Microsoft Access 2010

Basics
March 2011

Files Used in this class:

Faculty.accdb (created in class) Optional files for attachment field: Word_Encryption_Security_Tips_1.DOCX StudentinLibrary1.jpg StudentinLibrary2.jpg Sample2011.accdb (Available, but not used: Orders2011.accdb and/or Queries1.accdb)

Table of Contents
Files Used in this class:........................................................................... 2 Access 2010 Database Concepts ............................................................... 5 What is a database? .............................................................................. 5 What is a table? .................................................................................... 5 What is a record (row)? ........................................................................... 5 What is a field (column)? ......................................................................... 5 What is data?....................................................................................... 6 Data types .......................................................................................... 6 Field Properties .................................................................................... 7 A First Look at Access 2010 ..................................................................... 8 Opening Access 2010 ............................................................................ 8 Exploring the Access 2010 window ............................................................. 8 Minimizing the Ribbon ............................................................................ 9 Tabs and Ribbons ............................................................................... 10 Customizing Access 2010 ...................................................................... 11 Quick Access Toolbar........................................................................... 11 The File Tab & Access Options ............................................................... 11 Opening a Database & Security Issues ...................................................... 13 Opening a database............................................................................. 13 Security warnings ................................................................................ 13 Add a Trusted Location ......................................................................... 14 Navigating an existing database .............................................................. 15 Navigating through records within a table ................................................... 15 Add a New Record .............................................................................. 15 Closing a database .............................................................................. 16 Creating a new blank database ................................................................ 17 Saving a table .................................................................................... 17 Creating a Table & Setting Field Properties ................................................. 18 Closing a database .............................................................................. 22 Navigation Pane ................................................................................. 22 Primary Key ...................................................................................... 24

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Input Mask Wizard............................................................................... 25 Input Mask Details ............................................................................... 26 Manipulating Records ........................................................................... 27 Using the Undo command ..................................................................... 27 Deleting data within a record .................................................................. 27 Deleting a single record ........................................................................ 27 Deleting multiple records ....................................................................... 28 Find a Record .................................................................................... 28 Editing data within a record .................................................................... 29 Find and Delete a Record ...................................................................... 29 Manipulating Tables .............................................................................. 30 Rename a Table ................................................................................. 30 Copy a table ...................................................................................... 30 Delete a table .................................................................................... 31 Sorting and Filtering ............................................................................. 32 Sorting by a single field ......................................................................... 32 Sorting by multiple fields ....................................................................... 33 Text Filters ........................................................................................ 34 Applying a single filter........................................................................... 34 Clearing a single filter ........................................................................... 35 Creating other types of filters .................................................................. 36
Creating Text Filters ............................................................................................................... 36 Date & Number Filters ............................................................................................................ 37

Clearing multiple filters.......................................................................... 38 Using Advanced Filter/Sort..................................................................... 38

Multi-column sorting: .............................................................................................................. 38 Adding Criteria to the Advanced Filter/Sort: ........................................................................... 40

Backup your databases ......................................................................... 42

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Access 2010 Database Concepts What is a database?

A database is defined as an organized collection of data (information) on people or things. In raw form, a sheet of paper divided into columns and rows or a table in Microsoft Word or Excel is considered a simple database. Single table databases are very limited in their uses and would not be considered as a business solution. In Access this information is stored in tables. The information can be seen in tables or through forms and reports. A database will be able to store data in a structured manner across multiple tables, use queries to locate specific information according to given criteria, produce detailed (on-screen or printed) reports, perform calculations and much more. An example of a multi-table database is a database of classes, which might consist of tables showing information on several of these: classes, instructors, students, and rooms. NOTE: Access 2010 saves database files with an .accdb file name extension. The data in the database is saved automatically when you enter it. However, changes to an object such as a table, form or report need to be saved. When necessary, Access will prompt for objects to be saved when switching views.

What is a table?
Tables are used to store the data in a structured and organized format. As previously mentioned, tables are similar to those of Word and Excel, in that they contain rows (records) and columns (fields).

What is a record (row)?

A record applies to data entered into a single row of a table. All data in that row would belong to an individual or item. A record would normally include a unique ID number, name, description, plus other relevant information. With each new record, a new row is created. For example, the figure above has all the information on Peter in the row beginning with 1.

What is a field (column)?

Each column (or field) is used to define what specific information is to be entered into that particular column or field. A column titled Class for example would signify this to be the place in a record to enter the Class name when creating each

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new record. For example, the figure above has an email address for each row in the column headed Email.

What is data?
Data is the information entered into tables within the database. Databases are used in businesses and in education, often without people realizing they are using a database. Something as simple as entering contact details into the Contact or Address Book section of an email client, involves entering data into a database. Data entered will generally be alphabetical (names, addresses) or numerical (dates, currency), however Access is also able to store other forms of data, such as links to websites, documents created in other programs such as files & images. Data can be entered into the database manually, via the keyboard, imported from or linked to external sources or even collected through email or an internet form.

