The files you will need are located on the class website in the IWEA directory/folder.

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1 Pfishbone is looking for ways to attract new customers as well as maintain relationships with current customers. Over the past year, the store has been collecting comment cards from customers and recording birthdays in Excel. Each month, the store likes to send out birthday coupons for a free T-shirt to customers with birthdays in the upcoming month. Your assignment is to import the Excel data into Access, query Access for all birthdays in April, and use Word Merge with the Access list to create coupons in Word. The files you will need are located on the class website in the IWEA directory/folder. Cupcake.png Backgroud.png Text.txt The files you will save are Birthday_List Birthday Birthday_Merge Use Excel Data in Access Both Excel and Access can be used to collect, sort, and store data, but Access generally has more sophisticated tools to accomplish those tasks than Excel does. However, Excel has capabilities such as formulas, functions, charts, and graphs that are lacking in Access, so deciding where to store you data depends on what kind of data you have and what you want to do with it as summarized below. Excel Access How data is stored In a flat table In a relational structure of multiple tables What it stores best Numbers Text, numbers, and other objects Advantages What-if models and analysis PivotTables Charts and graphs Conditional formatting color bars, and other visual displays Generates reports Multiple users Data entry forms Connecting multiple databases Data extraction Data can be exchanged between Access and Excel in order to take advantage of the strengths of each program. There are multiple ways to exchange data between the two programs as shown below. Data from Access to Excel Copy and paste Data from Excel to Access Copy and paste

2 Connect to Access database Export data directly Import data directly Link to Excel worksheet Import has two different meanings when referring to Excel and Access. In Excel, when you import data, you create a permanent connection to data in Access that can be refreshed as the data is updated or changed. In Access, when you import data, you bring the data into Access but without a permanent connection. In this section, you will import Excel data into Access and export Access data into Word. REAL WORLD ADVICE- FEAR OF ACCESS Most people in business are either very comfortable with Excel or have some familiarity with it. Access, on the other hand, tends to be a program that not as many people are familiar with. Excel is therefore used more for data collection purposes than is necessary or appropriate, as much of the process could be done easier in Access. Having knowledge of both programs is critical so you can not only make decision on which to use, but also move data between the two programs. For example, if your data in Access needs to be subtotaled and graphed, you can import the data into Excel, apply subtotals, and then graph the data. On the other hand, if you do a lot of data entry, it would be beneficial to create a form in Access to make that data entry more user friendly. Prepare Excel Data for Import Data in Excel can be easily imported into an Access table. Because all data is stored in tables in Access, the data in Excel must be in a list form. Examples may be an address book, a list of inventory, or a list of employees. Editing an Excel List for Import Before data is imported into Access, you need to make sure the data is compatible. The data should have column headings that will become the field names in the Access table. The rows in Excel will become the records in the Access table, so there should be no blank rows in the data you are importing. In this project, you will edit a list of data in Excel so it can be imported cleanly into Access. To Edit Excel Data for importing into Access Start Excel 1. Open a new Worksheet 2. Copy and Paste the material you want 3. Click the Insert Tab, and then Click Header & Footer in the Text group. Click the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, and then click Go to footer in the Navigation group. Click in the left footer section, click the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, and then click file Name in the Header & Footer Elements group. 4. Click outside the footer area. Click Normal in the bottom-right corner of the window to return to Normal view. Press CTRL-HOME to return to cell A1.

3 5. In row 1, notice only one of the two columns has a heading. Scroll through the list of names and notice the blank rows. Select row 256 by clicking the row number. Click the Home tab, click Delete in the Cells group, and then repeat to delete rows 74 and Press CTRL-HOME to return to cell A1. In cell A2, replace the existing name with your Firstname and Lastname. In cell B2, change the Month to In cell A1, type Name. In cell B1 type Birthday Month. Click Save on the Quick Access toolbar, and then close Excel. Import Excel Data When you import data from Excel into Access, Access stores the data in a new or existing table without making changes to the data in Excel. You can only import one worksheet at a time, so if you have multiple worksheets, you will have to repeat the steps for each sheet. If your data is on a worksheet with other unwanted data, you can create a named range, which is a specific name you give to a range of cells other than the cell references, for the data in Excel. Then, in Access, you can specify that you only want the data in your named range. REAL WORLD ADVICE DATA IN TWO PLACES Once you import data from Excel to Access, the data is in two different places and is not linked. If a change to a record is made in Excel, it will not change the record in Access. However, imported Access data into Excel may be refreshed. Trying to maintain the same records in two different programs is not a good business practice. It is better to import or export data for a specific one-time purpose, like to query the data or create a chart from data. Importing an Excel List into an Access Table The Import Spreadsheet Wizard will walk you through the steps to import your Excel data into an Access table. When you import data, the Wizard provides three options: create a new table with the data, append the Excel data to an existing table, or create a linked table. For this exercise, you will import Excel data into a new Access table that will be called Birthdays. To Import an Excel List Into a New Access Table 1. Start Access. Click Blank database, and then in the File Name box type, Birthday. 2. Click Browse and then select the folder where you save your files. Click OK, and then click Create. NOTE: Troubleshooting. Did you try to open an Excel workbook in Access? If you did, then Access created a link to the workbook instead of importing the data. Linking is different than importing and not covered in the exercise. 3. Click the External Data tab, and then click Excel in the Import & Link group. 4. Click Browse, and then navigate to your folder. Click the file and then click Open

