Lesson01_ IntroductionToMicrosoftAccess

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Starting Microsoft Access

Introduction

Microsoft Access is a computer application used to create and managecomputer-based databases on desktop computers and/or onconnected computers (a network). Microsoft Access can be used forpersonal information management (PIM), in a small business toorganize and manage data, or in an enterprise to communicate withservers.

Like any other computer application, in order to use Microsoft Access, you must first install it.After installing Microsoft Access, then you can open it. There are various ways you can openMicrosoft Access. It gets launched like the usual products you have probably been using. Assuch, to start this program, you could click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft Office ->Microsoft Office Access 2007. You can also launch it from Windows Explorer or My Computer.To do this, locate its shortcut in Windows Explorer or My Computer. By default, MicrosoftAccess 2007 is located in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 and its shortcut is calledMSACCESS.EXE. Once you have located it, you can then double-click it.

From now on, that is, for the rest of the lessons, the expression "Microsoft Access"means Microsoft Office Access 2007.

If you have a Microsoft Access database such asan E-Mail attachment, a file on a floppy disk, onthe network, or in any other means, once yousee its icon, you can double-click it. Not only willthis action launch Microsoft Access, but also itwill open the file.

You can also launch Microsoft Access from ashortcut. If you happen to use the software on aregular basis, you can create a shortcut on yourdesktop or on the Quick Launch area.

If you are working on a network of relatedcomputers, your database may be located inanother computer. In this case the network ordatabase administrator would create a link orshortcut to the drive that is hosting the

database. You can then click or double-click thislink or shortcut to open the database and, as aresult, launch Microsoft Access.

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Practical Learning: Starting Microsoft Access

Start Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access Shortcuts

Whenever you find out that you are using a particular program or file most regularly, youshould have an icon on the desktop that can lead you to it quickly. This icon is called ashortcut. There are various techniques used to create a shortcut. Probably the first thing youshould find out is where your application is located. You can find out by doing a search on the

computer. You can create a shortcut from the Programs menu.

To create a shortcut from Windows Explorer or My Computer, you can right-click theMSACCESS.EXE icon, position your mouse on Send To -> Desktop (Create Shortcut).

The Office Button

When Microsoft Access opens, it displays an interface divided in various sections. The topsection displays a long bar also called the title bar.

The title bar starts on the left side with the Office Button . If you position the mouse onit, a tool tip would appear:

When clicked, the Office Button displays a menu:

As you can see, the menu of the Office Button allows you to perform the routine Windowsoperations of a regular application, including creating a new database, opening an existingdatabase, saving an object, etc. We will see these operations in future lessons.

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The Quick Access Toolbar


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To add a command, click it in the middle list and click Add. Once you have selected the desiredoptions, click OK.

The main or middle area of the top section displays the name of the application: Microsoft Access.

On the right side of the title bar, there are three system buttons that allow you to minimize,maximize, restore, or close Microsoft Access.

Under the title bar, there is another bar with a Help button on the right side.

The Work Area

The main area of the Microsoft Access interface is divided in three sections. The left side displaysa column of various links with the top labeled Online Templates.

The middle section itself is made of two sides. The top part allows you to create a database. Thebottom section displays some promotional information from Microsoft.

The right side displays as a column with the top title labeled Open Recent Database with a Morebutton under it. By default, the area under the More button is empty:


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The bottom section of the Microsoft Access interface displays a status bar.

A Microsoft Access Database File

The Database as a File

A Microsoft Access database is primarily a Windows file. It must have a location, also called apath, which indicates how the file can be retrieved and made available. Although you can create adatabase on the root directory such as the C: drive, it is usually a good idea to create your files,

including your databases, in an easily recognizable folder.When you installed the computer (or when it was installed), it (the operating system) might havecreated a folder called My Documents that provides a convenient place for you to create yourfiles. If various people use the same computer, there is a different My Documents folder for eachone. When you log in, the computer (the operating system) locates your corresponding MyDocuments folder and makes it available.

Creating a Database

In our lessons, we will learn different techniques of creating a database. For now, a database isfirst of all a Windows file. It is mainly created from Microsoft Access. If you have just startedMicrosoft Access, to create a database, you can use one of the links in the main (middle section ofthe interface).

