Working with Access 2007

Using content from Office Access 2007 is rare, but occasionally you might want to do that. Tables will transfer reasonably well, but forms will sometimes not look anything like the original Access form. If you are simply trying to give a representation of the information in Access, it might be easier to do a screen capture of the item in question rather than copy the actual item.

Add an Existing Table, Form, Report, or Other Object from Access 2007

Adding an existing Access item to your presentation is a quick process. Here’s how to do it in the Datasheet view; some items can also be copied in other views:

1. In Access 2007, click the upper-left cell of the content you want to copy. Drag to select the content desired.

2. In Access 2007, go to the Clipboard group on the Home tab, and click Copy.

3. In PowerPoint 2007, select the slide where you want to place the table. Click Paste 3. In PowerPoint 2007, select the slide where in the Clipboard group on the Home tab.

Use a Screen Capture to Copy Content from Access 2007

Sometimes things just don’t drop into your presentation correctly, and that can occur with Access 2007 content, too. In that case, try using a screen capture to copy content from Access 2007 into your presentation. A screen capture takes a picture of the information displayed on your screen-just open Access 2007 to the screen you want to show in your presentation, and then follow these steps:

1. In Access 2007, select the item you want to copy.

2. Do one of the following:

   • To copy the entire active window, press Alt+Print Screen on your keyboard.

   • To copy the entire screen as it appears on your monitor, press Print Screen.

3. In PowerPoint 2007, select the slide where you want to place the screen capture. Press Ctrl+V.

Troubleshooting

The content I copied from Access 2007 is unreadable in PowerPoint 2007.

If you copy content from Access 2007 into PowerPoint 2007 and it appears unreadable, you need to resize the entire table to make the text visible. You can do this by grabbing the corner and side handles; it won’t work if you try to resize from any other place on the table. If you just want to resize a column or row, you can-rest the pointer on the column or row line you want to change, and pull when the double lines and arrows appear. If resizing doesn’t make the text readable, in PowerPoint 2007 look at your font size in the Fonts group on the Home tab. You might need to enlarge it.

Multimedia Formats

Even though we have already discussed importing objects and other media items in Chapter 18, we wanted to add a quick word here about working with multimedia formats. You might not be able to insert some items into your PowerPoint 2007 presentations, but you might be able to work around this and use them in your presentation anyway. Other multimedia formats simply won’t work at all in PowerPoint 2007.

Apple QuickTime movies, for example, are actually Apple format, so it should be no surprise that they aren’t going to work in PowerPoint 2007. To get around this, either create a hyperlink to the QuickTime movie or convert the QuickTime movie file to a Microsoft Windows video (.avi) file format or other compatible multimedia format that PowerPoint 2007 will let you insert.

Although you can’t add a digital movie from a DVD to a PowerPoint 2007 presentation, third-party add-ins will let you play a video DVD during a presentation. Refer to www.pfcmedia.com if you’re interested in trying an add-in for this purpose.