Tech

Build an Access form that allows HR to access applicants' resumes

Microsoft Access

The managers in Human Resources have asked you to build an Access database of all applicants.

This database includes a form that the managers can use to look up all available information on anyone who has applied with your firm.

Now they would like to you to add a control on the form that would allow them to access each applicant’s resume without having to search through the paper or electronic files.

Once your company receives resumes--e-mailed, faxed, or mailed--a Human Resources rep scans, if necessary, and stores each resume as a Word file in the applicant’s folder on the server.

To allow access to each applicant’s file from the Applicant Information form, follow these steps:

1. Open the Applicant database in Design view.
2. On the next blank field cell, type Resume.
3. Press [Tab] and select OLE Object from the Data Type cell.
4. Close and save the table.
5. Open the Applicant Information form in Design view.
6. Click the Field List button in the toolbar.
7. Click and drag the Resume field onto the form.
8. Close and save the form.

Now you are ready to enter a link to the resume file for each record. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Applicant Information form.
2. Right-click the Resume control for the first record.
3. Select Insert Object.
4. Navigate to the applicant's resume file.
5. Click to select the Link check box.
6. Click to select the Display as Icon check box, then click OK.

The field now contains an icon that links to the applicant's resume document. The Human Resources manager can double-click on the icon to open the applicant's resume in Word. Because the link provides the managers with access to all Word functions, not only can they read the resume, they can also insert comments and save them for future reference.

Microsoft Word

By default, whenever you copy or move text from one document into a Word document, the pasted text retains its original format. Word 2003 and 2002 provided a Smart Tag that would let you change the format of the pasted text to either plain text or the matching format of the Word document.

This was an improvement over having to reformat the text manually, but it still was necessary with each copy-and-paste operation. Word 2007 changes all that by allowing you to set your own default paste option.

For example, say you are writing a report in Word 2007 and need to copy a number of paragraphs from your company's 2007 year-end report, originally published as a PDF document. Rather than having to use the Smart Tag to change the default paste option to Match Destination Formatting for each cut-and-paste instance, you can change the default so Word will reformat it automatically.

Before copying or moving text, follow these steps:

1. Click the Office button.
2. Click the Word Options button.
3. Click Advanced on the left side of the window.
4. Under the Cut, Copy, And Paste section, click the drop-down arrow of the Pasting From Other Programs box and select Match Destination Formatting.
5. Click OK.

Now, when you paste any text into your document, Word will reformat the text to match the destination document. Note that the Smart Tag will still be available in case come of the copied text needs to retain its original formatting.

Word 2007 also lets you change the default paste options differently depending on the source document. For example, while you may want to match destination formatting when copying between documents, you may want pasted text to keep its formatting when you need to move text within a document.

In that case, you would not change the Keep Source Formatting (Default) option in the Pasting Within The Same Document box.

Microsoft Excel

Adding headers to Excel 2007 worksheets differs significantly from earlier releases. Instead of working with a separate Page Setup dialog, Excel 2007 lets you work with the header directly on the worksheet in Page Layout view. For example, to create a header with the title, 2007 Profit & Loss Statement--in the center, the company's logo inserted at the left margin, and the date inserted at the right margin, follow these steps:

1. Click the View tab and then click Page Layout in the Workbook Views group.
2. Click the words Click to Add Header above row 1.
3. Type 2007 Profit && Loss Statement. (Note that you must enter the ampersand twice in order to enter it as a character.)
4. Click outside the box to the left of the title.
5. In Header & Footer Design Ribbon, click Picture in the Header & Footer Elements group.
6. Browse to the file containing your company's logo, and then click Insert.
7. Click any cell in the worksheet.
8. Click on the logo.
9. In Header & Footer Tools Design Ribbon, select Format Picture in the Header & Footer Elements group.
10. Click the Down arrow of the Height box until it reaches 50%, then click OK.
11. Click to the right of the worksheet title near the right margin.
12. Click Current Date in the Header & Footer Elements group of the Header & Footer Tools Design tab.
13. Click in any cell to exit the Header/Footer mode.

You can perform similar operations to create a footer for your worksheet. To access the footer area of your worksheet, click anywhere in the header, then click Go To Footer in the Navigation group of the Header & Footer Tools tab.

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