Data types
Data types define what type of data will be entered into each field (column) in a table. If you create a table by typing in the data in new fields, Access will determine the data type for you based on what you type. If you type a name, it sets the type for that field to Text. If you type a date either as 12/09/2010 or December 9, 2010 it will set the type to Date/Time. If you type a digit or digits it will set the type to Number. If you also type $ as in $49.95 or a specific number of decimal places 5.00 that will be included as the format for a numeric field. Although you can enter data without setting up the fields first, you should create the table and specify the data types for each field before entering data. You should also set defaults, limits, and use Input Masks as needed. Text holds up to 255 characters; can be numbers, letters, or symbols Memo holds over 255 characters; can be numbers, letters, or symbols Number numbers only Date/Time valid dates or times Currency numbers displayed as currency AutoNumber a number is automatically input; you cannot type in this field Yes/No only two answers: yes or no Hyperlink you can put in a hyperlink Attachment attach multiple files to one record including digital photos Look Up Wizard allows you to input a list of choices for a text field Calculated displays a value calculated from other data in the table [true or false] [on or off] OLE Object you can attach one document to the record

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Field Properties
Field Properties should be set in order to: format numbers and dates; to limit data entry to specific characters; to validate entries; to provide a mask for input; to require data in a specific field; and/or to set default data. You can see the Field Properties that have been set by viewing the table in Design View. Some of the Field Properties are only available for specific Data Types. Below is a brief description of some of the more popular Field Properties. Field Size allows the setting of the maximum number of characters that can be entered. Format allows you to specify a format or appearance of a date, time, or number. It has choices such as: short date, medium time, long date, currency, etc. Input Mask uses a particular format of the data entered. Such as a phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx or social security number xxx-xx-xxxx. The Input Mask puts in the parenthesis, dashes, slashes while the user just types the data. Caption displays at the top of a column in a table. [It does not replace the field name.] Default Value is a value that is common, for example for a database with names and addresses, the State field could have a Default Value of: TX Validation Rule & Validation Text allow you to set limits, for example on a Number or a Date field you could specify the number be less than or greater than a specific number or that a Date be between specific dates. Required can either be Yes or No. Required Yes means that it will not allow the field to be empty. Indexed has three choices: No, Yes (Duplicates OK), and Yes (No Duplicates). Indexed Yes means that searches and sorts work faster. Text Format ( Memo fields)has two choices: Plain Text and Rich Text. (Rich Text allows the person entering data to use bold, italic, underline and a few other features.) Text Align is used to set the alignment of text in the field. Show Date Picker is available for Date fields. The Date Picker looks like a tiny calendar (small figure right). When you click the Date Picker, the current month calendar pops up (larger figure right).

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A First Look at Access 2010 Opening Access 2010

Click the Start button (bottom left of screen), then select All Programs. Scroll up to locate the Microsoft Office folder button, click it. Click Microsoft Office Access 2010. Open the Sample2011 database.

Exploring the Access 2010 window

Similar to other Microsoft Office 2010 applications, Access 2010 uses tabs which display a ribbon. The Ribbon is designed to display the most appropriate tools / functions according to the task at hand. Each ribbon is divided into Groups. The biggest change is the new (1) File tab in place of the Office Button. The Quick Access Toolbar in the top left corner of the screen has not changed from Access 2010. (2) Recent Documents are listed on the File tab. (3) New Blank database is easy to access. (4) Type the New database name and select the folder it will be stored in.

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Access 2010 Basics

Under the File tab in the top left corner is the Views group. There are also two tiny View buttons in the bottom right corner of the screen. At the bottom, near the center are the Record Navigation buttons. Use the navigation buttons to display the records in a table. In the 1 of 1 box the first number represents the current record and the second number is the total number of records.

All commands are organized into groups on the various Ribbons. Groups were designed to help identify tools quickly. A Dialog Box Launcher button, bottom right for the group (see figure on right) is available only on the Clipboard and Text Formatting groups on the Home tab ribbon. When clicked, the Dialog Box Launcher displays a dialog box for selecting additional features.

Minimizing the Ribbon

To minimize the Ribbon, click the small arrow on the left side of the Help ? button (see figure on right). To make selections from a minimized ribbon, click on a ribbon tab. The ribbon expands for you to make your selection. When you click on a command button, the Ribbon minimizes again. To restore the Ribbon to a fixed state, click the small arrow again.

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Tabs and Ribbons

Home font formatting, record commands, sorting, filtering, & find

Create create tables, queries, forms, & reports

External Data import & export records from/to Excel and various other file types

Database Tools relationships and compact & repair database

Table Tools Fields views, insert, delete, or rename fields; set properties & data formatting Table Tools Table (not shown) is for working with macros and programming steps to run

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Access 2010 Basics

Customizing Access 2010 Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar offers an easy way to access frequently used command buttons, such as Save, Undo and Redo that are already on the Quick Access Toolbar. Other functions may be added to the toolbar by selecting them from the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop down list. To customize the Quick Access Toolbar, click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Toolbar. The list has commands that you may easily turn on or off. (A checkmark means they are on.) You may also click More Commands and add additional commands to your Quick Access Toolbar. Any command may be added to the Quick Access Toolbar.

