Expressions Fundamentals

Introduction to Expressions and Operations

Neither Microsoft Access nor Microsoft Visual Basic is case-sensitive. Therefore, any word
we are going to use that involves a field, its name, and new words we will introduce in
this section, whether written in uppercase, lowercase or a mix, as long as it is the same
word, represents the same thing. Based on this, the words TRUE, True and true, as
related to Microsoft Access, represent the same word. In the same way, if the
wordsNULL, Null, and null are used in an expression, they represent the same thing.
The data fields we have used so far were created in tables and then made available to other
objects (forms and reports), so those objects can implement their own functionality without
worrying about displaying empty or insignificant fields. In various scenarios, you will need to
display a field that is a combination of other fields.

For example, you may need to combine a first name to a last name fields in order to create a
full name field, or, to calculate an employees weekly salary, you may need to retrieve the
value of a Salary field and multiply it with the value of a total number of hours worked in a
week. Most, if not all, of these expressions use what we call operators and operand.
An expression, also called an operation, is a technique of combining two or more values or
data fields, to either modify an existing value or to produce a new value. Based on this, to
create an expression or to perform an operation, you need at least one value or field and one
symbol. A value or field involved in an operation is called an operand. A symbol involved in an
operation is called an operator.

A unary operator is one that uses only one operand. An operator is referred to as binary if it operates on two operands.
Practical Learning: Introducing Expressions
1. Start Microsoft Access and, to create a new database, click Blank Database
2. Set the File Name to Georgetown Dry Cleaners1 and click Create
3. On the default table, double-click ID and type CleaningOrderID
4. Double-click Add New Field, type Customer Name and press Tab
5. Type Customer Phone
6. Complete the columns as follows:

CleaningOrderID
Customer Name
Customer Phone
Deposit Date
Retrieve Date
Unit Price Shirts
Quantity Shirts
Unit Price Pants
Quantity Pants
Unit Price Other
Quantity Other
7. To save the table, right-click the Table1 tab and click Save
8. Set the name to Cleaning Orders and press Enter
9. Right-click the Cleaning Orders tab and click Close
10. In the Navigation Pane, click Cleaning Orders: Table
11. To create a new form, on the ribbon, click Create and, in the Forms section, click Form
12. Press Ctrl + S to save the form
13. Accept the suggested name of the form and click OK
14. Right-click the Cleaning Orders tab and click Design View
15. Click an unoccupied area in the Detail section to make sure no control is selected.
In the Detail section, click the top-left section and drag to the lower-right section to draw a rectangle that covers all
controls
16. When the controls are selected on the form, to ungroup them, on the ribbon, click the Arrange tab. In the Control
Layout section, click the Group button and click the Ungroup button
17. Design the form as follows (you will add 4 text boxes named, from top to bottom: txtSubTotalShirts,
txtSubTotalPants, txtSubTotalOther, and txtCleaningTotal):


18. Save the form
Introduction to Constants
A constant is a value that does not change. The constants you will be using in your databases have already been created
and are built in Microsoft Access. Normally, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), the version of Microsoft Visual Basic that
ships with Microsoft Access also provides many constants. Just in case you are aware of them, you will not be able to use
those constants, as Microsoft Access does not inherently understand them. For this reason, we will mention here only
the constants you can use when building regular expressions.
The algebraic numbers you have been using all the time are constants because they never change. Examples of constant
numbers are 12, 0, 1505, or 88146. Therefore, any number you can think of is a constant. Every letter of the alphabet is
a constant and is always the same. Examples of constant letters are d, n, c. Some characters on your keyboard represent
symbols that are neither letters nor digits. These are constants too. Examples are &, |, @, or !. The names of people are
constants too. In fact, any name you can thing of is a contant.
Common Operators

The Assignment Operator =
In order to provide a value to an existing field, you can use an operator called assignment and its symbol is "=". It uses
the following syntax:
Field/Object = Value/Field/Object
The operand on the left side of the = operator is referred to as the left value:
This operand must always be able to be written to
It cannot be a known value such as a constant
It cannot be an expression that needs to be evaluated
It can be the name of a table's field
It can be an appropriate property of a field
It can be the name of a control on a form or a report.
The operand on the right side of the operator is referred to as the right value. It can be a constant, a value, an
expression, the name of a field, or an object.

