S

screen capture, screen shot

An image of what was showing on the computer screen. Pressing the Print Screen key sends a image of the whole screen to the Windows Clipboard. Holding the ALT key down while pressing Print Screen key captures an image of the active window. You must paste the captured image into a graphics program or another program that can display graphics in order to see it.

section

A separate part of a form or report. Sections include header, footer, detail. Pages, reports, forms, and groups all have a header and a footer, though some sections may not be shown.

selection

The object that will receive the actions of keys and commands, such as a field in a datasheet or a text box on a form.

Snapshot Report

A special format for exporting a report from Access to someone who does not have Access. By using the free download Snapshot Viewer, the user can see the report exactly as it displays in Access.

Snapshot Viewer

A program for viewing Snapshot Reports. It is a free download from Microsoft.

SNP format

The file format for a Snapshot Report. The file name ends in .snp, like MyReport.snp

sort

To rearrange rows of data in an order without separating the fields in a record. The order can be alphabetical, numerical, or based on a custom list.

Sorting and Grouping

A dialog where you can select which fields to use to group your records and how to sort them.

Sort Ascending

A button which will sort selected cells in a column into alphabetical or numerical order. If multiple cells are selected in each row or whole rows are selected, the sorting is based on the first cell in each row of the selection. 

Sort Descending

A button which will sort selected cells in a column into reverse alphabetical or numerical order. If multiple cells are selected in each row or whole rows are selected, the sorting is based on the first cell in each row of the selection. 

Sort dialog

A dialog which offers more choices than the Sort buttons. You can sort on 3 different columns. For each one you can choose to sort ascending, descending, or use a custom list.

source

The table and/or queries that the data comes from for a form, report, or data access page.

spreadsheet

Sheet or worksheet- formed of rows and columns.

spreadsheet database

A range in a spreadsheet that can be treated as a database, having each record in its own row.

SQL

Structured Query Language is a language used to select and organize records in a database. For example, when the parts of a student's name are in separate fields in the table named Students, a query can put the parts together, group the records by class, and alphabetize them with the following in SQL:

SELECT Students.StudentID, Students.LastName, Students.FirstName, Students.Class, [LastName] & ", " & [FirstName] AS Name
FROM Students
ORDER BY Students.Class, [LastName] & ", " & [FirstName];
 

SQL statement

A query shown in SQL instead of in a design grid. For example, the following SQL statement is the same as the query design below it:

SELECT Students.*, [Create NameFull].NameFull FROM [Create NameFull] INNER JOIN Students ON [Create NameFull].StudentID = Students.StudentID ORDER BY Students.StudentID, [Create NameFull].NameFull;

square brackets

[ is a left square bracket. ] is a right square bracket.

standard height

The standard, or default, height for a row in a datasheet is 12.75 points, which 1 point is 1/72 of an inch.

standard width

The standard, or default, width for a column in a datasheet is 1 inch, measured on a printed copy.

stretch

To enlarge an image to fit the size of its control, without trying to keep the proportions the same as the original image.

string, or text string

A set of text characters, as opposed to a number. The formatting of strings may be different from the formatting of a number with the same characters. For example, as a text string, 49.56 is aligned to the left, but as a number it would be aligned to the right.

style

Form or Report: An AutoFormat style is a saved collection of formatting choices for the sections of a form or report and the controls and labels. An AutoFormat style can be applied to a different form or report with the AutoFormat command on the Format menu.

subdatasheet

A datasheet inside a datasheet. When two tables have a One-to-Many relationship, the datasheet of records in the table on the One side can open a subdatasheet that shows the related records.
 

subform

A form which is itself a control on another form or report.

subreport

A report which is itself a control on another report. A subreport cannot be put onto a form.

Sum function

Adds all of the values in a field or the calculations based on a field or fields.
Syntax: Sum(expr)
where expr is a field name or expression.
Example: Sum([Score]) would add all of the scores together.

Summary report

A report which contains summary information but no detail records. Such a report might contain only a chart or only totals.

switchboard

A form which allows you to click buttons to perform actions or open selected forms and reports. A switchboard can have multiple pages, which look like separate forms.

Switchboard Manager

A tool in Access for creating and managing a switchboard form and its pages. Only one switchboard form can exist in a database. You can create the same effect yourself by creating custom dialogs.

switchboard pages

A switchboard form can include buttons that open other pages of the form. For example on the main switchboard page a button called Forms could open another page that has buttons for the most commonly used forms in the database.

synchronize

To coordinate. In particular, a subform or subreport synchronizes with the main form or main report to show only the records that match the current record.

syntax

The rules or pattern for constructing an expression or function.
Example: A calculated value in a query has the general form: NewFieldName:expression

Example: The IIF function has the general form:
   IIF(<statement that is either true or false>, <value if true>, <value if false>)