Summary of Access 2007/2010 Procedures (Rev. 3)

Important Notes—Please Read:

·  The instructions that follow apply only to Microsoft Access 2007/2010. They will not work with earlier versions of the program such as Access 2000, Access XP (2002), or Access 2003. If you do not have Access 2007 or 2010 installed on your personally-owned computer, please see if one of the computer labs on campus (like the one in DeGarmo 308/309) has one of these versions of the program.

·  Since Access 2007 and 2010 operate very similar to one another, there will usually be no need in these instructions to draw a distinction between the two versions of the program. The “Access” moniker is used to refer to either version. In the rare instance when the instructions for using Access 2007 differ from those for using Access 2010, these differences will be clearly delineated (and labeled accordingly).

·  With the introduction of Office 2007, the traditional menu bar at the top of programs like Access 2007 was replaced by the ribbon, and the customary File menu was supplanted by the more-contemporary (round) Office Button which, when clicked, gave essentially the same options as those in the File menu of older versions of the program. With the advent of Office 2010, however, the Office Button was abandoned, and the more-traditional (and apparently more-popular) File menu was reinstated.

·  If you try to open your database on a different computer than the one that was originally used to create it, you might be presented with a warning message that must be dismissed before you can proceed. Depending on which version of access you are using, do one of the following:

o  When Access 2007 users see “Security warning Certain content in the database has been disabled,” they should: (i) click the Options button to the right, (ii) check the “Enable the content” bubble that appears in the Microsoft Office Security Options window, and (iii) click the OK button at the bottom to close the window.

o  When Access 2010 users see “Security Warning Some active content has been disabled. Click for more details.,” they should click the Enable Content button to the right.

·  Please keep in mind that there is often more than one “right” way to perform a particular task. An attempt was made in these instructions to provide as similar a sequence of steps for each task as possible in the hope of making them easier to understand and remember.

·  If the instructions for a particular task ask you to click on an item, and then click again, this is not the same as double-clicking. Make sure to wait a short while between the two clicks of the mouse.

·  Before building a database for your class project, it is a good idea to first make a practice database designed around a personal interest. For example, if you like music, why not create a database to help you catalog your CD or mp3 collection? If you like sports, why not make a database that would enable you to keep track of the “stats” of players or teams? Doing this will give you the experience needed to create the education-related database you will submit to your professor.

·  Remember to design your database around an educational purpose. This assignment is not simply an exercise to help you learn how to use database technology. Instead, it is intended to encourage you to think about how database technology might be used in the service of education to satisfy a particular instructional, curricular, or administrative need.

  1. Creating the Database File:

Before you can make tables, forms, queries, and reports, you must first create a database file that will act as a container for these “objects”. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Depending on which version of Access you are using, please do one of the following:

·  For Access 2007: Launch Microsoft Access 2007 and, near the top of the opening Getting Started with Microsoft Office Access screen, click on the Blank Database option. Then, go to step IB. (Note: If your computer is running with a low screen resolution (i.e., 800X600 or 640X480 pixels), you might not be able to see the Blank Database option. If this is the case, simply click on the round Office Button near the top-left corner of the screen, and select (by clicking) New from the drop-down menu.)

·  For Access 2010: Simply launch Microsoft Access 2010. Then, go to step IB.

  1. Then, near the bottom-right of the opening screen, below the Blank Database heading that now appears, you are asked to provide a (meaningful) name for the database you are creating in the File Name field. Additionally, with the aid of the button to the right that resembles a file folder, you are asked to browse for the location where you would like to save the database file. Although you can use capital letters, small letters, numbers, and spaces in the database file name, please avoid the use of punctuation marks. Access will automatically insert the .accdb extension at the end of the file name. You may not see these characters, however, because modern versions of Microsoft Windows are set, by default, to hide file extensions. (Note: If your computer is running with a low screen resolution (i.e., 800X600 or 640X480 pixels), you might not be able to see the fields mentioned in this step (and the Create button mentioned in the step that follows). If this is the case, use the scroll bars on the right side of the screen (and at the bottom) to navigate to these items.)
  2. Finally, click on the Create button below the File Name field to save the (empty) database file you just created and close the Access startup screen.
  1. Creating and Using Tables:

The table is the heart of your database. It is where the “data” in the database are stored. The table looks very much like a spreadsheet (where each row below the column headings is called a “record,” and each column is called a “field”). Before you can enter data into the table, you must first design (i.e., configure) it to properly store the information.

