Microsoft Access 2010

Transcription

1 2013\2014 Microsoft Access 2010 Tamer Farkouh

2 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 1 Definitions Microsoft Access 2010 What is a database? A database is defined as an organized collection of data (information) on people or things. What is a table? Tables are used to store the data in a structured and organized format. 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. 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 new record. What is Data? Data is the information entered into tables within the database Data types Data types define what type of data will be entered into each field (column) in a table. 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 [true or false] [on or off] OLE Object you can attach one document to the record 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

3 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 2 Field Properties 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 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 hoices 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) xxxxxxx or social security number xxx-xxxxxx. 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). 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.

4 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 3 A First Look at 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 Open the Sample2011 database. Click the Create button at the bottom of the screen. A screen similar (and much larger) to the one below is displayed: 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). 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] 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. (3) Set any Field Properties necessary.

5 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 4 What are queries? Using a query is similar to filtering and sorting tables but much more powerful. Multiple criteria can be used in one or more fields to be highly specific about the information you wish to extract from a table. A select query is used to search for and display data according to the specified criteria. This data can then be viewed as a table, in a form created specifically on the query or as a report. An update query is similar to the Find & Replace function found in most Microsoft applications, only more advanced. For example, if a new category has been created in a table, you would create a select query to select the records to be updated. Once it is created and tested, then you would change it to an update query, which would select specific records to change to the new category. NOTE: Update queries cannot create new records, only update existing records. A make table query selects records from one or more tables, and copies the records into a new table. That new table can reside in the database that you have open, or you can create it in another database. An append query, is used when you want to select records and copy them into another table. The tables could reside in the same database or separate databases. A delete query is used when you need to remove entire records (rows) from a table. Delete queries, by default, remove all of the data in each field, along with the unique key field, (normally the primary key field) When the query is run, it removes the entire record (row) from the table.

6 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 5 Creating a select query Start Access and open a file called Queries1.accdb contained in your Access training folder. The database opens with several tables displayed in the Navigation Pane. Open the Orders table. Click the (1) Create tab and click the (2) Query Wizard button in the Other group. New Query dialog box is displayed. With the (3) Simple Query Wizard selected, click (4) OK. The Simple Query Wizard dialog opens. In the (5) Tables/Queries box, select Table: Orders. Add these fields to the (6) Selected Fields box: First Name, Last Name, Category, Product Name, and Order Date. To add an Available Field to the Selected Fields box, click the field then click the right arrow button; Or double click a field in the Available Fields list. NOTE: Clicking the double right arrow button, adds all the fields to the Selected Fields box. Clicking the double left arrow button, removes all the fields from the Selected Fields box. Click the (7) Next button. At this point you can accept the default name provided by Access or type your own. Type Customer in front of (8) Orders Query.Click the (9) Finish button The Customer Orders Query displays the result in table form and the new query can be seen as a new object in the Navigation Pane. Currently all this query has done is to display information from the Orders table using only the fields chosen as you worked through the wizard. NOTE: By default, Access has already saved the query using the name provided during the wizard process. Adding criteria to a query To utilize the power of a query and locate specific records, criteria must be entered to give the query something to work with. For example, if there is a need to locate orders placed between certain dates, the following type of criteria would be entered under the Order Date field on the Criteria line of the query. >= 6/1/2006 AND <=05/31/2007

7 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 6 To add criteria to a query, the query must first be in Design View. Click the Home tab. Click the Design View button to switch to Design View. Similar to other objects when in Design View, queries have their own specific ribbons, functions and tools. NOTE: Although this is currently a Select Query Type, this query can be modified at any stage to become a different type of query and therefore perform a different function. It is a good idea to make sure the Select query is selecting the correct records before making changes to a table with an Update, Append, or Delete query. Access 2010 Intermediate The Query Design Grid is where selected fields from one or more tables have been added to the grid, the Sort order can be set (Ascending, Descending, or Not sorted); fields can be set to Show Criteria is entered. NOTE: Fields can be included in the query design grid for criteria (record search) purposes only; they do not have to be displayed when the query is run. Place the mouse pointer in the Criteria row under the Order Date field in the query design grid and type the following to specify a date range: >=06/01/2006 And <=05/31/2007 Press the Enter key or the Tab key to move to another cell in the grid. (You can also click the mouse in another cell of the grid.) Notice how the criteria changed. Access places # on either side of the dates to signify this value as a date.

8 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 7 Forms Overview Up to this point, you have entered data directly into a table. Rather than having information overload from viewing a screen full of records in a table, forms provide an aesthetically pleasing window to enter and display record information. Forms can be designed to display fields from multiple tables and can also be used to restrict what information users have access to. In addition, buttons can also be added to provide automated functionality. Microsoft Office Access 2010 gives you new tools to help you create forms quickly, and provides new form types and features that improve the usability of your database. Creating forms Forms can be created using the Form tool with a single click of a mouse button. When creating forms this way, Access takes the required information from the underlying table or query and produces a simple form. NOTE: Forms created using the Form tool can be modified at a later stage. Forms can also be designed from scratch using Form Design. Access provides a blank form and you add the desired fields, labels, graphic and functions. Open the database Sample2011 and the table Class Schedule Click the Create tab and click the Form button, in the Forms group.

