In Module 7, you learn about Microsoft Access 2013. Chapter 1 covers working with Access databases. Chapter 2 deals with creating forms and tables. In Chapter 3, you will work with queries and reports.
You may have heard our present time referred to as the Information Age. Businesses, schools, and individuals rely on instant access to information and expect to have that information at their fingertips. Computers today enable you to store large amounts of data and to quickly retrieve and organize that data. Much of the information you retrieve from a computer or from a website is stored in a database. To understand how databases work, you need to learn some database terminology.
To understand how databases work, you need to learn some database terminology. The Products table illustrated in this slide is part of a computer store database for tracking the store’s inventory and sales. All of the information supplied for one product (ID, model, description, and unit price) makes up a single record.
To demonstrate this relationship among tables, assume the Products table and the Inventory table illustrated in this slide are part of the same Access database. The Products table contains a ProductID field but no ProductName field. The ProductName field is stored in another table, the Inventory table. But the tables are related because both contain the ProductID column of data. This relationship allows you to access all the information for each product, regardless of where it is stored.
When you enter data in a form, that information is also entered into the corresponding table.
The results of the query to find out which customers have ordered ACC headphone are shown in the illustration in this slide.
You may want to put query results information in a professional-looking report, like the one shown in the illustration in this slide, that you can pass along to the supervisor who makes reordering decisions.
If you have a Microsoft account, you can create an Access app that can be viewed, edited, and shared on the Web. An Access app stores data in the cloud. You can use the Custom web app template that is displayed in the list of available templates when Access is started to create an Access app. Predefined tables can then be added to the app to store data.
The Chocolate Museum has a membership program that people can join to receive admission discounts, receive the monthly newsletter, and be among the first invited to preview new exhibits. All of the information about the Museum’s membership program is stored in a database. In this chapter, you explore the objects in this database. You also add records, sort and filter data, run a query, and display a report.
In this chapter, you learn to work with the objects in an Access database, including tables, forms, queries, and reports. You use Access tables to enter and organize data. You can also use Access forms to enter data. Some users prefer to enter records into forms instead of tables, because forms allow them to enter and view one record at a time. Once you have entered data in a database, you can then organize the data by sorting or filtering it. Filtering temporarily displays only those records meeting a certain condition or conditions. You can also run a query (ask a question) to locate specific information in a database. If you need to print information from a database, you can create a report to present the information in a professional-looking format. In Access, you can create a desktop database, which is saved on a storage media, or you can create a custom web app, which can be accessed and shared through a web browser. In this chapter, you work with a desktop database, entering data in a table and in a form. You edit, sort, and filter data and format a datasheet. You also run a query and display a report.
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When a database opens, you do not see a document as you do in Word or a workbook as you do in Excel. Instead, you see a Navigation pane on the left side of the window that lists the names of the objects that make up the database. This list of objects includes all tables, forms, queries, and reports that are part of the database.
When you double-click a table in the Tables group in the Navigation pane, the table displays in a datasheet and the first record is selected.
You can use a form to enter records in the a table. The form contains the same fields found in the table. When you double-click a form in the Forms group, the form displays only one record.
To open an object, you double-click the object in the Navigation pane as illustrated in this slide. If the Navigation pane is not open, click the Shutter Bar Open/Close button at the top of the Navigation pane.
Each tab contains the name of the object and an icon that indicates the object type.
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Entering data in a table is useful for comparing records because you can see multiple records at once. However, this method can be confusing if you are entering a record with a lot of fields and you have to scroll through the fields. A form displays one record at a time. Entering data in a form is less confusing because you usually do not have to scroll a record to see all the fields, and this can help you avoid errors.
Press Tab to move to the right of the ID field. The ID field is an AutoNumber field. For such fields, the new record will automatically be assigned the next number.
The data value for a field is called an entry.
Access automatically saves records that you enter in a table or a form, so you do not have to save before closing the table.
You can enter data in a table or in a form.
This slide illustrates a new record with information added to all fields. After you type information in each field, you press the Tab key to move the insertion point to the next field.
The information that you enter into a database must be correct so that you can run queries and reports successfully and avoid problems in the future.
Navigation Tip: In Slide Show view, read the Checkpoint question and determine which answer is the correct answer. Click anywhere on the slide, and the correct answer will display in green with a green check mark beside it.
A database stores a lot of information, but the information is only useful if the records in the database are kept up-to-date. For example, if a member of The Chocolate Museum changes his or her address and that information is not updated in the database, the member won’t receive mailings about museum events and special offers. In this skill, you learn to edit data in a table.
