Microsoft Access is database software. This program is great. It is a fast and easy way to keep track of your favorite information. It is also very easy to use once you have the hang of it. The best way to learn this software, in my experience, is to use it over and over again. This way you can tweak it to your needs.

A database is a collection of information 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 have to coordinate and organize yourself. Using Microsoft Access, you can manage all your information from a single database file. Within the file, divide your data into separate storage containers called tables; view, add, and update table data using online forms; find and retrieve just the data you want using queries; and analyze or print data in a specific layout using reports.

To store your data, create one table for each type of information you track. To bring the data from multiple tables together in a query form, or report, you define the relationships between the tables. To find and retrieve just the data that meets conditions you specify, including data from multiple tables, create a query. A query can also update or delete multiple records at the same time as well as perform built-in calculations on your data. To view, enter, and change data easily directly in a table, create a form. When you open a form, Access retrieves the data from one or more tables and displays it on the screen using the layout you choose in the Form Wizard or using a layout that you create. To analyze your data or present it a certain way in print, create a report. To work with all the objects in a database, use the database window. Click whatever tab you want to get into. Using the buttons on the right of the screen, you can open or modify existing objects and create new ones. There are 5 major elements in Access: Tables, Forms, Queries, Reports, and Macros (which include Modules and Events).

A table is a collection of data about a specific topic, such as products or suppliers. Using a separate table for each topic means your store that data only once, which makes your database more efficient and reduces data-entry errors. Tables organize data into columns (fields) and rows (records). In the table datasheet view, you can edit, add, or view the data in a table. You can also check the spelling and print your table’s data, filter or sort records, change the datasheet’s appearance, or change the table’s structure by adding or deleting columns. In table design view, you can create an entire table from scratch, or add, delete, or customize and existing table’s fields.

Forms can be used for a variety of purposes. Creating a data-entry form to enter data into a table, create a custom dialog box to accept user input, and then to carry out an action based on that input, create a switchboard form to open other forms and reports. Most of the information in a form comes from an underlying record source. Other information in the form is stored in the form’s design. Graphics elements, such as lines and rectangles, are stored in the form’s design. Data comes from the fields in the underlying record source. Descriptive text is stored in the form’s design. A calculation comes from an expression, which is stored in the form’s design. You create the link between a form and its record source by using graphical objects called controls. The most common type of control used to display and enter data is the text box.

Queries are used to view, change, and analyze data in different ways. You can also use them as the source of records for forms and reports. You can bring data together from multiple tables and sort them in a particular order. Perform calculations on groups of records. Calculate a sum, count, or another type of total, and then group the results in many different ways. The most common type of query is a select query. A select query retrieves data from one or more tables using criteria you specify, and then displays it in the order you want. When you run any query, Access retrieves the records you specify then displays the combined data in the order that you want. You can also create a query with a wizard or from scratch in the query design view. In the design view, you specify the data you want to work with by adding the tables or queries that contain the data, and then by filling in the design grid.

A report is an effective way to present your data in a printed format. Because you have control over the size and appearance of everything on a report, you can display the information the way you want to see it. You can create mailing labels, show totals in a chart, group records into categories, and calculate totals. Most of the information in a report comes from an underlying table, query, or SQL statement, which is the source of the report’s data. Other information in the report is stored in the report design. For example the report title and column headings, the date, and totals. You create the link between a report and its record source by using controls. Report controls can be text boxes that display names, numbers, labels, and decorative lines that graphically organize the data and make the report more attractive.

Macros are a set of one or more actions that each performs a particular operation, such as opening a form or printing a report. Macros can help you to automate common tasks. For example, you can run a macro that prints a report when a user clicks a command button. When you create a macro, you enter the actions you want to carry out. You can specify arguments for an action. Arguments provide additional information on how to carry out the action. A macro can be one macro composed of a sequence of actions, or it can be a macro group. A module is a collection of Visual Basic for application declarations and procedures that are stored together as a unit. There are two basic types of modules: class modules and standard. An event is a specific action that occurs on or with a certain object. Access can respond to a variety of events: mouse clicks, changes in data, forma being opening and closed, and many others. Events are usually the result of user action. You can use an event procedure or macro to add your own custom response to an event.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to features and options. I really like this software. It is easy to use, and has endless features that you can use to make your database exactly the way you want it. There is also an extensive help section within the program. If you have a question, I would bet that there is an answer within the help section. I would recommend this program to everybody that wants a great database program.




Recommended: Yes