There are various ways you can use the assignment operator. Imagine you already have a field named FirstName and
you want to display the value of that field in another field named FullName. To do this, open the Properties window for
the FullName text box and, in its Control Source, you can write an expression that assigns the existing field as
=txtLastName. This would be done as follows:

In some other cases, the assignment operator will be part of a longer expression. We will see examples we move on.
Positive and Negative Values
An algebraic value is considered positive if it is greater than 0. As a mathematical convention, when a value is positive,
you do not need to express it with the + operator. Just writing the number without any symbol signifies that the number
is positive. Therefore, the numbers +4, +228, and +90335 can be, and are better, expressed as 4, 228, or 90335.
Because the value does not display a sign, it is referred as unsigned.
A value is referred to as negative if it is less than 0. To express a negative value, it must be appended with a sign,
namely the - symbol. Examples are -12, -448, -32706. A value accompanied by - is referred to as negative. The - sign
must be typed on the left side of the number it is used to negate.
Remember that if a number does not have a sign, it is considered positive. Therefore, whenever a number is negative, it
must have a - sign. In the same way, if you want to change a value from positive to negative, you can just add a - sign
to its left. In the same way, if you want to negate the value of a field and assign it to another field, you can type the
operator on its left when assigning it.
Besides a numeric value, the value of a field or an object can also be expressed as being negative by typing a - sign to
its left. For example, -txtLength means the value of the control named txtLength must be made negative.
Algebraic Operators
The addition is used to add one value or expression to another. It is performed using the + symbol and its syntax is:
Value1 + Value2
The addition allows you to add two numbers such as 12 + 548 or 5004.25 + 7.63
After performing the addition, you get a result. You can provide such a result to another field of a form or report. This
can be done using the assignment operator. The syntax used would be:
= Value1 + Value2
To use the result of this type of operation, you can write it in the Control Source property of the field that would show the
result.
Subtraction is performed by retrieving one value from another value. This is done using the symbol. The syntax used
is:
Value1 - Value2
The value of Value1 is subtracted from the value of Value2.
Multiplication allows adding one value to itself a certain number of times, set by the second value. The multiplication is
performed with the * sign which is typed with Shift + 8. Here is an example:
Value1 * Value2
During the operation, Value1 is repeatedly added to itself, Value2 times. The result can be assigned to the Control Source
of a field as.
The division is used to get the fraction of one number in terms of another number. Microsoft Access provides two types of
results for the division operation. If you want the result of the operation to be a natural number, called an integer, use
the backlash "\" as the operator. Here is an example:
Value1 \ Value2
This operation can be performed on two types of valid numbers, with or without decimal parts. After the operation, the
result would be a natural number.
The second type of division results in a decimal number. It is performed with the forward slash "/". Its syntax is:
Value1 / Value2
After the operation is performed, the result is a decimal number.
The Exponentiation: ^
Exponentiation is the ability to raise a number to the power of another number. This operation is performed using the ^
operator (Shift + 6). It uses the following mathematical formula:
y
x

In Microsoft Access, this formula is written as y^x and means the same thing. Either or both y and x can be values or
expressions, but they must carry valid values that can be evaluated.
When the operation is performed, the value of y is raised to the power of x. You can display the result of such an
operation in a field using the assignment operator as follows:
=y^x
The Remainder Operator: Mod
The division operation gives a result of a number with or without decimal values, which is fine in some circumstances.
Sometimes you will want to get the value remaining after a division renders a natural result. The remainder operation is
performed with keyword Mod. Its syntax is:
Value1 Mod Value2
The result of the operation can be used as you see fit or you can display it in a control using the assignment operator as
follows:
= Value1 Mod Value2
Microsoft Access Operators