You can proceed from one of these options. Like every file in the computer, a database must havea name that identifies it. This name must be specified when creating the database.

In our description of the Microsoft Access interface, we saw that the right section displayed anempty area. If you start creating a database as we will see in the next sections and lessons, theright side gets fi lled with some options, such as prompting you to name your database.

The Database Wizard

Many techniques allow you to create a database, the fastest of which consists of using one of theprovided templates. To create a database using one of the samples, in the left section, first clickLocal Templates, then, in the main section, select one of the samples under Local Templates:


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The templates are organized in categories. To access a sample by category, in the left section, youcan click Business, Personal, or Education. When you click a category, its templates display underLocal Templates and you can choose one. After selecting a template, in the right section, youmust give a name to your new database in the File Name text box. By default, Microsoft Accesssuggests a name you can use. If you do not like it, you can provide your own. Also, by default,Microsoft Access suggests that the database be created in the My Documents folder. If you want it

located in another folder, you can click the Browse button . This would open the File NewDatabase dialog box where you can select an existing folder or create a new one using the Create

New Folder button . Display the folder in the Save In combo box and click OK. Once you havespecified the name of the database and its location, you can click Create.

Practical Learning: Creating a Database From a Template

Start Microsoft Access1.

Under Template Categories, click Local Templates2.

To create a new database, in the middle section under Local Templates, click Projects3.

In the right section of the screen, set the File Name to Rockville Technologies4.

Click Create5.

Database Management

Introduction

Unlike some other programming environments, Microsoft Access considers a database as a singleWindows file with a name. We will eventually learn that this file can contain various objects thatactually make up a database. Therefore, a Microsoft Access database is opened as a normal fi le.

After you have created a database, as a computer file, it becomes part of what are known inMicrosoft Windows as the most recently used (MRU) documents. As such, when you click theOffice Button, the right side of the menu shows a list of MRUs. Here is an example of clicking theOffice Button after a few databases have been created:


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The number of files that the right column can display can be decreased as low as 1 or increase ashigh as 9. To change this number, access the Options dialog box by clicking the Office Button andclicking Access Options. In the left frame, click Advanced. In the right frame and in the Displaysection, change the value of the Show This Number Of Recent Documents:

Database Properties

Whether you work alone or in a group, communication and documentation are important. Yourdatabase project has its own properties that you can use to find out some details about your file,to enter some notes about the project, or to give directives to other people who have access tothe database. This can be done using a dialog box called the Database Properties. To access it,you can click the Office Button -> Manage -> Database Properties.

Practical Learning: Using Microsoft Access

Click the Office Button , position the mouse on Manage and click Database Properties1.

From the Properties dialog, click the General tab. Examine the various sections. Notice thesize of the current database

2.

Click the Summary tab3.


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Make sure the Title is set to Rockville Technologies(otherwise, set it).Click the Subject text box and type Business Regular Activities

4.

Click the Author text box and type Lucien Durand5.

Click the Manager text box and type Christine Lotts6.

Click the Company text box and type Rockville Technologies, Inc.7.

Click the Category text box and type Project Management8.

Click the Keyword text box and type project, budget, management9.

Click the Comments text box and type: This software product is used by the company tomanage a project used to build a computer network for a corporate customer. Formore information, contact Lucien Durand or Christine Lotts. You can also refer to the

web site.

10.

Click the Hyperlink Base text box and type http://www.rockvilletechnologies.com

11.

Click the Statistics, Contents, and Custom property pages and review their contentsThe Statistics tab gives you statistics about your database and its summary accessThe Contents tab shows a list of the components that are part of your databaseThe Custom tab shows, and allows you to customize, the field names associated with yourdatabase

12.

When you have finished working with the database Properties, click OK (if you click Cancel,any change you have made will be discarded)

13.

Opening a Database

To open a database, you can click the Office Button. If you see your intended database in theright column, you can click it to open it.

In our description of the Microsoft Access interface, we saw that, at times, the right section isempty, at other times, such as when creating a new database, it is filled with some other options.Also, when you open Microsoft Access, the right side displays a list of MRUs. Here is an example:


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Based on this, to open a database, if you are just starting Microsoft Access, on the right sideunder Open Recent Database, if you see the name of an existing database, you can click it.