  1. Making a table:
  1. Immediately after you have finished creating the empty database file (see procedure I (above)), you are presented with a screen that is divided into three parts. The top part of the screen that contains multiple tabs beneath which are buttons of varying sizes grouped into different categories is called the “ribbon.” The area below the ribbon on the left side of the screen is called the “navigation pane.” This is where the names of all of the database objects you will eventually create are displayed. It can be closed or opened at any time by clicking on the Shutter Bar Close/Open button (i.e., the button with the or symbols, respectively) located to the right of the All Tables heading at the top of the pane. Below the ribbon, and to the right of the navigation pane, is the bulk of the screen real estate whose function changes depending on the task in which you are engaged. At present, you are in the Datasheet View where you are given a preview of the (nearly empty) table as it would look to the end user. Before the table can be used, however, it will be necessary to switch to the Design View in order to label each column and specify what type of data will be stored there. To enter the Design View you can either (a) click on the button with the picture of an architect’s tools on it at the far left of the ribbon or (b) click on the View button with the downward-pointing arrow (located immediately below the button with the architect’s tools) and select the Design View option from the drop-down menu.
  2. In the Save As window that now appears on your screen, provide a meaningful name for your table in the Table Name field. Use only capital letters, small letters, and/or numbers in table names; avoid spaces and punctuation marks; and remember to end each table name with the word Table. Examples of good table names include InventoryTable, FlightReservationsTable, or ClassRosterTable. Notice how a capital letter is used at the beginning of each word to make the table names easier to read. After you have typed in the desired name for your table, click the OK button at the bottom of the Save As window. Please keep the following points in mind regarding tables:

·  The table name you have just entered now appears under a similarly identified group name below the All Tables heading in the navigation pane on the left side of the screen. Any other database objects (i.e., forms, queries, reports, or even additional tables) that reference data in this table will appear under the same group name as the table to which they are related.

·  The table you have just made will not be saved as a separate file. Instead, it will be incorporated into the database file you created earlier in step I (above)).

·  If you ever need to open a table, form, query, or report that you have previously made, please do the following:

  1. If the navigation pane is not already open, click on the button on the left side of the screen to open it.
  2. Click on the name of the group that contains the table, form, query, or report of interest. (If you are looking for a table, the group name should be the same as the name of the table. If you are looking for a form, query, or report, the group name should be the same as the name of the table on which the form, query, or report is based.)
  3. Now, displayed under the relevant group name, you should see the table, form, query, or report you wish to access. Simply double-click on it to open it.

(If you can not find what you are looking for, click on the button with the downward-pointing arrow on it,—immediately to the left of the button at the top-right of the navigation pane—and make sure both the Tables and Related Views and All Tables options are checked.)

·  If you ever create another table that is not related to an existing table in the same database file--(see step IIA10 (below)),--that new table’s name will appear under another (similarly named) group in the navigation pane along with any database objects that are related to it.

·  Before you start to work on a different table, form, query, or report, remember to close out of the object you are currently working on by clicking on its close button (i.e., the x in the upper-right corner of the object’s work area, and not the x at the upper-right corner of the program window that shuts down Access entirely). Failing to close older objects can sometimes prevent desired objects from opening.

  1. You are now in the Design View where you can specify the names and characteristics of the fields you wish to include in your table. Type in the name you wish to give to the first (or any other) field in your table in the blank space under the Field Name heading. As with table names, field names should consist of only capital letters, small letters, and/or numbers, and should not contain spaces or punctuation marks. For example, if you want to provide a name for a field that will contain the last names of individuals, a good choice would be LastName. As was also the case with table names, notice how a capital letter is used at the beginning of each word to make the field name easier to read. (Keep in mind that the Field Names (which are displayed vertically in the Design View) will be displayed horizontally in the same order when you eventually leave the Design View and switch to the Datasheet View in order to enter data.)

Note that the first field has already been named ID, and has a key-shaped symbol to the left of the Field Name. This field is called the Primary Key, and is intended to serve as a mechanism to help the database distinguish one record from another—even when they contain similar (or identical) data in one or more of their fields. Each time a new record is created, the database automatically assigns it a (unique) sequential positive integer number in the field that has been designated as the Primary Key (i.e., 1 for the first record, 2 for the second, and so on). Although any field—and not just the first--can serve as the primary key, and although you are permitted to name it something other than ID, it is strongly recommended that you allow the first field to serve as the Primary Key. Leave the Data Type set to AutoNumber--(see the sixth bulleted item under step IIA4 (below)), and the other Field Properties at the bottom of the Design View screen set to their default values—(see the sixth bulleted item under step IIA6 (below)).
  1. To the right of the field name you just entered, click in the blank space under the Data Type heading. Then, click on the downward-pointing arrow at the right side of this blank space, and select (by clicking) the type of data that best represents the information you plan to enter in the field you named in the previous step. The most common choices are:

·  Text---a (relatively short) string of no more than 255 characters (i.e., letters, punctuation marks, or numbers that will not be used in calculations and does not have any particular significance associated with its magnitude) (e.g., a person’s name or social security number, the species of a bird, someone’s zip code or phone number, the string of digits on a student ID card, stock number of an item ordered from a catalog, the city/state where a coin was minted, etc.)

·  Memo—a (relatively large) block of characters (i.e., letters, punctuation marks, or numbers that will not be used in calculations and does not have any particular significance associated with its magnitude) (e.g., notes on a student’s behavior, qualitative observations made while viewing a planet through a telescope, your impressions of a book you have read and are now cataloging, etc.) Use Memo (rather than Text) as the data type when you expect the need to store more than 255 characters in a field for one or more records in your table.