The File Tab & Access Options

The File tab provides many of the options previously found under the File drop down menu in earlier versions of Microsoft Access: New, Open, Save, Save As, Print, and Close Database. Also, on the File tab is Recent documents, Password protection, Compact & Repair Database and Access Options. Click Recent. It lists the documents that have been opened recently. You can specify how many documents to display in the Recent list (by changing the number at the bottom of the Recent screen). You can also pin documents to the Recent list. Click on the pushpin to the right of the Filename. The document is now pinned to the Recent list. Click the pin again to unpin the file.
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Click the File tab, then Options. On the General screen, you may want to change the Default file format (see the figure). If that is the only change click OK at the bottom of the Options window. Still on the Options screen, click Current Database on the left. Locate Document Window Options (across from Quick Access Toolbar). Click Tabbed Documents to select it. This will enable having tabs across An example of tabbed document windows the top of open files within Access, as shown in the figure on the right. Click Object Designers, the fourth item in the Options menu. If you would like to change the Default text field size, select 255 and type the number you want. 50 is suggested unless you think that is too low. Click OK if finished with Options. You can also make changes to the Quick Access Toolbar, select the Quick Access Toolbar in the menu on the left. To add buttons to your toolbar, select a command in the list on the left, click the Add button and the command is added to the Toolbar on the right side of the screen. Add as many commands as desired. Click OK to keep the changes.

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Access 2010 Basics

Opening a Database & Security Issues Opening a database

The Access 2010 program and the Sample2011 database should already be open, if they are not please open them. From the menu displayed on the left, click the Open command. This will display the Open dialog box. By default the contents of the My Documents folder will be displayed. You should see a folder containing the Access data files. Double click on this folder to display the contents. Select a database file called Sample2011 and double click it. The database may have a Security Warning like the one shown below.

Security warnings
Similar to other Microsoft Office applications, Access 2010 warns users of potential security threats when they arise and relate to macros within the application. Macros contain code written to perform a task within the application and are used widely in Excel, Word as well as Access. Because macros use code designed to allow advanced users the opportunity to create their own functions to enhance the functionality of a database, others can also write malicious code intended to have the opposite effect. For this reason, Microsoft Office applications prevent macros from running and displays a warning instead, which is outlined in the figure above. Click the link Click for more details for additional information. Click Enable Content to temporarily enable the file (this time only). Click for more details, brings up the screen shown on the right.
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You can also click Enable Content (as a temporary fix). Click Trust Center Settings to enable the contents of the file permanently. If you trust the source of this database file and the content, you can select Enable content, to allow the macro to run, then click OK. NOTE: Selecting Enable content is a temporary enabling of macros and warnings will be displayed again the next time this database is opened.

Add a Trusted Location

You can add a trusted location so you do not get the security warning each time you open a database. Click Trust Center Settings.

Click the Enable Trust Center logging checkbox (to turn it on).

Click Trusted Locations. Click Add New Location.

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Access 2010 Basics

Click the Browse button, locate and click on the folder that you wish to add to the Trusted Locations. Click Subfolders of this location are also trusted. Click OK The new location should be in the list of Trusted Locations. Next time you open the database, you should not receive the security warning.

Navigating an existing database

Still using the Sample2011 database (it should be open). Open the Students table in the Sample2011 database file. Scroll through the records using the record navigation buttons at the bottom of the table window. You can also scroll through fields with the Tab or arrow keys.

Navigating through records within a table

The record navigation bar is located at the bottom of the object window. When a table is open, you will see these buttons. (see figure on right) To use the specific record option, click within the box and enter a record number, then press the Enter key. Click below the last record.

Add a New Record

Click under Kayla at the bottom of the list. Type Krista in the First name field (once you type the name, 31 (or the next number) will show in the first (Student ID) column) press Tab. [Press Ctrl and Quote to copy from the record above.] For the Last name press Ctrl press Tab;

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For the Address press Ctrl

press Tab;

For City press Ctrl press Tab twice to accept the State and in the Zip Code field press Ctrl then press Tab; Type the Phone Number shown just type the digits 214 1234567 and the Input Mask (already set up) will put in the parenthesis, space, and dash in the correct places.

Closing a database
Click the File tab to display the menu. Select the Close Database command. (This will close Sample2011 the open database.) The database closes and returns to the Access 2010 Available Templates screen. The database name is listed on the left of the screen with the Recent Databases.

Refer to this figure for creating a new database.

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Access 2010 Basics

Creating a new blank database

Start the Access 2010 program if it is not already open. (Refer to figure at bottom of previous page.) Select the Blank Database icon, or if you are in Access, click the File tab and select New then click the Blank Database button. Type Faculty in the File Name box (lower right). Set the folder location for storing it in My Documents\Training (or wherever your instructor tells you to store it). Click the Create button at the bottom of the screen. A screen similar (and much larger) to the one below is displayed:

Saving a table
Before adding information to an Access database, the fields should be added to a table. The fields should be named, given the correct Data Type and formatted appropriately. Field Properties should be selected as needed. If necessary you can put validations in the fields as well as defaults. Fields are used to organize data into specific fields or columns, for example a FirstName field would store the first name for every individual record entered, as would the LastName, BirthDate, and other fields, etc. Click the Save button in the Quick Access Toolbar. The Save As dialog box is displayed. Type the name Faculty. Click the OK button. [Each object: Form, Query, Report, and Table has its own name]

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Creating a Table & Setting Field Properties

There are three main steps to creating the fields in a table. (1) Type the Field Name (has to be unique in the table). (2) Select the Field Type from the drop-down menu or by typing the first letter. Text is the default Field Type. (see page 6 for Field Type descriptions) (3) Set any Field Properties necessary. Click the Design View button- top left to add to our table. See figure below to locate the Design View button. (see page 7 for Field Property info)