9 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 8 You will a form similar to the one shown on the right. It displays all the fields within the table. Save the form and leave it opens. Leave the form and leave it open. When using a form only one record at a time is displayed. Move around in the form fields with the mouse or by pressing the Tab key. On the figure (above) the arrow is pointing to the record navigation buttons. Use the navigation buttons to display Access 2010 Intermediate different records. Use the New Record button at the right end of the Navigation buttons to add another record to the table. When the newly created form is displayed on screen, you will notice the FormView button in the View group of the Home ribbon. In Access 2010, the View button displays the alternate view(s) to the current view. Click the View button (circled in the figure below left). Select one of the three views, Form View You see only the data that has been set to display. You cannot change the formatting or size of the fields. Layout View - Access creates the form and displays it in this view. You can make some design changes to the form while it is displaying live data. You can change fonts, size, color and formatting changes and rearrange the order of the fields. Design View You do not see the live data in this view. You do see the three sections of a Form: Header, Detail and Footer. You can add graphics, arrange and align items in the form, add additional controls, change some properties, etc. There is also a Form Layout Tools Format tab. Below the Format tab is a ribbon with all the format related functions. (See the figures below.) The Font group is there to provide text formatting within the form, changing font, size, alignment, etc. The Formatting group allows you to set the display format of field data in the form, regardless of how field properties are configured in the table. For example, although a field may be set to Fixed in a table, displaying a value as 23.86, tools within the Formatting group allow you to add a currency symbol to the value displayed in the form. The table properties remain unchanged. The Gridlines and Controls groups provide tools to change the appearance of the form itself, rather than the data within the table. Within the Controls group is the Add Existing Fields tool. This tool is useful when creating forms from scratch or for replacing or adding additional fields from the underlying table(s). Selecting this tool activates the Field List and fields can be dragged across, placed and positioned within the form. The AutoFormat group provides a selection of pre-formatted styles. Selecting one of the styles alters the forms appearance but not the way data is displayed. Currency symbols, field layout, etc, remain unchanged. NOTE: Although you are able to view record data in Layout View, you cannot edit or enter data.

10 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 9 What are reports? In Access, a report is a summary generated from information in a table or query. Access provides you with a number of tools that help you to quickly build reports that present the data in an organized, meaningful and easy-to-read layout. You can use the commands on the Create tab to create a simple report with a single click, use the Report Wizard to create a more complicated report or create a report from scratch by adding all the data and formatting elements. Whichever method you choose, you will probably need to make a few changes to the design, for example, adjusting column positions and widths to fine tune the final output of the report (how it displays on the screen or prints). Creating a report with Report Wizard Reports are based on information in tables or queries. If the report is to be based on information contained in more than one table, a relationship must exist, however it is far more likely that a query has already been created to produce the information required for the report.

11 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 10 In the Navigation Pane, click once on the Class Schedule table to select it. Click Report Wizard on the Create tab in the Reports group. The Report Wizard is displayed. The Class Schedule Table is selected. Select these fields: Subject, Date, Course Name, StartTime, EndTime and Campus Location. Click Next. Click Subject on the left, and click the right arrow (>) on the screen to cause it to group by Subject. Click Next. Select Date to sort by, Ascending is already selected. Click Next. Select the Stepped Layout, Portrait Orientation, and leave the checkmark for Adjust the field width. Select Access 2010 AutoFormat, click Next, accept the name and click Finish. NOTE: The three Layout options control how the report will be laid out when finished. Consideration should be given to the report Orientation. If there are too many fields for a single page width, select Landscape, otherwise Portrait should be sufficient. Orientation can be changed at any stage before printing. The simple report is displayed in Print Preview ready for printing if there are no changes required. As you can see from the sample below, there are several modifications that need to be made. The Subject column and EndTime columns need to be wider. The Campus Location column is too wide, some of the space can be added to the two columns that are too narrow. Access 2010 Intermediate Click the View drop-down arrow, there are four choices: Report View, Print Preview, Layout View, and Design View. Click Layout View. The Layout View will look similar to the figure below. It is best to work left to right. The dashed line (see arrow in figure) is the margin edge of the report. Don t go outside the dashed line. Widen the Subject to about 2 by dragging the right edge of the Subject box under the Subject Header. Adjust any field widths going from the left to right. You will need to widen the Course Name so that all of the names are visible. Use the left edge of the EndTime column to make the time columns about the same width. Click the Campus Location field. Drag the left edge of the Campus Location to the right, until it is about 0.75 (notice this is increasing the width of the EndTime column). Change to Design View.

12 M i c r o s o f t A c c e s s P a g e 11 Right-click on the Campus Location column, select Properties. In Properties, click the All or Format tab, select Center for Text Align. Select Beginning Date in the Page Header, right-click, select Properties, change the Caption (at the top) to Date and for Text Align select Left. To look at the results of the changes, select Print Preview from the View menu. After looking at the Print Preview, make any minor changes evident; such as the Caption for Campus Location needs to be changed to Campus. Editing and modifying a report is similar to editing a form. The title, field text labels and images can all be resized, moved or deleted as necessary. Even the style can be altered at the click of a button using the preset styles in the AutoFormat group. Reports are not saved until you click the Save button in the Quick Access toolbar or attempt to close the report, at which point Access will prompt you to save the report. Don t work on a report for very long without saving your work Click Save in the Quick Access toolbar. The Save As dialog box is displayed. Change to Print Preview view. Compare it to the first version. Click the Close Print Preview button. Change to Layout View. Click in the StartTime field. Open the Properties and change the Format to Medium Time. Repeat for the EndTime field. Click the Report Design Tools Arrange tab, the AutoFormat group is on the left. Click the down arrow to view the available styles. Select a style. Change to Print Preview to view the new style. Close Print Preview. Save and close the report.