A database is a collection of information that's related to a particular
subject or purpose, such as tracking customer orders or maintaining a music
collection. If your database isn't stored on a computer, or only parts of it are,
you may be tracking information from a variety of sources that you're having to coordinate and organize yourself.
For example, suppose the phone numbers of your suppliers are stored in
various locations: in a card file containing supplier phone numbers, in product
information files in a file cabinet, and in a spreadsheet containing order
information. If a supplier's phone number changes, you might have to update
that information in all three places. In a database, however, you only have to
update that information in one place — the supplier's phone number is
automatically updated wherever you use it in the database.
Access
database files
Using Microsoft Access, you can manage all your information from a single database
file. Within the file, you can use:
Store data once in one table, but view
it from multiple locations. When you update the data, it's automatically
updated everywhere it appears.
Display data in a query
Display data in a form
Display data in a report
Display data in a data access page
Tables
and relationships
To store your data, create one table for each type of information that you
track. To bring the data from multiple tables together in a query, form,
report, or data access page, define relationships between the tables.
Customer information that once existed
in a mailing list now resides in the Customers table.
Order information that once existed in
a spreadsheet now resides in the Orders table.
A unique ID, such as a Customer ID,
distinguishes one record from another within a table. By adding one table's
unique ID field to another table and defining a relationship, Microsoft Access
can match related records from both tables so that you can bring them together
in a form, report, or query.
Queries
To find and retrieve just the data that meets conditions that you specify,
including data from multiple tables, create a query. A query can also update or
delete multiple records at the same time, and perform predefined or custom
calculations on your data.
This query accesses separate tables to
retrieve the Order ID, Required Date, Company Name, and City information for
customers in
Forms
To easily view, enter, and change data directly in a table, create a form.
When you open a form, Microsoft Access retrieves the data from one or more
tables, and displays it on the screen with the layout you choose in the Form Wizard, or with the layout that you created on your own in Design
view.
A table displays many records at
the same time, but you might have to scroll to see all of the data in a single
record. Also, when viewing a table, you can't update data from more than
one table at the same time.
A form focuses on one record at
a time, and it can display fields from more than one table. It can also display
pictures and other objects.
A form can contain a button that
prints, opens other objects, or otherwise automates tasks.
Reports
To analyze your data or present it a certain way in print, create a report.
For example, you might print one report that groups data and calculates totals,
and another report with different data formatted for printing mailing labels.
Use a report to create mailing labels.
Use a report to show totals in a
chart.
Use a report to calculate totals.
Data
access pages
To make data available on the Internet or an intranet for interactive
reporting, data entry, or data analysis, use a data access page. Microsoft
Access retrieves the data from one or more tables and displays it on the screen
with the layout that you created on your own in Design view, or with the layout
you chose in the Page Wizard.
Click the expand indicator
...
... to
display the data and record navigation toolbar for the next level of detail.
Use the record navigation toolbars to
move to, sort, and filter records, and to get Help.
