Opening Screen Access 2010 launches with a window allowing you to: create a new database from a template; create a new template from scratch; or open an existing database. Open existing Templates Create new Click the All Access Objects button at the top of the Navigation Pane to filter and arrange Access objects. Editing Data 1) Select the data you want to edit. 2) Enter or overtype the new data. 3) Click or move onto another record to save the changes. Tip: If you make a mistake and want to cancel the edit, press the ESC key at the top left of the keyboard or, immediately click Undo. Access only has 1 undo when editing table data. Deleting a Row (Record) 1) Click anywhere along the row that you want to delete. 2) Click the Delete command on the Home tab. 3) Select Delete Record. Opening a Database 1) Click the Open command at the top left. 2) Navigate to the folder that your Access database is stored in. 3) Select the database and click Open. The Navigation Pane The Navigation Pane is the area to the left of the opened database. It displays the various objects that you have in the database, eg: Tables stores for the raw data in your database. Queries saved questions about data in the tables. Forms ways of seeing data in tables or queries one record at a time, rather like index cards. Report data in tables or queries that has been laid out and structured for ease of printing. 1 Working with a Table Opening and Moving Around a Table 1) Double click the table you want to open in the Navigation Pane. The table opens at the right. 2) Move around the table using: The Tab key (moves horizontally to the right); Shift Tab (moves horizontally to the left); The Enter key (move vertically down); The scroll bars at the left and/or bottom; The arrow keys on the keyboard; The PageUp and Page Down buttons on the keyboard; The mouse wheel; The Navigation Bar at the bottom left of the table. Adding Data to a Table Data is always added to an Access table at the bottom. 1) Scroll to the bottom of the table, or click the New Record button on the Navigation Bar. 2) Type the new data into the blank row (record). 4) Read the warning message and respond as necessary. Printing a table 1) Click the File tab. 2) Click the Print command at the left. 3) Select the relevant command at the right. Closing a Table Click the Close button in the top right corner of the table or, right click the table tab and click Close (or Close All).
Sorting & Filtering a Table Simple Sorting 1) Click anywhere in the column that you want to sort on. 2) Click the Ascending or Descending command on the Home tab. Multiple Column Sorting 1) Click anywhere on the table that you want to sort. 2) Click the Advanced command in the Sort & Filter group of the Home tab. 3) Select Advanced Filter/Sort. Filtering a Table 1) Click the drop down arrow next to the column heading that you want to filter on. 2) Click the (Select All) check box. 3) Click the check box next to the item(s) that you want to filter on. Creating a New Database 1) Launch Access 2010. 2) Type a file name for the new database in the File Name box at the bottom right of the opening screen. 3) Click the folder button and navigate to the location where you want to store the new database. 5) Click Create. 4) Arrange the fields from left to right along the Field: row, in the order that you want to sort them. 5) Select for each field the sort order in the Sort: row, ie. Ascending or Descending. 6) Click the Toggle Filter command on the Home tab. To carry out additional multiple column sorts: 1) Select the <TableName>Filter1 tab. 2) Change the fields and/or sort orders. 3) Click the Toggle Filter command on the Home tab. 4) When finished, right click the <TableName>Filter1 tab and click Close. 2 To remove the filter: 1) Click the drop down arrow next to the column heading that you have filtered on. 2) Click Clear filter from <field name>. Finding Information in a Table 1) Click anywhere in the column that you want to find data. 2) Click the Find command on the Home tab. 3) Enter in the Find what: box, the word(s) that you want to find in the selected column. 4) Select Any Part of Field in the Match: drop down list. 5) Click Find Next. 6) Click Find Next again to find more instances of the word(s). Designing Tables by Entering Data When you create a new database, Access 2010 immediately gives you a blank table to start entering your data into. 1) Click the column heading Click to add. 2) Select a field type. The more common ones are: Text allows you to enter anything (up to 255 characters) into the field (eg. Text, numbers, punctuation and symbols). Number - allows you to enter numbers only. Currency - allows you to enter numbers only but formats them to a currency style.