The first field is automatically created and is called ID and it is an AutoNumber Data Type. It is the Primary Key. Setting the field as the Primary Key causes entries in the field to be unique. Change the Field Name to: Faculty ID Type the Field Name (1): LastName press the down-arrow key to go to the next field. The third field should be FirstName, press the down arrow. (It will automatically make the Data Type Text.) Text is the default Data Type. [If you want a different Data Type, click the drop down arrow (2) in the figure above.] Leave the Data Type as Text for both name fields. The area at the bottom of the screen is titled Field Properties (3). Set the Field Size to 30 for both name fields (FirstName & LastName); these fields will allow a maximum of 30 characters.
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Create the following fields, give Field Properties where specified in []. You have completed the first three. Faculty ID LastName [Field Size, 30] FirstName [Field Size, 30] NOTE: Reducing the character length of a text field after data has been entered can result in loss of data in a field that had more text than the new limit. Birthdate Date/Time [Format, Short Date] [Required, Yes] (Required will not allow blank fields) Graduate Hrs Number [Validation Rule, >=18] [Validation Text, Must be equal to or greater than 18] (this Validation Rule says it must be 18 or more) PhD Campus Comments Yes/No Text Memo Text AutoNumber Text

[Text Format, Rich Text] (Turning on Rich Text means you can use bold, italic & underline among other features) Phone Text Insert two new rows below FirstName. Put the mouse on the left edge of Birthdate, click once and drag down to select both (1) Birthdate and Graduate Hrs (see figure right). Click (2) Insert Rows in the Tools group.

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Add the following two fields (on the new blank rows) below FirstName: County Text [Default value, Dallas] State Text [Default Value, TX] Save the Faculty table again. Move the Comments field to the bottom, below Phone: click the selection box on the far left to select it, then drag it to the bottom of the fields and let go] Click the Datasheet View button in the Views group on the left edge of the Table Tools Design tab to view the new (empty) table.

Input one record in the table (make up information; try leaving the Birthdate field blank. Also try entering a number less than 18 in the Graduate Hrs field), use the Tab key to move across from one field to another. Instead of having to enter the name of the Campus, change the Data Type for Campus to Lookup Wizard. The Lookup Wizard will begin. On the first screen of the Lookup Wizard, select I will type in the values that I want. Click Next. On the second screen (shown right) type the names of the seven campuses, one per line: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, Northlake, Richland. (Press the down arrow to go down one line for each campus.) Click Next.

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The third and final screen has two options. See the figure (right). Type Campus for the label. Select either Limit To List OR Allow Multiple Values. Click Finish when complete. NOTE: If you check Limit To List then it will display a dropdown list, but it will not allow you to type an entry not in the list. If you check Allow Multiple Values then it will display the list with a checkbox in front of each value. You can check the box for more than one value. (For example if someone worked part time on two campuses.) In Design View; add a field at the bottom (below Comments) called Documentation and select Attachment as the data type. Save the Table again. (There are twelve fields in the table.) In Datasheet View, the Documentation column displays a paper clip symbol at the top instead of the field name. In the figure on the right, the top paperclip is in place of a field name. The paperclip (2) means there are 2 attachments in the first record. (0) means there are no attachments in the second record. In Design View, look at the Documentation Field Properties. For the Caption, type Resume & Other Documents. The Caption displays at the top of the field (column). Save the Faculty Table. The Attachment data type is useful for attaching images, resumes, descriptions and other file types, etc. To attach documents and images, either double click on the cell containing the paper clip image, or with the cell active, right-click on the Attachment field and select Manage Attachments from the pop-up menu. In the Manage Attachments box, shown on the right, all the attachments for a specific field are listed. Click Add to attach a file. Click Remove to remove a file already attached. Use Open to see the contents of an attached file.

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Click OK when finished with the Manage Attachments window. Save and Close the table. NOTE: When viewing the Attachment field of a record (in a form), click once on an attachment and the scroll buttons shown here, are visible.

Click Forward or Back to scroll through the attachments. Click the paperclip to bring up the Manage Attachments dialog box. In a form, attached photos are displayed, other documents are shown as an icon.

Closing a database
Click the File Tab to display the menu. Select the Close Database command. Save your changes. The database closes and it returns to the Blank Database screen. The database named Faculty is in the Recent list.

Navigation Pane
The Navigation Pane is located on the left side of the screen and displays all objects contained within the database, including all tables, forms, queries and reports. Open the database Sample2011 The Navigation Pane can be minimized by clicking on the (left pointing) arrows button, top right of the pane. To restore the Pane to normal view, click the right pointing arrows button at the top right of the pane. Object categories can be minimized / maximized using the upward/downward pointing arrow buttons to the right of the object type.

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Access 2010 Basics

In the figure, All Access Objects are displayed: Tables, Queries, Forms, and/or Reports. Queries are also shown in the figure. It may not be evident which Table goes with each Query, because Tables and Queries can be named anything. A preferable way to view the Objects is by All Tables set to Tables and Related Views. This view shows the Table and its Objects together. To select the way you would like to view the objects, click the (1) Menu button which is the down pointing arrow in the top right corner of the Navigation Pane (see figure on right). Select Tables then Tables and Related Views. In this way tables will be listed with all their individual Forms, Queries, and Reports. [Each object type has its own icon in front of the name. See the figure lower right.] Experiment with the views. Leave it displayed by All Tables and Tables and Related views. (See the figure on the right.) The objects are shown listed with the Table. In the example, the Class Schedule 2009-10 group shows one Table and four related objects. The related objects include two Queries, one Form, and one Report. This makes it easy to know which table it is pulling information from.