The Period Operator: .
In previous lessons, we learned that a property was something that characterized or describes an object. For example,
users mainly use a text box either to read the text it contains, or to change its content, by changing the existing text or
by entering new text. Therefore, the text the user types in a text box is a property of the text box. To access the
property of an object, type the name of the object, followed by a period, followed by the name of the property you need.
The syntax used is:
Object.PropertyName
The property you are trying to use must be a valid property of the object. In Microsoft Access, to use a property of an
object, you must know, either based on experience or with certainty, that the property exists. Even so, unfortunately,
not all properties are available in Microsoft Access.
The Square Brackets Operator: []
To name our objects so far, in some cases we used a name made of one word without space. In some other cases, we
used spaces or special characters in a name. This is possible because Microsoft Access allows a great level of flexibility
when it comes to names used in a database. Unfortunately, when such names get involved in an expression, there would
be an error or the result would be unpredictable.
To make sure Microsoft Access can recognize any name in an expression, you should include it between an opening
square bracket "[" and a closing square brackets "]". Examples are [ Year], [Soc. Sec. #], or [Date of Birth]. In the
same way, even if the name is in one word, to be safe, you should (always) include it in square brackets. Examples
are [Country],[FirstName], or [SocialSecurityNumber]. Therefore, the =txtLength expression that we referred to
can be written =[txtLength].
Practical Learning: Creating Expressions
1. On the form, double-click the Unbound text box on the right side of the Quantity shirt to access its Properties
window
2. On the Properties window, click the Data tab.
Click Control Source and type =[Unit Price Shirts]*[Quantity Shirts]
3. On the form click the second text box under Sub-Total.
In the Properties window, click Control Source and type
=[Unit Price Pants]*[Quantity Pants]
4. On the form click the third text box under Sub-Total.
In the Properties window, click Control Source and type
=[Unit Price Other]*[Quantity Other]
5. Save the form
The Collection Operator: !
The objects used in Microsoft Access are grouped in categories called collections. For example, the forms belong to a
collection of objects called Forms. Consequently, all forms of yourdatabase project belong to the Forms collection. The
reports belong to a collection of objects called Reports and all reports of your database belong to
the Reports collection. The data fields belong to a collection called Controls and all controls of a form or a report of
your database belong to the Controls collection.
To call a particular object in an expression, use the exclamation point operator "!". To do this, type the name of the
collection followed by the ! operator, followed by the name of the object you want to access. For example, on a form, if
you have a text box called txtLength and you want to refer to it, you can type [Controls]![txtLength]. Therefore, the
=txtLength expression that we referred to can be written =Controls!txtLength, and =[txtLength] can be written
=Controls![txtLength] or =[Controls]![txtLength].
The name of the collection is used to perform what is referred to as qualification: the name of the collection qualifies
the object. In other words, it helps the database engine locate the object by referring to its collection. This is useful in
case two objects of different categories are being referred to.
In a database, Microsoft Access allows two objects to have the same name, as long as they do not belong to the same
category. For example, you cannot have two forms called Employees in the same database. In the same way, you cannot
have two reports named Contracts in the same database. On the other hand, you can have a form named Employees and
a report named Employees in the same database. For this reason, when creating expressions, you should (strongly)
qualify the object you are referring to, using its collection. Therefore, when an object named Employees is referred to in
an expression, you should specify its collection, using the ! operator. An example would be Forms!Employees which
means the Employees form of theForms collection. If the name of the form is made of more than one word, or for
convenience, you must (strongly suggested) use square brackets to delimit the name of the form. The form would be
accessed with Forms![Employees].
To refer to a control placed on a form or report, you can type the Forms collection, followed by the ! operator, followed
by the name of the form, followed by the ! operator and followed by the name of the control. An example would
be Forms!People!LastName. Using the assignment operator that we introduced earlier, if on a form named People, you
have a control named LastName and you want to assign its value to another control named FullName, in the Control
Source property of the FullName field, you can enter one of the following expressions:
=LastName

