Explorer 5Does not recognize VBA
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• VBScript differs from VBA in several ways: All variables in VBScript are variants Arguments passed to procedures and functions
cannot be typed Many functions found in VBA are not available
in VBScript
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• VBScript differs from VBA in several ways: Error-handling capabilities are not as
sophisticated in VBScript Symbolic constants are not predefined
To use them, you must create a file and include it yourself
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• Certain data access page events are not recognized when coded in JavaScript and script elements are case-sensitive in JavaScript
• You can add scripts by choosing Tools, Macros, and the Microsoft Script Editor from the menu bar Displays the Microsoft Development
Environment window
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
Figure 12-5 Microsoft Development Environment window
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• When you connect an Active Server Page to an Access 2000 database Include a file, named adovbs.inc, that contains
predefined symbolic constants to facilitate establishing the database connection
12 Active Server Pages and Access 2000
Active Server Pages and Access 2000
• Active Server Pages (ASP) Implemented as an Internet Server application
programming interface (ISAPI) filter running under Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS)
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• Whenever a Web client sends an HTTP request to a Web server: The Active Server ISAPI filter has a chance to
intercept and interpret the request
• If the request involves an ASP file: The filter parses the entire file and returns
HTML output to IIS IIS then returns these data to the client
12Scripts and Access 2000Scripts and Access 2000
• To implement ASP, you must have a Web server configured to support the technology
• System data source Data source that is accessible to all user ODBC 32 control panel on the server is used to
establish an Access database such as a system data source
12Using the Global.asa FileUsing the Global.asa File
• Global.asa file performs two functions: Indicates where the scripts will be executed
In many cases, it takes place on the server to take advantage of the processing power typically available there
Amount of data transferred to the client can be minimized
12Using the Global.asa FileUsing the Global.asa File
• Global.asa file performs two functions (continued): Implements scripts associated with four specific
eventsEvents that occur for the Application and Sessions
objects
• Application object Created when the application runs Responds to the OnStart and an OnEnd event
12Using the Global.asa FileUsing the Global.asa File
• Session object Separate object is created for each user of the
application Responds to its own OnStart and OnEnd events
12 Variables and the OnStart Event
Variables and the OnStart Event
• OnStart event of the Application object Used to initialize or update variables used by
the application
• Variables may include the number of users of the application or the number of users who have visited the Web site since the application started
12 Variables and the OnStart Event
Variables and the OnStart Event
• OnStart event for the Session object Initializes variables for a particular user’s
session Timeout variable
Indicates how long a session is allowed to be idle before it is automatically terminated by the server
12Session Variables in ASPSession Variables in ASP
• Session variable Can declare any number of Session variables
simply by using them Available to all ASP files that execute during
the session Acts like a global variable in other
programming languages
12The OnEnd EventThe OnEnd Event
• OnEnd event for the Application object Occurs when the application ends
• OnEnd event for the Sessions object Occurs when the session ends Used to update persistent data relevant to the
application
12Chapter SummaryChapter Summary
• Access 2000 provides several ways to create Web-enabled database applications Hyperlink data type
Fundamental Web-enabling object
New capabilities with the Access development environment for developing Web-enabled applications
12Chapter SummaryChapter Summary
• DAP objects Not totally contained in the .mdb file associated
with an Access application
• Data access page Web page that must be accessible by a server
Web pages must be saved as an HTML file outside the .mdb file
12Chapter SummaryChapter Summary
• Data access pages (continued) Created in much the same manner as forms or
reports Same toolbox is used for their creation
Contains additional, Web-specific tools for operations such as creating a bound HTML control
12Chapter SummaryChapter Summary
• VBScript Variation of VBA
• Active Server Pages Provides an environment in which VBScript
and embedded SQL commands can be used to access data in Access databases and to create Web pages dynamically