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Primary Key
A Primary Key is used as a unique identifier for each record in a table and is essential when working with relational tables. To be effective, a Primary Key cannot have duplicate entries and must be set on a field with a unique identifier. When creating a new table, Access automatically adds the ID field with an AutoNumber data type. By default the ID field is also the Primary Key. Examples of other fields suitable to be set as a Primary Key are: passport, social security and drivers license numbers, military identification, tax, workplace or personal identification numbers, unique to each individual. The Primary Key will not allow duplicate entries in the Primary Key field for the table. NOTE: A Primary Key field can never be empty. Open the Sample2011 database. Open the Class Schedule table. Switch to the Design View, by clicking on the View button. The Primary Key symbol identifies the Class Number field as being the Primary Key. NOTE: The Primary Key button is in the Tools group on the ribbon. To use another field as the primary key, select the field (Course Name) and then click the Primary Key button on the ribbon. The Primary Key symbol is now displayed beside the Course Name field. NOTE: The Course Name field is NOT a suitable data type to become a primary key, as data within this field is unlikely to be unique. Reset the Primary Key to the Class Number, before continuing. Close the Sample2011 database. Open the Faculty database again.

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Input Mask Wizard

Input Masks are used to restrict how data is entered. By forcing users of the database to enter data in a fixed format it greatly reduces the chances of data input errors. There is usually less typing with an Input Mask because parenthesis and dashes are put in for you. NOTE: Input Masks only work with Text and Date data types. When creating a field with information such as phone numbers, social security numbers, id numbers, etc. it needs to be a Text field if you want to type parenthesis, dashes, or spaces in the field. (A Number field will only allow digits, decimal points, or negative signs to be typed.) The Faculty database is open, open the Faculty Table in Design View. Click in the Phone field in the Field Properties. Notice the button (circled in the figure above) on the right end of the line for Input Mask. Click the button. This will start the Input Mask Wizard. [If prompted to save the table, click Yes.] The Input Mask Wizard dialog box is displayed. (see figure on right) Select Phone Number under Input Mask. In the Try It: box, type 10 digits and see how it fills in the parenthesis, space and dash. Click the Next button. The second screen allows you to change the Placeholder character. For example, you could change from using underline _ to using a pound sign #. (It is easier to see how many characters you can type with # because the _ run together as a line.) Change the Placeholder character and then click in Try It: and type 10 digits to see it work. Click the Next button.

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The last screen of the Input Mask Wizard asks if you wish to store the data with or without the symbols in the Input Mask. In other words, store a phone number like this: (972) 495-1234 or 9724951234 ? (with or without the symbols, as ten digits or fourteen characters?) There are two questions you should ask yourself If I export this to a text file will it matter whether the parenthesis, space, & dash are there or not? And/or Does four more characters per record make that much difference in storage space? Select the way you want it to store, then click the Finish button. NOTE: The Input Mask has additional codes that can be used to create an Input Mask without using the Input Mask Wizard. Click the Datasheet View button to switch to Datasheet View. When prompted, click the Yes button to save the changes. Using the mouse pointer, select the next blank cell at the bottom of the Phone column. Notice the new Input Mask appears. Type in a phone number. NOTE: If at any stage incomplete data has been entered into the field using an input mask, you will not be able to move out of the field or select another function until the data is either removed or completed.

Input Mask Details

An Input Mask can be typed instead of using the Wizard. It is divided into three sections separated by semi-colons (;). !\(999) 000\-000; 0; #

The first section is mandatory. The sample consists of characters with special meaning such as 9 means it is optional you can leave it blank or type a digit, but it will only accept digits. The character 0 means it is mandatory to type a digit. The second section will either be a 1(to store only what is typed) or a 0 (to store all characters such as parenthesis or dash along with the typed data. The # at the end indicates the chosen placeholder. Anything in quotes or preceded by a backslash \ will appear as shown. The ! at the beginning means if there are optional characters, it will fill from right to left.

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Manipulating Records Using the Undo command

Like other Microsoft Office applications, the Undo button is located on the Quick Access Toolbar. The Undo command (CTRL-Z), allows the user to undo some actions. You can Undo deleting or editing the contents of a field. However, it will Undo all of the actions in the same record at one time. Unlike other Office applications however, when working with tables, the Undo function will only undo the actions on one record. You cannot UNDO the deleting of an entire record. (It warns you accordingly.) Open the Faculty table (in the Faculty database). Experiment with creating a new record, making changes and then try clicking the Undo button. Access will Undo sorting and some other changes.

Deleting data within a record

Deleting data in a record is similar to editing data in a record; however, there are a number of considerations to take into account. NOTE: Data cannot be deleted from fields where the required field property is set to Yes, as this prevents the field from being left blank. To remove data from a record, select the information in the field, press the F2 key to activate editing mode, then use either the Delete or the Backspace key to delete the entry. Press the Enter key to commit the changes. The pointer moves to the next column, leaving the field empty.

