ACC97: Adding Your Own Links to the "Microsoft on the Web" Menu

• Microsoft Access 97

SUMMARY

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.

This article demonstrates how to add your own commands or modify existing commands on the "Microsoft on the Web" Help menu. You can do this by adding or changing registry keys and values for each Web site that you want to link to, using the Registry Editor.

MORE INFORMATION

The "Microsoft on the Web" Help menu commands are grouped into three sets:

• Application-specific commands. (Only available for the application.)
• Office-wide commands. (Available in all Office products.)
• Microsoft Home Page command. (Available for Microsoft Home Page.)

• How to add a new command to the "Microsoft on the Web" menu.
• How to change an existing command on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu.
• How to disable the commands that appear on the menu.

How to Add a New Command to the "Microsoft on the Web" Menu

To add your own commands to the application-specific section on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu, follow these steps.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you edit the registry.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

WARNING: Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifying the registry to create custom links on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu can be solved. Microsoft Technical Support does not support "Microsoft on the Web" menu changes. Make "Microsoft on the Web" menu changes at your own risk.

1. Close Microsoft Access 97.

2. Start the Registry Editor and move to the following key:

         HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Access\Webhelp
   

   You should see Names and Data similar to the following:

         Name             Data
         ----------------------------------------------------------------
   
         ab (Default)     (value not set)
         ab Command1      "&Free Stuff,,access,,,8.0,free"
         ab Command2      "&Product News, access,,,8.0,news"
         ab Command3      "&Developer Forum,,access,,,8.0,dev"
         ab Command4      "Frequently Asked &Questions,,access,,,8.0,faq"
         ab Command5      "Online &Support,,access,,,8.0,support"
   
      NOTE: There should be a separate entry for each of the five entries
      you see on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu.
   
   

3. Using the right-mouse button (right-click), click the "Webhelp" key, point to New, and then click String Value.

4. Type Command6 in the New Value field and press ENTER.

5. Double-click the string value key to edit it, type the following in the Value data field, and then click OK

         &Name,http://address/subaddress
   

   where Name is the value that will be displayed on the menu, address is a URL you want to link the value to, and subaddress is the address inside the URL you want to jump to when the command is clicked.

   For example, to link to the Microsoft Access Developer Site on www.microsoft.com, type the following:

         &The Access Developer Site,http://www.microsoft.com/accessdev/
   

6. Quit the Registry Editor.

   When you restart Microsoft Access 97, the custom command you added to the "Microsoft on the Web" menu will appear.

How to Change an Existing Command on the Microsoft on the Web Menu

To change an existing application-specific command on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu, follow these steps:

1. Follow steps 1-2 in the "How to add a new command to the 'Microsoft on the Web' menu section."

2. Double-click the command you want to replace. For example, if you want to replace the default Command1, follow these steps:

       a. Double-click Command1 to bring up the Edit String dialog box. Before
          you make a change, note the contents of the Value data field as it
          appears.
   

       b. In the Value data field, type the new information for the command.
          Include the name you are giving the command and the path to the
          link as follows:
   

            &My Web Site,http://Path to My Web site
   
   

3. Close the Registry Editor.

   When you restart Microsoft Access, your custom command should appear in place of the previous application-specific command.

How to Disable the Commands That Appear on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu

To disable the application-specific commands on the "Microsoft on the Web" menu, follow these steps:

1. Follow steps 1-2 in the "How to add a new command to the 'Microsoft on the Web' menu section."

2. Double-click the Command1 string value to display the Edit String dialog box. In the Value data field, type "disable" (without the quotation marks).

   NOTE: Setting any of the command strings to "disable" will disable all of the application-specific commands and hide any custom commands you may have created.

3. Close the Registry Editor.

   When you restart Microsoft Access, the Microsoft Access commands will appear dimmed.

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