=[LastName]

=Controls!LastName

=[Controls]![LastName]

=Forms!People!LastName

=[Forms]![People]![LastName]
These expressions would produce the same result.
The Parentheses Operators: ()
Parentheses are used in two main circumstances: in expressions (or operations) or in functions. The parentheses in an
expression help to create sections. This regularly occurs when more than one operators are used in an operation.
Consider the following operation: 8 + 3 * 5
The result of this operation depends on whether you want to add 8 to 3 then multiply the result by 5 or you want to
multiply 3 by 5 and then add the result to 8. Parentheses allow you to specify which operation should be performed first
in a multi-operator operation. In our example, if you want to add 8 to 3 first and use the result to multiply it by 5, you
would write (8 + 3) * 5. This would produce 55. On the other hand, if you want to multiply 3 by 5 first then add the
result to 8, you would write 8 + (3 * 5). This would produce 23.
As you can see, results are different when parentheses are used on an operation that involves various operators. This
concept is based on a theory called operator precedence. This theory manages which operation would execute before
which one; but parentheses allow you to control the sequence of these operations.
Expressions and Functions

Introduction
A function is a task that must be performed to produce a result on a table, a form, or a report. It is like an operation or
an expression with the first difference that someone else created it and you can just use it. For example, instead of the
addition operator "+", to add two values, you could use a function.
In practicality, you cannot create a function in Microsoft Access. You can only use those that have been created and that
exist already. These are referred to as built-in functions.

Microsoft Access ships with various functions to perform different tasks. There are so many of them that we will
review only a few.
If you had to create a function (remember that we cannot create a function in Microsoft Access; the following sections
are only hypothetical but illustrative of the subject of a function), a formula you would use is:
FunctionName()

End
This syntax is very simplistic but indicates that the minimum piece of information a function needs is a name. The name
allows you to refer to this function in other parts of the database. The name of the function is followed by parentheses.
As stated already, a function is meant to perform a task. This task would be defined or described in the body of the
function. In our simple syntax, the body of the function would start just under its name after the parentheses and would
stop just above the End word. The person who creates a function also decides what the function can do. Following our
simple formula, if we wanted a function that can open Solitaire, it could appear as follows:
FunctionExample()
Open Solitaire
End
Once a function has been created, it can be used. Using a function is referred to as calling it. To call a simple function li ke
the above FunctionExample, you would just type its name.

A function produces a result. This is also stated that a function returns a value. Based on this, the result of a function can
be provided for further use and assigned (passed) to a field or to another function. To display the result of a function in a
field, you can access its Control Source property, use the assignment operator =, type the name of the function,
followed by its parentheses. This would be done as follows:

The person who creates a function also decides what kind of value the function can return. For example, if you create a
function that performs a calculation, the function may return a number. If you create another function that combines a
first name and a last name, you can make the function return a string that represents a full name.
Arguments and Parameters
When asked to perform its task, a function may need one or more values to work with. If a function needs a value, such
a value is called a parameter. The parameter is provided in the parentheses of the function. The formula used to create
such a function would be:
ReturnValue FunctionName(Parameter)

End
Once again, the body of the function would be used to define what the function does. For example, if you were writing a
function that multiplies its parameter by 12.58, it would appear almost as follows:
Decimal FunctionName(Parameter)
parameter * 12.58
End
While a certain function may need one parameter, another function would need many of them. The number and types of
parameters of a function depend on its goal. When a function uses more than one parameter, a comma separates them
in the parentheses. The syntax used is:
ReturnValue FunctionName(Parameter1, Parameter2, Parameter_n)