Deleting a single record

Occasionally you may need to remove a record from a table. There are several ways to do this. First select the record: move to the selection box to the left of the first field, click to select the whole row (record). Click the Delete button in the Records group of the Home ribbon, (top right figure) or click Delete Record in the drop-down list Press the Delete key on the keyboard, or Right-click the mouse, click Delete Record in the popup menu displayed (bottom right figure). A warning is displayed. Click Yes to confirm deletion. NOTE: As mentioned previously, Undo is not available when deleting records, therefore any record deletions will be final. When deleting records from a table, the unique number in an ID (AutoNumber) field is also deleted and will not be reused.

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Deleting multiple records

If a group of records needs to be deleted the records must be together in the table. There are two ways to select the records: Move the pointer to the selection box to the left of the first record, click and drag down to highlight the block of records to be deleted, or Click in the selection box of the first record to delete, move the pointer down (do NOT DRAG); while pointing to the last record to select, hold the SHIFT key down and click. Once the records are selected, click Delete and respond Yes to the warning.

Find a Record
In a small table it is easy to find a specific record. However, if your table has hundreds or thousands of records you need help from Access. Open the Sample2011 database and Open the Class Schedule 2009-10 table. Click in the field you will be searching, for example click in Course Name if you will be searching for a class with a specific name. Click in Course Name. Click the Find button, it is in the Find group in the center of the Home ribbon. A dialog box like the one shown in the figure on the right is displayed. Find What: (type the text you want to find) Look In: has Current Field (which means it is important to click IN the field that you are searching first). The other choice is Current Document, in a Table that means all fields are searched. Match: chose from: Any Part of Field, Whole Field, or Start of Field; any part of field means what you are searching for could be anywhere in the field, whole field means it can only have what youre searching for; and start of field means it will only be searching the beginning of the field for the text you typed. Search: chose from: All, Down, Up; All will search all records no matter where you start the search, Down will start on the current record and search Down (stopping on the last record), Up will search from the current record to the top and then stop searching. Match Case if checked it will only search for the exact case that you typed in the Find What: box. If it is unchecked it does not look at the case only the text typed.
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Search Fields As Formatted if checked will only look for data entered in the same format. For example, if a Time field is formatted like this: 4:30:00 PM it will NOT find 4:30 PM if Search Fields As Formatted is checked Find What: Look In: Match: Search: Introduction Current field Any Part of Field All

Click the Find Next button on the right. When it has searched all the records, it will display the message shown on the right. Click OK and it will end the Find. Close the Class Schedule table.

Editing data within a record

The Sample2011 database should be open. Open the Students table. Use the Find command to find the student whose last name is McGeary Once you find him, click in his Address field, press F2 to edit, (or click and type) change his address from 101 Belt Line Rd to 2005 Belt Line Rd with the same city and zip code. NOTE: By placing the pointer in any cell, then using the arrow keys to move to another cell, automatically activates edit mode. Alternatively, you can also click and drag to highlight data within a cell and replace it.

Find and Delete a Record

Keep the Students table open. Click in the Last Name field, click the Find button Type the Last Name: Click Find Next It finds the only person whose last name is Love (Student ID 9). Close Find. Select the whole record by clicking the selection box at the far left edge of the table Press the Delete key on the keyboard OR click Delete in the Records group of the Home ribbon. Respond by clicking Yes to delete the record. (There is no Undo on deleting records.) Close the tables and close the Sample2011 database. Love in the Find What box

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Manipulating Tables Rename a Table

Open the Faculty database. Right-click on the table (Faculty) in the Navigation Pane on the left. Select Rename Type Faculty 2011 as the new name, press Enter. NOTE: Objects cannot be renamed while open, so if you opened the Faculty table, you will need to close it to continue. To close a table, click the x in the top right corner of the table window. Leave the Faculty database open.

Copy a table
To copy an object, right-click on the name in the Navigation Pane, in the popup menu, click Copy. Right-click in the Navigation Pane, click Paste In the dialog box that pops up, type the name for the copy Three choices (for what can be copied) are given. (see the figure below) Copy the Faculty 2011 table. Name the copy: Copy of Faculty 2011 Paste Options are: Structure Only copies fields, including defaults, validations, input masks, etc. Structure and Data copies the structure and the information typed in the table. Append Data to Existing Table will add the copied data to another, existing table. Select Structure Only Click OK Open the copy of the table to see what is in it.

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Delete a table
To delete an object, i.e. a table from a database, that object must be closed so first close any open tables In the Navigation Pane, right-click on the name of the table. From the popup menu select the Delete command (see figure on right). Click Yes to confirm deletion on the warning message. The table is deleted from the database. Close the Copy of Faculty 2011 table. Delete the Copy of Faculty 2011 table Close the Faculty database.

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Sorting and Filtering Sorting by a single field

Sorting arranges the data within a table into alphabetical or numerical order, making it more effective and easier to use. Data is easier to find when we know it is sorted in some order, for example, even a simple computerized address book is sorted alphabetically from A Z and calendars are sorted by date order. Open the Sample2011 database. Double-click the Students table to open it. NOTE: A table, query, form, or report can be sorted on one or more fields, with the exception of memo, attachment or OLE data type fields. To sort a single field, first select the field you want to sort. Click in the Last Name field name to highlight the column.

Within the Home tab, in the Sort & Filter group, click on the AZ (Ascending) button (top left in group) The table is now sorted in alphabetical order by Last Name. However, students with the same last name should also be sorted by their First Name. NOTE: A sort will remain active until removed; even when a table is closed and reopened (if the table was saved prior to closing). There are some students with the same last name, their first names should be sorted where the last name is the same. To remove a sort, click the Remove Sort button in the Sort & Filter group (bottom left in group). The table returns to the default (original) sort order.