The illustration in this slide shows how to edit data in a table. Data can also be edited in a form.
If a member, such as Mr. Saake, does not renew his membership, you need to delete the record.
Navigation Tip: In Slide Show view, read the Checkpoint question and determine which answer is the correct answer. Click anywhere on the slide, and the correct answer will display in green with a green check mark beside it.
It is good practice to enter database records in the order in which you receive them. For example, you might enter the data for a new member of The Chocolate Museum on the day you receive it. However, when you are looking for specific information, you may find it helpful to sort a table by a particular column, such as LastName, rather than by date entered, so that you can easily find the member you are looking for. In this skill, you learn to sort the data in a table.
When you click the Ascending button in the Sort & Filter group on the HOME tab, the records are sorted by last name, in alphabetical order. Another Way: Click the drop-down arrow in the LastName column heading and then click Sort A to Z.
When you click the Remove Sort button, the records are no longer sorted by the LastName column.
Ascending means to sort alphabetically, from A to Z, as illustrated in this slide.
You can sort the data in a single field in a form by clicking a field entry box and then clicking either the Ascending button or the Descending button in the Sort & Filter group on the HOME tab.
Navigation Tip: In Slide Show view, read the Checkpoint question and determine which answer is the correct answer. Click anywhere on the slide, and the correct answer will display in green with a green check mark beside it.
If you are looking for specific records, such as the records of all members who live in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, you can filter the records based on data in a specific field. When you apply a filter, records that do not meet the condition you specify are temporarily hidden from view. When you remove the filter, those records that have been “hidden” in the table redisplay.
Another Way: Click the drop-down arrow in the City column heading.
When you click the (Select All) check box, all of the check marks are cleared from the check boxes in the drop-down filter list.
Only three records display, and all of the displayed records have the entry Charlotte in the City column.
Clicking the Toggle Filter button redisplays all the records in the table.
The illustration in this slide displays the options available when you click the Filter button in the Sort & Filter group on the HOME tab.
For example, you can filter records to find members who live in Charlotte and Boston.
For example, you can filter records to find members who live in Charlotte and share the last name Mills.
Navigation Tip: In Slide Show view, read the Checkpoint question and determine which answer is the correct answer. Click anywhere on the slide, and the correct answer will display in green with a green check mark beside it.
When you open a table, it displays in a datasheet. A datasheet organizes the data in rows and columns. You may want to apply formatting, such as bold and italic, or change the font size to make the datasheet easier to read. You can also align the data in a column and adjust the width of a column so that all of the data in the fields display.
The formatting is applied to all of the records in the State column.
The font size changes for the entire table. Notice that the Address column and Zip column are not wide enough to display all of their data.
The column widens to display all the data in the column. Repeat Step 5 to widen the Address column.
When you click an alignment button in the Formatting group, the formatting is applied to all of the records in the column in which you have placed your cursor, as shown in the illustration in this slide.
By default, every other row in a datasheet has a different background color. Also by default, the horizontal and vertical gridlines display. Visible gridlines help you to clearly see the borders of each cell in the datasheet.
Navigation Tip: In Slide Show view, read the Checkpoint question and determine which answer is the correct answer. Click anywhere on the slide, and the correct answer will display in green with a green check mark beside it.
In previous skills in this chapter, you learned to use existing tables and forms to enter and edit data. In this skill, you work with two other objects: queries and reports. You create a query to find records that meet a certain condition. The records are pulled from one or more tables, in a process called extracting. You also run two queries that have been created for you. Lastly, you display a report that has been saved in the database. A report presents data from a combination of one or more tables and queries.
This query displays records for all members living in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This report displays records of The Chocolate Museum members.
The illustration in this slide displays the objects available in the Navigation pane.
In Chapter 3, you will learn how to create a query. Creating a query differs from simply filtering records. Because a query is an Access object, it is saved with the database. As a result, once you create a query, you can run it over and over again.
You can print any open objects, including tables, forms, queries, and reports.
You can use options on the PRINT PREVIEW tab to adjust settings, such as the page size or page orientation (portrait or landscape).
Navigation Tip: In Slide Show view, read the Checkpoint question and determine which answer is the correct answer. Click anywhere on the slide, and the correct answer will display in green with a green check mark beside it.
The table in this slide, which continues on the next slide, lists the tasks covered in this chapter.
The table in this slide, which continues from the previous slide, lists the tasks covered in this chapter.