If you locate a database in Windows Explorer, My Computer, My Documents, or any other windowthat displays the Microsoft Access file icon, you can just double-click the icon and open thedatabase. If you received a database as an email attachment, you can also open the attachmentand consequently open the database file.

Deleting a Database

If you have a database you do not need anymore, you can delete it. To delete a database, in MyDocuments, in Windows Explorer or another file management application:

You can click it to select it and press Delete

You can right-click it and click Delete

A warning message would be presented to you to confirm what you want to do.

After you have deleted a database, it doesn't disappear from the MRU lists of Microsoft Access.This means that, after a database has been deleted, you may still see it in the right column menuof the Office Button or in the list under the Open Recent Database column. If you try opening

such a database, you would receive an error. Here is an example from trying to open a databasenamed Things To Do after it had been deleted (although it still appears under Open RecentDatabase):

If a database has been deleted and you want to remove it from the MRU lists, open the Registry(Start -> Run: regedit, Enter). Open the following key:

HKEY_ CURRENT_USER - Sof t war e - Mi crosof t - Of f i ce - 12 - Access


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- Set t i ngs

Locate the deleted database and delete its key.

The Size of a Database

A database is primarily a computer file, just like those created with other applications. As such, itoccupies an amount of space in the computer memory. In some circumstances, you should knowhow much space a database is using. This can be important when you need to back it up or whenit is time to distribute it. Also, when adding and deleting objects from your database, its file cangrow or shrink without your direct intervention.

Like any other computer file, to know the size of a database, you can right-click it in WindowsExplorer or My Computer and click Properties. If you are already using the database, to check itssize, you can click the Office Button, position the mouse on Manage and click DatabaseProperties. In the Properties dialog box, click General and check the Size label.

Practical Learning: Checking the Size of a Database File

From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Altair Realtors1 database1.

To check its size, click the Office Button, position the mouse on Manage, and click DatabaseProperties

2.

In the Properties dialog box, click the General tab and notice the value on the right side ofthe Size label

3.

Click Cancel to close the Properties dialog box4.

Compacting and Repairing a Database

As mentioned already, once you have created a database file, it occupies a certain amount ofmemory space that can grow or shrink without your direct intervention:

When you add an object to the database, the database's file grows as needed. When you removean object, the memory space it was occupying is left empty. This also applies when you keepremoving objects:

The computer is supposed to recuperate the space those previous objects were using.Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Most of the time, that space is left empty but cannotbe accessed by the computer. This means that the memory space cannot be made available toother applications. To recover this memory space, you can compact the database. When this isdone, the file is shrunk to occupy only the necessary amount of space and free the unusedsections:

To compact a database, you have two options. To compact and repair the database that iscurrently opened, and to compact it only once, click the Office Button, position the mouse on


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Manage, and click Compact and Repair Database. The database would be compacted behind thescenes.

To compact a database every time you close it, click the Office Button, and click Access Options.In the Access Options, in the left list, click Current Database. In the right list, click the Compacton Close check box:

And click OK.

Practical Learning: Compacting a Database

The Altair Realtors1 database should still be opened.Click the Office Button, position the mouse on Manage, and click Database Properties

1.

Notice the size of the database.Again, click the Office Button, position the mouse on Manage, and click Compact and RepairDatabase

2.

When the operation has been completed, lick the Office Button, position the mouse onManage, and click Database PropertiesNotice that the database size has been reduced. Click Cancel to close the Properties dialogbox.

3.

The Ribbon

Under the title bar, Microsoft Access displays a long bar called the ribbon:

If the Ribbon is taking too much space on your screen, you can reduce its size. To do this, clickthe arrow of the Quick Access button and click Minimize Ribbon:


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The ribbon is a type of property sheet made of various property pages. Each page is representedwith a tab. To access a tab:

You can click its label or button, such as Home or Create

You can press Alt or F10. This would display the access key of each tab:

To access a tab, you can press its corresponding letter on the keyboard. For example, whenthe access keys display, if you press Home, the Home tab would display

If your mouse has a wheel, you can position the mouse anywhere on the ribbon, and role thewheel. If you role the wheel down, the next tab on the right side would be selected. If yourole the wheel up, the previous tab on the left would be selected. You can keep rolling thewheel until the desired tab is selected

To identify each tab of the ribbon, we will refer to them by their names.