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Sorting by multiple fields

To sort on two or more fields, the fields need to be next to each other in the order that they will be sorted. In the table figure, the First Name and the Last Name fields are side by side, with the First Name field to the left of the Last Name field. This positioning is relevant when using a sort on multiple fields in a table, as the left most field in the selected group of fields, takes priority over the fields to the right.

A multi-field sort is needed to organize the Last Name into alphabetical order first, and then sort the First Name field so that names within that field are alphabetical according to each different Last Name. Move the Last Name field (column) in front of the First Name field. Select the Last Name column, release the mouse. Point to the top of the Last Name column, hold down the mouse and drag in front of First Name. Release the mouse button when you see the black line in front of First Name column (as seen in the figure above). Place the pointer over the First Name field name (at the top of the column) without clicking. When the pointer changes to the down arrow shape (circled in figure on right), click and drag (left) across the Last Name field in one movement, to highlight both fields. Release the mouse button to complete this task. The two columns will be highlighted. Click the Ascending button in the Sort & Filter group. Click anywhere in the table to clear the highlighting from the two fields. If there are two or more records with the same last name, the First names are sorted within the Last Name field. [Look at your table, there are two each of Johnsons, Perrys, and Smiths, they should all be sorted by first name within the same last name.] Notice the tiny arrows (circled in the figure). These indicate which columns have been sorted; arrows pointing up mean Ascending (arrows pointing down are Descending).
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To put the table back in the order the records were in originally, click the Remove Sort button in the Sort & Filter group. NOTE: When sorting text fields that contain null or zero-length strings, the null values are listed first (ascending order A-Z) and last (descending order Z-A).

Text Filters
Text Filters provide a means to find one or more specific records in a table or form or print specific records in a report, table, or query. By using criteria in a filter, you effectively display only those records matching the criteria. Records not matching the criteria disappear from view, hence the term filter. For example, if you only want to display records that fall between the first day of a month and the last day of a month, you can apply a filter, specifying the oldest date and the newest date - only records matching the criteria remain visible in the table. Filters remain in place until they are removed or until the object is closed. More than one filter may be active at one time, although only one filter per field is possible. Setting a new filter on a field will effectively remove the previous filter for that field before applying the new filter.

Applying a single filter

The Sample2011 database is already open, open the Class Schedule table. A single filter is one that is applied to a single field, using the quick filter options made available in Access 2010. Click anywhere in the Subject field. Click the Filter button in the Sort & Filter group on the Home ribbon. A Filter popup menu is displayed. The menu is divided by lines, into three sections; however, only the second and third areas of the menu apply to filtering. For now, ignore the A-Z sort section as this will be covered in a subsequent section.

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In the lower section of the popup menu, you will notice a group of check boxes. These check boxes represent all the available (unique) subjects entered into the Subject field (or whatever field you clicked in). At the top of the check box group is one labeled (Select All). Click the (Select All) check box to un-check all the boxes. To locate all records for those with the subject Email, click the Email check box. Click the OK button. Six records are displayed with Email in the Subject field. A button is displayed to the right of the field name Subject or any field which has a filter applied. Click the button and select a different Subject to filter. Within the ribbon Sort & Filter group, the Toggle Filter button is now active. Toggle Filter effectively turns the filter on and off, switching between the filtered view and normal view (unfiltered). The Filtered button, previously grayed out is now active in the record navigation bar at the bottom of the table (see figure on right). The Filtered button works in exactly the same way as the Toggle Filter button in the Sort & Filter group in the ribbon. Click on the Filtered button once. The table is temporarily unfiltered and ALL records are visible. Click the Unfiltered button (or the Toggle Filter button) to revert back to the filtered view.

Clearing a single filter

To clear a single filter, you will need to either place the pointer in any row of the appropriate column or click on the field name at the top of the column to highlight the whole column. Select and highlight the Subject column by clicking on the field name. In the Sort & Filter group, click the large Filter button. NOTE: Only when a filter is in use, will the Clear filter from [Field] option be available in the list, otherwise the option will be grayed out. Click the Clear filter from Subject option from the list to remove the filter. The table again displays all records.

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Creating other types of filters

Creating Text Filters Using a filter on one field helps reduce the list of records to those that meet the criteria set, however there may be occasions when you want to be even more specific about the records you wish to display. This can be accomplished by setting different filters across multiple fields. NOTE: Only one filter can be specified per field, however multiple criteria can be included in one filter. To set filters on multiple fields, you simply follow the steps used for creating a simple filter and repeat the process across additional fields. The only subtle difference is in the process of clearing multiple field filters, covered later in this section. With the Class Schedule table open, select the Subject field. Click on the (1) down arrow button to the right of the Subject field name. (top left in the figure) In the popup menu click the (2) Text Filters command. From the submenu displayed, click (3) Begins With.

