Exploring Microsoft

Office Access 2010

Finding Your Way Through a Database

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Objectives

 Definitions/terms
 Explore, describe, navigate the
objects in an Access Database
 file management
 Backup, compact, and repair Access
files
 Create filters
 Sort table data on one or more fields

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Objectives (continued)

 Work with different views in Access

objects
 Know when to use Access or Excel to
manage data
 Use the relationship window

 Understand relational power

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What is a Database
A database describes a collection of
data organized to allow storage,
access, retrieval and the use of data.
 Contains at least one table

 Thought of like a manual file cabinet

 In large organizations it is the job of

the DBA to administer the database.
What is Microsoft Access?
A database management system.
 A DBMS is a software tool that allows
you to use a computer to create
databases, add, change, and delete
data in a database.
 Other DBMS’s include DB2, Oracle,
SQL Server, Sybase
Why Access
 Easy to learn on
 Low cost
 Readily available
 Design principles we will learn can also be
applied to enterprise level database
management systems.
 Access can be used as an “interface” to
pull information from other sources such as
MSFT SQL databases or other databases.
 Objects

 Tables
 Queries

 Reports

 Forms

 Macros

 Modules

Objects
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 Open a Database

Open
Recent Documents list

 Choose Open to browse for a file or choose a

database from the Recent Documents list
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 Open a Database

Open Recent
Database list

 Choose a database from the Open Recent

Database List or click More to browse for other
databases 9
 Database Terminology
A database is made up
 Field of one or more tables
Individual fields
 Record

 Table

 Database

Individual tables in a
database

Records
 A database consists of one or more tables. Each table consists of records which contain information about a
single entity. An example of one complete record would be the name, author, isbn#, published date and publisher
of textbooks. Each set of information regarding one book is considered to be one record. The name, author
isbn#, published data and publisher in the above example are the individual fields that make up one record.
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What is a Table
 A set of records.

 Different Views of tables:

1. Design view used to create fields
2. Datasheet view used to add, edit, or delete
records
3. Pivot table view used to summarize data about
groups of records.
4. PivotChart view creates a chart from the
associated PivotTable view.
 Work with Table Views
Design View

Datasheet View

 Datasheet View – used to add, modify, delete

and view records
 Design View – used to create and modify the
fields in a table
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 Datasheet View
Primary key field

Navigation buttons Scroll bar

Navigation bar

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 Design View
Key symbol identifies primary key field

 Click F6 to
switch
between
the upper
and lower
panes
Set field properties in the
lower pane

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Primary & Foreign Keys

 Primary Key (PK)- Uniquely identifies each

record in a table. It is needed for searching
the database.
 Some times if there is no unique value in a
table the database designer may use a auto
number in Access to use a unique serialized
number as the primary key.
 Examples: SIN, Student Number, heath card
number.
Primary & Foreign Keys
 Foreign Key (FK)- A field in one table that
is a primary key in another table. It is with
these values we can build relationships
between tables.
 The values of an FK must satisfy one of two
conditions:
- any FK-value is a value appearing in the
referenced table or a null value.
 Non Key- a regular field in a database.
 Forms, Queries, and Reports

Report Query Form

 Forms, queries, and reports are all based

upon data contained in a table
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 Forms
Form

First record from table

Underlying table
visible in form

 Forms allow us to create an interface that can be

more user friendly and attractive than Datasheet
View
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 Queries
Criterion restricting
dataset to show records
that have a job title of
Sale Representative

Query results showing

only employees who are
Sales Representative

 Queries allow us to question data

 The answer to the query is a dataset
 The question asked is formed using criteria – the rules or
norm that is the basis for making judgments
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 Backing-up and Renaming
Access Files
 Save As – different in Access than other
Office applications
 Save As saves only the current object, not the
entire database
 To save a database with a new name you
must either:
 Backup the database
 Copy, paste, and rename the database

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 Backing-up a Database

Default filename of a
backup file is the name
of the database and the
current date

 Backing-up an Access file will produce a copy

of your file with a default filename
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 Compact and Repair

Compact and Repair is located

under the Manage menu

 Fixes problems due to inefficient file storage

and growth of a database
 Should be performed everyday
 Often decreases the file size by 50% or more

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Filters

 Create a subset of records

 Do not change underlying table data

 Two types
 Filter by Selection
 Filter by Form

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 Filter by Selection

Table before filter

Results of filter
by selection

Filter by selection being applied

from pre-determined criteria

 Selects only the records that match pre-

selected criteria
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 Filter By Form

Inequity setting used in a Filter

by Form process

Selection of criteria
during Filter by form
process

 Allows the user to select criteria with which to

filter by
 Allows the specification of relationships in the
criteria
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 Applying and Removing a
Filter
Toggle Filter icon
Filter icon in the Sort
and Filter group

 Once a filter is applied, the Toggle Filter icon

will be available
 The Toggle Filter icon can be used to apply
and remove the current filter as many times
as desired
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 Sorting Table Data

Last Name field Last Name field

sorted ascending sorted descending

 Lists records in ascending or design order

according to one or more fields

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 Access or Excel?
Use Excel when: Use Access when:
 Your data is of a  You are working
manageable data with large amounts
size of data
 There is no need for  You need to create
relationships relationships
between data between your data
 You are primarily  You rely on creating
creating calculations reports to analyze
and statistics data

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Relational Database -
RDBMS
 Relational database  This is much more
management efficient than the
systems allow data opposite of an
to be grouped into RDBMS which is a flat
tables and file. Flat files store
relationships created data in one single file
between the tables with no special
groupings or
collections

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 Using the Relationship
Window

Relationship
window
Show Table dialog box

 Add the tables or queries from the Show

table dialog box
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 Establishing Relationships
Click and drag to create a relationship

Primary Key

Foreign Key

 In the Relationship window, click and drag a

field name from one table to a field name in a
related table
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 Establishing Relationships

Infinity symbol notes referential integrity

has been applied

 Enter the appropriate settings in the Edit

relationships dialog box
 Click Create
 A join line will appear when one table is joined to
another
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 Referential Integrity

Enforce Referential
Integrity

 Referential integrity ensures that the data in

a relational database maintains consistency
when the data changes
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