Inside of a tab of the ribbon, the property page is divided in various sections, each delimited byvisible borders of vertical lines on the left and right. Each section displays a title in its bottomside. In our lessons, we will refer to each section by that title. For example, if the title displaysFont, we will call that section, "The Font Section".

Some sections of the Ribbon display a button . If you see such a button, you can click it. Thiswould open a dialog box or a window.

When Microsoft Access is occupying a big area or the whole area of the monitor, most buttons ofthe Ribbon appear with text. Sometimes you may need to use only part of the screen. That is,you may need to narrow the Microsoft Access interface. If you do, some of the buttons maydisplay part of their appearance and some would display only an icon. Consider the difference inthe following three screenshots:


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In this case, when you need to access an object, you can still click it or click its arrow. If the itemis supposed to have many objects, a new window may appear and display those objects:

From this:

To this:


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The Navigation Pane

Introduction

After creating or opening a database, unless the product is setup otherwise, the left section isoccupied by a rectangular object called the Navigation Pane. The Navigation Pane is the centralpoint of a database. It allows you to review the objects that are part of a database. You also use itto change the way the objects display, whether the objects should appear in categories, and whatcategories.

By default, the Navigation Pane appears as a rectangular box with a title on top, a yellow

down-pointing button and a Shutter Bar Open/Close Button . If you want to minimize the

Navigation button, you can click the Shutter Bar Open/Close Button . If you click it, the

Shutter Bar Open/Close Button changes and the Navigation Pane becomes a vertical bar:

To expand the Navigation Pane again, you can click the Shutter Bar Open/Close Button oryou can click the bar itself.

Tables and Objects in the Navigation Pane

The top section of the Navigation Pane displays an All Tables label:

When you create a table, a section gets created for that table. The top section of the table holdsits name. The name of a table is followed by a colon and Table:


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In the same way, as you create more tables, each gets its own section in the Navigation Pane:

In Lesson 3, we will learn that you can create two types of forms. A form can be associated with atable or a form can be independent of any table. When a form is associated to a table, the nameof the form appears under the name of the table. When a form is independent of any table, itappears in a section labeled Unrelated Objects. Here are examples:

In the same way, you can create many forms associated with a table and you can create many

unrelated forms.

Managing a Category

When you create the tables, they are added to the Navigation Pane in the order you create them.When you create forms associated with a table, by default, the objects inside a category arearranged in alphabetical order. If you want, you can make them display in reverse alphabeticalorder. To decide on the order you want, you can right-click the name of a section, position themouse on Sort By, and decide:

By default, when you create the objects that are associated with a table, the objects of the

category display. This means the category is expanded. If you want to minimize a section, whichis referred to as collapsing, you can click its bar.

If you want to hide a category, right-click its category header and click Hide. To hide all categoriesexcept a particular one, right-click the section header of that category and click the Show Onlyoption. To select what categories to hide or what categories to reveal, right-click an empty area in


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the Navigation Pane and click Category Options. Then use the check boxes to decide.

Managing the Categories in the Navigation Pane

We saw that you could expand or collapse a category in the Navigation Pane. If you want toexpand all categories at once, you can right-click any section header and click Expand All. In thesame way, if you want to collapse all categories, right-click any section header and click CollapseAll.

The Navigation Pane gives you ample flexibility on how the objects appear in it and how the

categories are organized. For example, you can show the tables only, the forms only, or allobjects. One way you can decide is to right-click an empty area of the Navigation Pane and clickNavigation Options. This would open the Navigation Options dialog box:

The Navigation Options dialog box allows you to do many things. For example, to decide whatcategories to show or hide, put or remove check marks next to their name in the right list. Thedialog box also allows you to create new categories.