NOTE: Text Filters are custom filters that allow you to specify criteria without having to use operators such as <, >, =, etc. The Custom Filter dialog box is displayed. Type MS into the Subject begins with box. Click the OK button. Only records matching the criteria, begins with MS in the Subject field remain displayed. [76 of the 110 records match this criteria]

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Date & Number Filters Click within the # Sessions field column. Click the (1) down arrow button to the right of the # Sessions field name. When the Filter popup menu is displayed, click (2) Number Filters command. From the sub menu displayed, click (3) Greater Than. Type 5 in the box. Click on the OK button. Only records matching a Subject beginning with MS and # Sessions greater than or equal to 5 remain displayed. Select and highlight the Beginning Date field. Click on the down arrow button to the right of the (1) Beginning Date field name. When the filter dialog box is displayed, select the (2) Date Filters command. From the submenu displayed, click (3) Between ... The Custom Filter dialog box is displayed. Into the Oldest section, type in 1/1/2010. Into the Newest section type in 3/31/2010. Click on the OK button. Now the number of records matching the three filters is reduced even further. (Only 23 records match the three filters: Subject, # Sessions, and Beginning Date.)

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Clearing multiple filters

It is possible to clear each filter, one at a time, by clicking the filter button at the top of the column and clicking Clear filter from <field>. To clear all filters at once, click (1) Advanced button on the Home ribbon, in the Sort & Filter group. From the list, select the (2) Clear All Filters option. The filters will be removed and all records will once again be displayed.

Using Advanced Filter/Sort

Advanced Filter/Sort makes it possible to easily do multi-column sorting or advanced multi-column filtering or to combine filtering and sorting in one operation. The Sample2011 database should be open. The Class Schedule table should also be open. All previously set filters should be cleared.

Multi-column sorting: In the Sort & Filter group, click (1) Advanced. Select (2) Advanced Filter/Sort from the pop-up menu. The Advanced Filter window opens. Since sorting needs to be set up so that the columns to be sorted should be in order of importance from left to right, the columns need to be added to the bottom grid in that order.

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To place a field in the grid you can (1) double click it in the field list OR (2) click the dropdown arrow in the column grid and click once on the field name in the drop-down list. Put the following fields in the grid in this order: Date, Subject, Campus Location, and StartTime. Under each field, on the Sort: line select (3) Ascending from the drop-down list. Select Advanced in the Sort & Filter group. Select Apply Filter/Sort. Look at the 8/13/2009 Start Times, they are not in order. Because StartTime is the last field to be sorted, it is not working correctly. The StartTime field should be between Date and Subject. Click Advanced. Select Advanced Filter/Sort. The grid is re-displayed. Select the StartTime field by clicking at the top of the column with the black down arrow. Release the mouse button, move the mouse to the top of the selected column, when you see a small white arrow, hold down the mouse button and drag the column to the left. Release the mouse button when the vertical black line is between Date and Subject. Click Advanced. Select Apply Filter/Sort. The Dates with two Start Times are in order by Start Time now. [Look at 8/13, 9/16, and 10/1 to verify.] Select Advanced Filter/Sort to display the grid.

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Adding Criteria to the Advanced Filter/Sort: Click on the Criteria line of the Date column. Type this: BETWEEN 12/15/2009 AND 3/15/2010 (see the figure on the right) Click Advanced. Select Apply Filter/Sort. Look at the table, instead of 110 records, you see 33 Filtered records

Click Advanced. Select Advanced Filter/Sort. Click on the Criteria line of the Subject column. Type this: MS* Click Advanced. (ms* works the same) Select Apply Filter/Sort.

Look over the results of the additional Filter. NOTE: The asterisk * is used as a wildcard. By putting MS* that means we are searching for records that start with MS and may or may not have text after the MS. Click Advanced. Select Advanced Filter/Sort. Click on the Criteria line of the Campus Location column. Type this: CVC OR EFC Click Advanced. Select Apply Filter/Sort. Look over the results of the additional Filter. All three filters are shown below.

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Above is the filtered Class Schedule Table. Twelve records met all the criteria. NOTE: Unaffected fields (columns) in the above figure are hidden. To Hide/Unhide a field, right-click the selected column(s) in the table, select Hide Field(s) (or Unhide Fields). If you would like to use this same filter again in the future, you must save it as a query. First display the grid, click Advanced then click Advanced Filter/Sort. In the grid, click Advanced, Save As Query in the pop-up menu. The Save As Query box pops up, asking for the Query Name. Type a meaningful name that will help you remember what the filters do. Click OK. To use the saved Query in the future, just double click to open it and it will display the current records that meet the criteria. If new records have been added to the table, they will show in the Query if they meet all of the criteria. Click Advanced, Close (to leave Advanced Filter/Sort grid). To clear the filter/sort, select Advanced then Clear All Filters. Close the table. Close all tables and other objects.

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Backup your databases

With your database open, be sure all tables and other objects are closed. Click the File tab. Click (1) Save & Publish. Click (2) Back Up Database. Click (3) Save As Select the drive and folder in which you wish to store your backups. [You might want to make a new folder called Access Backups to store all of your backups.] The backup file will be given a name with the date in the name like this: Classes_2011-01-28.accdb

You can change the filename and/or the location of the backup. Click Save Close the database Close Access.

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http://helpdesk.dcccd.edu
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Employees > Training and Development > Software Training and Support

Dallas TeleCollege at the R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications District Software Training & Support 9596 Walnut St. Dallas, TX 75243 STAFF Helpdesk Phone: 972-669-6477 STUDENT Helpdesk Phone: 972-669-6402 E-mail: [email protected] Web Site: http://helpdesk.dcccd.edu Training Web Site: http://employeetraining.dcccd.edu