Using Hyperlinks in Microsoft Access Applications

Hyperlinks can jump to two kinds of objects: a Web page or other content on the Internet or an intranet, or to a Microsoft Office document (Microsoft Word document, Microsoft Excel worksheet, Microsoft PowerPoint slide, or Microsoft Access database object) stored on a local hard disk or a LAN.

There are two ways you can use hyperlinks in Microsoft Access applications:

• Create a field with the Hyperlink data type to store hyperlink addresses in a table, and then bind that field to a text box on a form. Like other bound fields, as the user moves from record to record, the value in the text box changes to display the current record’s hyperlink value. For example, you can use hyperlinks in this way to create an application in which users can jump to Web pages, or to other content on the Internet or an intranet, from a predefined list of addresses. You can also use hyperlinks in this way to create an application that displays and manages Microsoft Office documents.
• Create a label, image control, or command button on a form that references a specified hyperlink address. In this case, the hyperlink doesn’t change as you move from record to record. For example, you can use hyperlinks in this way to navigate to other database objects within the same database, or to open a Web page on an intranet that contains updated information on how to use your application.

Regardless of how a hyperlink is defined in your application, if the hyperlink jumps to a database object or opens another Microsoft Office document, you can use the Web toolbar to navigate between the hyperlinks you’ve previously followed. For example, in the following illustration, the Products form has a command button with a hyperlink that opens a report. Once you have clicked the hyperlink, you can use the Web toolbar to navigate between other objects you’ve opened with hyperlinks.

Similarly, if you follow a hyperlink from a Microsoft Access form to open a Microsoft Word document, you can click the Back button on the Web toolbar in Microsoft Word to return to the form.

Note   By default, after a user clicks a hyperlink on a form, Microsoft Access continues to display the Web toolbar when the user closes the form. If you want to prevent this, you can use Visual Basic code in the OnClose event of the form to hide the toolbar. To see an example of Visual Basic code that does this, open the Products form in the Northwind sample application in Design view, and then display the event procedure in the OnClose event of the form.

Storing Hyperlinks in Tables

In Microsoft Access 97, a field in a table can store hyperlinks as data. To create a Hyperlink field, add a field in table Design view and set its DataType property to Hyperlink. You can also create a Hyperlink field in table Datasheet view by clicking Hyperlink Column on the Insert menu.

You can follow a hyperlink stored in a table by clicking it in the table, but more typically, the field will be bound to a text box control on a form.

Û To add a text box that is bound to a Hyperlink field to a form

1. Open the form in Design view.
2. Make sure the form’s RecordSource property is set to the table that contains the Hyperlink field, or to a query that includes the table.

   

3. Click Field List on the toolbar.
4. Drag the Hyperlink field from the field list to the form.

To see an example of how to use a Hyperlink field, open the Suppliers form in the Northwind sample application. The Home Page text box on the form is bound to the HomePage field in the Suppliers table. Clicking a hyperlink in the text box starts your Web browser and displays the supplier’s home page.

You can also use hyperlinks in Microsoft Access to jump to database objects and other Microsoft Office documents. For example, you could create a document management application that uses a Hyperlink field to store paths to Microsoft Word documents on a network. Users of such an application could add records to track new documents, or click the hyperlink in a previously added record to open the specified document.

The Hyperlink Field Storage Format

A Hyperlink field stores up to three pieces of information: the displaytext, the address, and the subaddress. Each piece is separated by the number sign (#), in the following format:

displaytext#address#subaddress

The following table describes each piece of the Hyperlink field storage format.

Private Sub Form_Current()
	Dim txt As TextBox

	On Error GoTo Error_Form1

	' Set reference to the txtAddress text box bound to a Hyperlink field.
	Set txt = txtAddress

	' Follow the hyperlink.
	txt.Hyperlink.Follow

Exit_Form1:
	Exit Sub

Error_Form1: 
	MsgBox Err & ": " & Err.Description
	Resume Exit_Form1
End Sub

Private Sub OLEUnbound1_Click()
	Dim strAddress As String

	On Error GoTo Error_OLEUnbound1

	' Set reference to hyperlink address.
	strAddress = "http://www.microsoft.com"

	' Follow hyperlink address.
	Application.FollowHyperlink strAddress, , True

Exit_OLEUnbound1:
	Exit Sub

Error_OLEUnbound1:
	MsgBox Err & ": " & Err.Description
	Resume Exit_OLEUnbound1
End Sub

DisplayHyperlinkParts "MyHyperlinkTableName", "MyHyperlinkFieldName"

Sub DisplayHyperlinkParts(strTable As String, strField As String)
	Dim dbs As Database, rst As Recordset
	Dim strMsg As String

	Set dbs = CurrentDb
	Set rst = dbs.OpenRecordset(strTable)

	While Not rst.EOF		' For each record in table.
		strMsg = "DisplayValue = " & HyperlinkPart(rst(strField), acDisplayedValue) _
			& vbCrLf & "DisplayText = " & HyperlinkPart(rst(strField), acDisplayText) _
			& vbCrLf & "Address = " & HyperlinkPart(rst(strField), acAddress) _
			& vbCrLf & "SubAddress = " & HyperlinkPart(rst(strField), acSubAddress)
		' Show parts returned by HyperlinkPart function.
		MsgBox strMsg
		rst.MoveNext
	Wend
End Sub

SELECT Links.URL, HyperlinkPart([URL],0)
AS Display, HyperlinkPart([URL],1)
AS Name, HyperlinkPart([URL],2)
AS Addr, HyperlinkPart([URL],3) AS SubAddr
FROM Links;