Keep Good Notes
Right-clicking on a table in the Table list opens a Properties sheet. Description, one of the properties, is a free-form memo field that lets you jot down anything you need to remember about that table.

High Performance
Use the Performance Analyzer to learn more about how you can speed up the way your database works. Suggestions can range from splitting tables to changing data types.

Exploding Fields
When you're editing a data field, you can get an exploded view of the field by pressing Shift+F2.

Data Shortcuts
In the Datasheet view, pressing Ctrl+" (quotation mark) in a cell will insert a copy of the contents in the cell above it. Press Ctrl+: (colon) to insert the current time; press Ctrl+; (semicolon) to insert the current date.

Excel to Access
To bring data from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into Access, first open both programs. Highlight the data in Excel and grab the edge of the highlighted data, then drag it to the Windows 95 Taskbar and drop it onto the Access icon. Access will automatically import the data.

Clean-Up Time
If you've made many structural or data-entry changes to a database, select Tools/Database Utilities/Compact Database to clean up, streamline and compact the database.

Wait a Minute
Access 97 users who run macros or do VBA programming can take command of the cursor. To change the cursor into the hourglass or "please wait" cursor, use the VBA command DoCmd.Hourglass True. To restore it to normal, use DoCmd.Hourglass False.

Speedy Selections
With a record selected in the Datasheet view, you can select an entire row by pressing Shift+spacebar. Press Ctrl+Shift+spacebar to select the entire datasheet; press Ctrl+spacebar to select an entire column.

Be A Polyglot
If you've installed one of the Internet Explorer Language Support Kits, you'll be able to freely cut and paste that language into Access 97 data fields--even if it doesn't use ISO-9660 characters, such as Japanese. (If the data is in Japanese, the font for the displayed tables should be set to either MS Gothic or MS Mincho.)

Access to Word
It’s easy to move a Microsoft Access table into a Microsoft Word document. Minimize Word, and drag a table to the Word button on the Windows 95 Taskbar. When Word opens, without releasing the mouse button, drop the table into the document.

Filter for Fast Finds
When you’re in the Datasheet view, you can quickly find the data you need with the Filter By Input feature. Place the cursor in the column to search, right-click, then click on the Filter For: pop-up menu selection. Type the search parameters, and you’ll find what you want fast.

Table Settings
A new feature in Access 97 is the ability to import HTML tables as data. Select File/Get External Data and Import, and then choose the HTML document to import from. If there's more than one table in the document, the import wizard will ask you to select a table.

A Memory for Names
Use the Table Analyzer to take redundant information in tables and break it out. For instance, if you have one field in your database that has nothing but a list of names with a fair amount of repetition between records, the Table Analyzer converts that field into a reference field that points to an auxiliary table that holds the names--eliminating redundancy. This saves memory, space and processing time.

Document a Database
Use the Documenter to publish detailed reports about the construction of your database.

Quick Cross-Check
One common way to cross-reference data between tables in Access is to have a field in a main table use a number to refer to a record in an auxiliary table. This way, you can have the values automatically cross-associated when you build forms or reports. Edit the properties for the table in which you're storing the main data, and select the Lookup tab for the field that stores the reference number. There, you can set which row source type, display control, bound column, or other display and data properties are always associated with that particular lookup field. This removes the need to rebuild the associations every time the field is used in a form or report.

Check Your Links
If you're using a database that contains linked tables, select Tools/Add-Ins and the Linked Table Manager to choose which linked tables to update. This feature comes in handy when remote users make changes to the linked tables and you want to make sure you don't depend on "dirty" data.