Navigating Access with the Alt Key

If you like to use the keyboard as much as possible when you’re working with software, Access makes it somewhat easy to do that. I say somewhat because you need to use a special key in order to make the rest of the keyboard work as a commander.

When you want to switch tabs and issue commands with the keyboard (rather than with the mouse), press the Alt key. As shown in Figure 2-20, pressing Alt causes numbers and letters to appear in small squares on the Quick Access toolbar and the Ribbon’s tabs. When the numbers and letters are visible, you can press one of those characters on your keyboard to issue a command (such as pressing 1 to Save) or to switch to a tab (such as pressing C to get to the Create tab).

Figure 2-20: Rather press a letter or number than click a tab or button with your mouse? The Alt key shows you how.

When you’re on a tab (but only if you press its letter key to activate it), the individual buttons on that tab have their own keyboard shortcuts displayed. Instead of single numbers or letters, however, now you’re looking at pressing key combinations, such as F + Z (displayed as FZ onscreen) to activate the Form Wizard. Figure 2-21 shows the keyboard shortcuts for the Create tab.

Figure 2-21: Each button on a tab has its own keyboard shortcut.

The goal is not to try to press the two keys at the exact same time. Instead, press the first one listed — and with that key still pressed, tap the second key. Voilà!

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