Microsoft Access 2003 Introduction To Microsoft Access 2003

Define some key Access terminology Field – A single characteristic or attribute of a person, place, object, event, or idea. Record – A set of related field values. Table – A collection of records that identify a category of data, such as Customers, Orders, or Inventory.

Illustration of fields, records and a table

Relational database and keys A relational database is a collection of tables that are related to one another based on a common field. A field, or a collection of fields, is designated as the primary key. –The primary key uniquely identifies a record in the table. When the primary key of one table is represented in a second table to form a relationship, it is called a foreign key.

Relating tables using a common field

Open an existing database To open an existing database, you must first start Access. When Access is launched you will see the Access window, with the task pane on the right side of the window.

Open an existing database From the task pane you can open an existing database by: –Selecting the database you want from the list of Recently opened databases –Selecting “Look in” list arrow to choose a database you want to open from a storage location If you choose the Look in list arrow, you will browse to the correct location of your database, click on it, and then click on Open to open the database

The Access window When a database is opened, the Access window and the Database window will be displayed. The Access window contains a menu bar, a toolbar, a task pane, and a status bar. In the Access window, use the task pane to create a new database or to open an existing database. –To create a new database, make a selection from the New section of the task pane –To open an existing database, select from the list of Recently opened databases or from the More files option

The Database window The Database window is the main control center for working with an Access database. The Database window contains a menu bar, an objects bar, and a groups bar. –The Objects bar lists all the objects available in the database –The list of objects consists of tables, queries, forms, reports, pages, macros, and modules –You can click on any of the objects in the Objects bar to obtain a list of objects of that type

Use the task pane to open a database

Open an Access database table To open a table you must first open a database: –In the database window, select Tables on the objects bar –In the list of tables, select the table you want to open and click on the Open button –When a table is open it is in Datasheet view, which shows the table's data as a collection of rows and columns –Each row in the Datasheet view represents a record in the table

Navigate a database table You can navigate through the records by using the navigation buttons displayed at the bottom of the Datasheet view window. The navigation bar allows you to: –Go to the first record in the table –Go to the previous record in the table –Go to the next record in the table –Go to the last record in the table –Create a new record for the table (sometimes called an append record)

A table in datasheet view

The navigation bar buttons

Learn how Access saves a database The Save button in Access differs from the Save button in other Windows programs. When you press the Save button in Access, you are saving the design of the Access objects and NOT the data itself. –Access saves data as it is entered For this reason, the location at which you are storing your database must always be accessible while working with a particular database. –If the database is located on a diskette, the diskette must be in the diskette drive at all times while working with this particular database

What is an Access query? If you want to see just a portion of the data in a table you can create a query. A query is a question you ask about the data stored in a database table. Access responds by displaying the data according to your question. –For example, if you ask to see all the customers from New York, the response would be to display only the records whose state field matches with NY

Open an existing query and create new queries You can open an existing query by clicking Queries on the Objects bar and then selecting the query you want to open. You can also create your own queries by clicking New on the Database window. To create a new query, you can use the Simple Query Wizard, which will bring you through the selections you want for your query.

Navigating a query and sorting the results When you run and get the results of your query, you can reorganize the data by sorting the datasheet in either ascending or descending order. –Click the pointer anywhere in the column you wish to sort –Click the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending buttons on the Query Datasheet toolbar to sort the results in the desired sequence You can navigate through the records by using the navigation buttons on the Navigations toolbar.

Sample Query Datasheet view

Selecting fields to include in a query You can create a query that will display only selected fields from a table instead of displaying all fields. In the Simple Query Wizard dialog box, select which fields you want included in the query. –Move all the fields into the Selected Fields box –Move the fields one at a time –Remove fields out of the Selected Fields box by pressing one of the remove buttons If you wanted to select all the fields except one, you can move them all to the selected fields list and then remove the one field you don't want. Once you have made your selections, press Next to move to the next dialog box in the Wizard.

The Simple Query Wizard

Create an Access form A form allows you to view your data one record at a time. Forms are useful for maintaining, viewing, and printing records in a database. You can create your own form in the Forms Design window or you can use the Forms Wizard to create a form. The easiest way to create a form is to use the AutoForm Wizard.

Use the AutoForm Wizard The AutoForm Wizard uses a table (or query) you select as the basis to create a form that displays all the fields of the table (or query). Once you have created your form, you can view the records one record at a time. The form has a navigation bar just like the navigation bar you have already used in the Table or Query Datasheet view.

Access Form View

Create, preview, and navigate a report You can create a report, which is a printed version of your data, that is formatted according to your specifications. The data in the report can consist of data from a single table or multiple tables. Access has a Reports Wizard that allows you to easily create a report. The report can be based on a table or it can be based on a query. –If the report is based on a query, it will contain the same fields that were selected for the query

The Report Preview window

Backup and restore a database You may want to create a backup of your data so that if you lose or damage your database, you can recover from the backup. You can use a backup tool, such as the Microsoft backup tool, or some other backup program. To restore the data from the backup, you need to use the same backup tool according to the instructions associated with that tool.

Compacting a database It is a good idea to periodically compact and repair a database to recover wasted space created by adding, deleting, and modifying records. Access has a Compact and Repair feature: –Open a database –Click on Tools and then Options –On the Options menu, select Compact on Close. Selecting this option will cause your database to be compacted and repaired every time you close it

Setting the Compact on Close option

Compacting reduces database storage size

Convert an existing database to Access 2003 format It is possible to convert a database created in Access 2000 or 2002 to an Access 2003 database. To convert an Access 2000 or 2002 database to Access 2003 format: –Make certain the database to be converted is closed –Click Tools on the menu bar, then point to Database Utilities –Point to Convert database and choose the format to convert to –Enter the name of the database to convert, and a name for the converted database to be stored under