End
If you were creating a function that adds its two parameters, it would appear as follows:
NaturalNumber AddTwoNumbers(Parameter1, Parameter2)
Parameter1 + Parameter2
End
Once a function has been created, it can be used in other parts of the database. Once again, using a function is referred
to as calling it. If a function is taking one or more parameters, it is called differently than a function that does not take
any parameter. We saw already how you could call a function that does not take any parameter and assign it to a field
using its Control Source. If a function is taking one parameter, when calling it, you must provide a value for the
parameter, otherwise the function would not work (when you display the form or report, Microsoft Access would display
an error). When you call a function that takes a parameter, the parameter is called an argument. Therefore, when calling
the function, we would say that the function takes one argument. In the same way, a function with more than one
parameter must be called with its number of arguments.
To call a function that takes an argument, type the name of the function followed by the opening parenthesis "(",
followed by the value (or the field name) that will be the argument, followed by a closing parenthesis ")". The argument
you pass can be a constant number. Here is an example:

The value passed as argument can be the name of an existing field. The rule to respect is that, when Microsoft Access
will be asked to perform the task(s) for the function, the argument must provide, or be ready to provide, a valid value.
As done with the argument-less function, when calling this type of function, you can assign it to a field by using the
assignment operator in itsControl Source property. Here is an example:

If the function is taking more than one argument, to call it, type the values for the arguments, in the exact order
indicated, separated from each other by a comma. As for the other functions, the calling can be assigned to a field in
its Control Source. All the arguments can be constant values, all of them can be the names of fields or objects, or some
arguments can be passed as constants and others as names of fields. Here is an example:

Optional Arguments and Default Values
We have mentioned that, when calling a function that takes an argument, you must supply a value for the argument.
There is an exception. Depending on how the function was created, it may be configured to use its own value if you fail,
forget, or choose not, to provide one. This is known as the default argument. Not all functions follow this rule and you
would know either by checking the documentation of that function or through experience.
If a function that takes one argument has a default value for it, then you do not have to supply a value when calling that
function. Such an argument is considered optional. Whenever in doubt, you should provide your own value for the
argument. That way, you would not only be on the safe side but also you would know with certainty what value the
function had to deal with.
If a function takes more than one argument, some argument(s) may have default values while some others do not. The
arguments that have default values can be used and you do not have to supply them.
The Expression Builder

Introduction
In the above sections, we saw what operators could be used to create an expression. We also had a glimpse of what a
function looked like and how it could be called from the Properties window. In those sections, we saw how to manually
create an expression and how to manually call a function. To assist you with writing expressions or calling a (built-in)
function and reduce the likelihood of a mistake, Microsoft Access is equipped with a good functional dialog box named the
Expression Builder.
Using the Expression Builder
The Expression Builder is used to create an expression or call a function that would be used as the Control Source of a
field. Therefore, to access the Expression Builder, open the Properties window for the control that will use the expression
or function, and click its ellipsis button . This would call the Expression Builder dialog box

Like every regular dialog box, the Expression Builder starts on top with its title bar that displays its caption, its help
button, and its system Close button.
Unlike a regular dialog box, the Expression Builder is resizable: you can enlarge, narrow, heighten, or shorten it, to a
certain extent.
Under the title bar and to the left, the expression area, with a large white background, is used to show the current
expression when you have written it. If you already know what you want, you can directly type an expression, a function,
or a combination of those in the expression area.
Under the expression area, there are various buttons each displaying an operator. To use an operator in your expression,
you can click its button. What happens depends on what was already in the expression or what button you clicked. For
example, if you first click = and then click &, another section would be added to the expression. Also, to assist you with
creating an expression, sometimes when you have clicked a button, Microsoft Access would add Expr. This is referred
to as a placeholder: it indicates to you that you must replace Expr with a valid value, a valid expression, or a valid
function call.
Under the bar of buttons, there are three list boxes. The left list displays some categories of items. The top node is the
name of the database on which you are working. Under the name of the current database are the names of collections of
items of a database. The Tables node represents the Tables collection and it holds the names of the tables of the current
database. In the same way, the Forms name represents the Forms collection of a database, and it holds the names of
the forms of the current database. If there are no items in a collection, the node would display only a yellow button. If
there is at least one item in the category, its node would display a + button.
To access an object of your database, expand its node collection by double-clicking its corresponding button or clicking
its + button. After you have expanded a node, a list would appear. In some cases, such as the Forms node, another list
of categories may appear:

To access an object of a collection, in the left list, you can click its node. This would fill the middle list with some items
that would of course depend on what was selected in the left list. Here is example:

Depending on the object that was clicked in the left list, the middle list can display the Windows controls that are part of,
or are positioned on, the form or report. For example, if you click the name of a form in the left list, the middle list would
display the names of all the controls on that form. To use one of the controls on the object, in the middle list, you can
double-click the item in the middle list. When you do, the name of the control would appear in the expression area.
Some items in the middle list hold their own list of items. To show that list, you must click an item in the middle list. For
example, to access the properties of a control positioned on a form, in the left list, expand the Forms node and expand
All Forms. Then, in the left list, click the name of a form. This would cause the middle list to display the controls of the
selected form. To access the properties of the control, click its name in the middle list. The right list would show its
properties:

To use an item from the right list into an expression, you can either click the item and click the Paste button, or you can
double-click the item in the right list
Based on these descriptions, to access one of the Microsoft Access built-in functions, in the left list, expand the Functions
node and click Built-In Functions. The middle list would display categories of functions. If you see the function you want
to use, you can use it. If the right list is too long for you but you know the type of the function you are looking for, you
can click its category in the middle list and locate it in the right list.
Once you see the function you want in the right list, you can either click it and click Paste or you can double-click it. If it
is a parameter-less function, its name and parentheses would be added to the expression area:

If the function is configured to take arguments, its name and a placeholder for each argument would be added to the
expression area:

You must then replace each placeholder with the appropriate value or expression. To assist you with functions, in its
bottom section, the Expression Builder shows the syntax of the function, including its name and the name(s) of the
argument(s) (unfortunately, this help is not particularly helpful, for example, it shows neither the return type nor the
type of each argument).
The top-right section of the Expression Builder displays a few buttons. If you make a mistake after adding an item to the
expression area, you can click Undo. To get help while using the Expression Builder, you can click Help. To dismiss the
dialog box, you can click Cancel.
After creating the expression, if you are satisfied with it, click OK.
Practical Learning: Using the Expression Builder
1. The Cleaning Orders form of the Georgetown Dry Cleaner1 database should still be opened in Design View.
On the form, double-click the last Unbound text box to access its Properties window
In the Properties window, click the Data tab. Click Control Source and click its ellipsis button
2. Click the = button
3. In the left list, double-click Functions to expand it
4. Click Built-In Functions
5. In the middle list, click Conversion
6. In the right list, scroll down and click Nz (in future lessons, we will learn what that function does)
7. Click the Paste button
8. In the expression area, select the contents of the parentheses: expr, valueifnull


9. In the left list, double-click Forms and double-click Loaded Forms to expand them
10. In the left list, click Cleaning Orders
11. In the middle list, scroll down and double-click txtSubTotalShirts


12. In the expression area, click on the right side of the closing parenthesis and click the + button
13. Following the above 4 to 11 steps for the txtSubTotalPants and the txtSubTotalOther fields, complete the expression


14. Click OK and close the Properties window


15. Save the form
16. To preview the form, right-click the Cleaning Orders tab and click Form View
17. To see the results, create the following records:

Customer Name
Shirts Pants Other
Unit Price Qty Unit Price Qty Unit Price Qty
Carl Arndt 1.15 4 1.85 2 0.00 0
April Drasco 0.00 0 1.95 1 3.25 3
Christie Hanson 1.15 1 1.85 4 4.50 2
Amie Perlman 0.00 0 0.00 0 3.55 5
18.

19. Close the Cleaning Orders form