4 5. Select Import the source data into a new table in the current database, and then click OK. 6. In the Import Spreadsheet Wizard dialog box, verify First Row Contains Column Headings is checked, click Next, and then click Next again. 7. Verify Let Access add primary key is selected, and then click next 8. Enter Birthdays for the name of the new table, and then click finish. 9. Do not save the import steps. Click Close NOTE: Troubleshooting Did you receive an error that says An error occurred trying to import file? If so, then the import failed. If a dialog box opened up that prompts you to save the details of the operation, then the import worked, but some data may be missing. Start by opening your source file and compare it to the Access table (your destination file). If there are only a few missing pieces of information, you can add that information to the table manually. If there are large pieces, or whole columns of data missing, compare column headings and data types, revise your source data, and try to import again. 10. In the Navigation Pane, double click the Birthdays table to open it. 11. Close the Birthdays table, and then Close the Table 1 table, which has opened by default. Leave the database and Access open. REAL WORLD ADVICE MATCHING FIELDS When you import data into a new table, Access will use the field names and data types of the imported data for the new table structure. If you import data into an existing table, the field names and data types of the imported data must match exactly the field names and data types of the existing Access table or you will get an error. The Import Spreadsheet Wizard gives you the option to change the field names and data types before you import the data. Successfully importing takes a few extra planning steps in order for the import to run successfully the first time. Use Access Data in Word Access data, whether it was entered in Access directly or imported from an Excel workbook, can be used in a Word document. One common example of using Access data in a Word document is to create a Mail Merge. Prepare Access Data for a Mail Merge Data for a mail merge in Word can come from either an Access table or query. If the data is coming from a query, then the query must be created first. Querying Data in an Access Database

5 To find the customers with birthdays in a particular month, you need to query the birthday table with the birthday month as the criteria. For this exercise, you will create a query to find all customers with April birthdays. To Query Data in an Access Database Click the Create tab, and then click Query Design in the Queries group. In the Show Table dialog box, click Add to the Birthdays table to the query, and then click Close. Double-click Name, and then double-click Birthday Month to add the fields to the query design grid. Click the Show check box under Birthday Month to hide this field. In the Criteria row for the Birthday Month field, type 4 to query for all birthdays in April. Click Save on the Quick Access toolbar, and then save the query as April Birthdays. Click OK. Click the Query Tools Design tab, and then click Run in the Results group to run the query. In the Name field, double-click on the right border to best fit the column. Click Save on the Quick Access toolbar. Close the Query. Export Query Results from Access to Word. When you export data from Access, all the work has to be done in Access since there is no command in Word to import data (unless you are completing a Mail Merge in Word). When you do use the export command in Access to export the data in a form or datasheet, or records selected in a view, that data is copied as a Rich Text format (.rtf) file and it put into a new Word document. From the new Word document, you can copy and paste the object into another existing Word document. You can also Mail Merge data from Access into Word. You can use the results of an Access query or any other data stored in an Access table to merge into a Word document to create customized letters or labels. Exporting Data for a Mail Merge To export a list of data from Access to Word, the Word Mail Merge Wizard can be used. The Wizard can be started in either Access or Word. When the Wizard is started in Access, it gives you the option to either create a new Word document or to use and existing one. For this exercise you will link your data to an existing Word document to create customized birthday flyers for the customers listed in the Access query you just created. (If there is not enough time to write these steps, we will make a new document in class). To Mail Merge Access Query Results into Word In the Navigation Pane, double click the April Birthdays query to open it. Click the External Data tab, and then click Word Merge in the Export group. This opens the Word Mail Merge Wizard. Click Link your data to an existing Microsoft Word document, and then click OK

6 Locate your folder, and then open your file. In the Mail Merge pane, verify that Use and existing list is selected under Select recipients. Write your letter. On the birthday flyer, place the insertion point after Happy Birthday to, and then press ENTER twice to skip a line and add a new line. In the Mail Merge pane, click More Items. In the Insert Merge Field dialog box in the Fields box, click Name, click Insert, and then click Close. If necessary place your insertion point after <<Name>>, and then press ENTER so there is a blank line before and after the field. Select <<Name>>, click the Home tab, and in the Fong group, change the font to bold and font size to 28. In the Mail Merge pane, click Next: Preview your letters. Under Preview your letters, click the arrows to scroll through the recipients. The first certificate should have your first and last name. In the Mail Merge pane, click Next: Complete the merge. To save the individual flyers in a new document, click Edit individual letters. In the Merge to New Document dialog box, select All, and then click OK. Click the Header & Footer Tools Design tab, and then click Close Header and Footer in the Close group.