Microsoft Access Help

Introduction

Help consists of requesting or getting assistance while working on a database. There are varioustypes of assistance you can get in Microsoft Access. One of the ways you can get help is by

clicking the Help button on the right side of the Ribbon and close to the right border of theMicrosoft Access interface:

Tool Tips


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One of the types of help you can get is through small boxes called tool tips. These smallrectangles display when you position the mouse on a certain item, such as a button on theRibbon, for a few seconds. In the following example, the mouse is positioned on the Portraitbutton and a short description appears:

When you move the mouse away, the small box disappears (or closes itself)

Context-Sensitive Help

Context-sensitive help refers to help provided on a specific dialog box on the screen. Such help isprovided for objects that are part of Microsoft Access. Context-sensitive help is also referred to asWhats This?. To get context-sensitive help, press Shift + F1. This wouldcall a help window that can describe or explain the object that is displaying. Another type ofcontext sensitive help is provided in various dialog boxes. They display a button with a questionmark on the left of the system Close button. To use this type of help, click the question mark

button or .

Practical Learning: Using Context-Sensitive Help

Click the Office Button -> Access Options1.

Click Advanced2.

Press Shift + F1

3.

Close the Access Help window4.

In the left frame, click Datasheet5.

To get context-sensitive help on a dialog box, on the Options dialog box, click the6.


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Whats This button


To close the Access Options dialog box, click Cancel8.

Help On This Error

Probably no matter how careful and meticulous you are, sooner or later, you will get errors onsomething you are working on. These errors display a square box with an exclamation mark:

If you position the mouse on it, a down pointing arrow is added to the right side of the button andif you click the button or its down pointing arrow, a menu would appear. One of the options on themenu is labeled Help on This Error:

You can then click Help on This Error to get some information on how to fix the error.

Topical Help

In various sections of our lessons, we will use an object called the Properties window, whichallows you to change the characteristics of a control:

Some options of the Properties window could be difficult to figure out, especially if they are notexplicit and if you are not familiar with them. Fortunately, to get help for any item of theProperties window, click it and press F1. The Help window would come up and would display one

or more options on the topic you had clicked. If you see a link with the same name of the itemyou clicked, you can click that link and its explanation would display.

Online Help

Online help is a program that provides help on Microsoft Access. There are two main types of


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online help:

Microsoft Access ships with a help system. To use it, simply press F1

If you have access to a Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) CD-ROM or DVD, which is thehelp system provided to programmers who use Microsoft technologies (such as MicrosoftVisual Studio), it includes a section on Microsoft Office

Practical Learning: Using the Office Assistant

Press F11.

In the Access Help window and on the left side of Search, type Create Table2.

Click Search

3.

On the list that appears, click Create tables in a database4.

On the Access Help window that appears, read the text, scroll down, and click Create A NewTable

5.

After reading it, on the toolbar of the Access Help window, click the Back button6.


Internet Help

Although help on the Internet tends to be disparate, it is still the widest form of help available.This is provided in web sites, web pages, newsgroups, support groups, etc. As the publisher of thedatabase environment, it is only natural to refer to Microsoft corporate web site first for help. TheMicrosoft web site is divided in categories. A web site is dedicated to Microsoft Access athttp://www.microsoft.com/access. You can get help at http://support.microsoft.com. Probably themost visited site of Microsoft for developers of all Microsoft products is http://msdn.microsoft.com.This last site provides a tree list that presents items in categories (like the MSDN CD-ROM or aDVD).

Microsoft Access Exit

Since Microsoft Access shares the same functionality you are probably familiar with from usingother applications, you can close it easily.

To close Microsoft Access, you can click the Office Button and then click Exit Accecss

To close Microsoft Access from its title bar, you can click its Close button

To close Microsoft Access like any regular window of the Microsoft Windows applications, you

can press Alt + F4To close Microsoft Access using mnemonics, you can press Alt, F, X.

Practical Learning: Closing Microsoft Access


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To close Microsoft Access, click the Close button on the top right corner of the window

Lesson Summary

MCAS: Using Microsoft Office Access 2007 Topics

C1 Create databases

D1 Perform routine database operations

D2 Manage databases

Exercise

World Statistics

Create a blank database named World Statistics11.

Close the default table without saving it2.

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