By Wanda Gibson, CI, MMI,

SME

Microsoft Access

• Access is a database management system.

• This system lets you create and process data.

• A database is a collection of data that is organized in a way that enables you as the user to retrieve it.

Database

A database is like a “book cover”.Everything is included in “chapters”.

TablesQueries

Each “chapter” is considered an Object.

FormsReports

Terminology to Remember

Table – the basic organization of the information in a database

Record – contains information about a particular person, company, or event

Field – A name given to a specific piece of information in a record (name, address, etc.)

Primary Key – a unique identifier

Tables-- the starting point

Begin with the Structure Field Names -- name given to a

specific piece of information in a record (name, address, etc.)

Data Type – the kind of information included (words or numbers)

Description – a definition of the information included in the fields

Field Size – the size the field needs to be to accommodate all data

Everything has two views

Design View – the structure

Datasheet View – the information

Field Name Rules

A field name can not exceed 64 characters.

A field name can contain letters, digits, and spaces.

A field cannot contain periods, exclamation points, accent marks, or square brackets.

The field name cannot be repeated in the same table.

Data Type

The type of information to be stored in a particular field can be one of following:Text – Words or numbers that will not be

used in calculations.Number – A number that can be used in a

calculation. This number can be positive or negative.

Currency – A field that contains money information. The information will be displayed with dollar signs, decimal points and two digits.

Yes/No – A signifies yes, a signifies no.

Primary Key

A primary key is a field that is unique.

The information is not repeated in

any record. A good example of a primary key

would be our Social Security Number. This number is unique to each of us.

To create a new Database – Click Blank Database

New Database Named

This is the main menu in Access

There are four ways to create a Table from this menu.

Click Create Table in Design View

The Design View of a Table is where the structure is created.

Indicates Primary Key

Indicates the size of the field

Once the structure is complete and saved, the user can input the data. Click the view button to go to the datasheet view.

All data has been added. The Toys Table is complete.

This is Data Sheet View of the Table

Field Names

Data Records

Record Selector

An additional table has been added to the database

The data for the Vendors Table has been added.

Navigation Buttons

First Record

Previous Record

Current Record

Next Record

Last Record

New Record

Total Number of

Records

Using Access

Access is straightforward and methodical.

The user saves the structure.Access automatically saves the

data (records).

Forms

Forms show individual recordsThey can be used for data entryThey can also be used to edit

existing records instead of using the table

Forms can be customized using the Wizard

Forms, just like Tables and Reports have a Design View and a Datasheet View.

A Form can be used for data entry. To create a form, either use AutoForm in the New Objects button on the toolbar or click Forms in the objects menu.

Using the AutoForm button, the form is created quickly.This form includes all the fields from the table in the order they appear in the table.

This is Datasheet View of the Form.

This is Design View of the same Form.

Using Form Wizard, the user can select just the fields needed for the form.

This form has the fields requested in the wizard.

Reports

Reports are not used for data entry

They are used to display information about the table or tables from the database

Reports can be customized using the Wizard

Reports just like Tables and Forms have a Design view and a Datasheet View

AutoReport is a way to create a report with all fields shown in the order they appear in the

table.

This AutoReport is hard to read because all the records follow each other with no

dividing line between.Record 1

Record 2

This is Datasheet View of the Report.

This is Design View of the previous Report.

Using Report Wizard a user can include only the fields needed for the required information.

Using Report Wizard, only the fields needed were added to the report. This report is in a tabular layout and is easy to read.

This Report is in Data Sheet View

This is the previous Report in Design View.

Permissions

Microsoft product screen shots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.