Date/Time - allows you to enter dates only and formats them to a dd/mm/yyyy style. Always enter your dates using a / or a to separate days, months and years. Yes/No - allows you to enter true/false data. Access automatically gives you a check box for this purpose. Memo - Same as Text data type but allows approx. 65,500 characters. 3) Immediately after selecting the field type, type a name for the column (field). The usual convention is not to use spaces and keep it reasonably short, eg. FName, Addr, PCode, etc. 4) Continue creating columns in this way for as many fields of data as necessary. 5) When finished creating the fields, begin entering data into the first available blank record. NB: When creating a table this way, it is not possible to enter a value into the first column (ID). The number is automatically entered for you in a sequential order. Editing a Table Design If you change your mind about the fields you have created in a new table, or want to change their data type or formatting, you can use the Ribbon to delete, modify or add new fields. 1) Click anywhere on the field that you want to delete or modify. 3 2) Select the Table Tools > Fields tab on the Ribbon. To delete a field: 1) Click the Delete button in the Add & Delete group. 2) Read the message and respond accordingly. Data in a deleted field cannot be recovered (unless you have a backup of the table or database). To change a field type or its formatting (normally number or currency fields): 1) Click anywhere of the column that you want to modify. 2) Click the Data Type: drop down list in the Formatting group of the Ribbon. 3) Select a different data type. 4) Read the warning message (does not appear in all cases). 5) Respond accordingly. 6) Click the Format: drop down list in the Formatting group of the Ribbon. Options in this list will vary depending on the field selected or it may not be available at all. 7) Select your preferred option. To add a new field to a table: 1) Click anywhere in the column to the left of where you want to add the new one. 2) Click one of the field type commands in the Add & Delete group of the Table Tools > Fields tab. 3) Type a name for the field. To change the name of a field: 1) Click the Name & Caption command in the Properties group of the Table Tools > Fields tab. 2) Enter a new name for the field. IMPORTANT: It is strongly recommended that you create a backup of your database before attempting any changes to a table design. Especially when data has already been entered and/or other objects (Queries, Forms, Reports and Macros) created. New Features Calculated Fields in Tables 1) Click anywhere in the column to the left of where you want to add the calculated field. 2) Select the Table Tools > Fields tab. 3) Click More Fields in the Add & Delete group. 4) Point to Calculated Field at the bottom of the list. 5) Select Number or Currency from the side menu. 6) In the Expression Builder, enter the formula for the calculation. For example, if you want to calculate VAT for each record in the table, and assuming you have a field named Cost, the expression (formula) would be [Cost] * 0.2. The name of the field MUST be written exactly as spelled (but not case sensitive) inside square brackets. In a table containing a field for Quantity and another for ItemCost, the expression for TotalCost would be: [Quantity] * [ItemCost]. 7) Once you have created the expression, click OK. 8) Type a name for the new field at the top of the column. Adding Totals for a Column in a Table 1) Click anywhere in the table that you want totals for. 2) Click the Totals button on the Home tab.
3) Scroll to the bottom of the table. 4) Click into the row below the new record row where you want the total. 5) Click the drop down arrow. 6) Select the type of total that you want. The options in the list will vary depending on the field data type (eg. a text field can only Count). Import Data from Excel Copying Data 1) Select the External Data tab on the Ribbon. 2) Click Excel in the Import and Link group. 3) Browse for the file that you want to import. 5) In the first step of the Import Wizard, specify the location of the data in the Excel workbook. 6) Click Next. 7) Select whether to use the first row of the Excel data as field names by selecting the First Row Contains 4 Column Headings check box. If the Excel data does not contain headings in the first row, untick this box and you will have to enter field names in the next step. 8) Click Next. 9) If necessary, select each column in turn and change its field name or type a new name. 10) Similarly, change the field type. Access guesses them but can sometimes get it wrong. 11) Click Next. 12) Specify whether the Excel data already contains a field that can be used as a primary key (a unique identifier for each record), or whether you want Access to create one. 13) Click Next. 14) Type a name for the table. 15) Click Finish. 16) Click Close. Linking Data Linking Excel data means that the imported Access table will be updated with the latest information from the Excel workbook whenever the table is opened. You can use the table in the same way as one created in Access but you will not be able to carry out most design changes to the table. 1) Select the External Data tab on the Ribbon. 2) Click Excel in the Import and Link group. 3) Browse for the file that you want to link to. 4) Select the Link to the data source by creating a linked table option button. 5) Click OK. 6) In the first step of the Import Wizard, specify the location of the data in the Excel workbook. 7) Click Next. 8) Select whether to use the first row of the Excel data as field names by selecting the First Row Contains Column Headings check box. If the Excel data does not contain headings in the first row, untick this box. Access will use default Field1, Field2, Field3.. headings. You will not be able to change these 9) Click Next. 10) Type a name for the table. 11) Click Finish. 12) Click OK to the message box. Export Data to Excel 1) Select in the Navigation Bar, the table that you want to export to Excel. 2) Select the External Data tab on the Ribbon. 3) Click Excel in the Export group. 4) Type or Browse for a location and file name for the exported file. 5) Tick the Export data with formatting and layout box. 6) Tick the Open the destination file after the export operation is complete box. 7) Click OK. Adding Tables to a Query Queries are used to view, filter, sort, change and analyse data in your tables. Think of tables as the fuel of the database and queries as the engine where the fuel is converted into a useable form Single Table 1) Select the Create tab on the Ribbon. 2) Click Query Wizard in the Queries group. 3) Select Simple Query Wizard.
5) Select the tables that you want to create the query from in the Table/Queries drop down list. 6) Select the field(s) that you want to see in your query from the list box at the right. 7) Click the button to add the field(s) to the list box at the right. 8) Click Next. 9) If any further steps appear, accept the default setting and click Next. 10) In the final step of the Wizard where it asks you for a Title for the query, enter a name that you want to save the query with. 11) Click Finish. This is a useful method to create a smaller table from a large one. For example, a telephone list from a large table that contains addresses,notes and other details too. 5 Adding Criteria to a Query Criteria allows you to filter a query so that the datasheet produced is focussed on a particular sub set of data. 1) In the Navigation Pane, right click the query that you want to add criteria to. 2) Click Design View. The grid at the bottom of the query design window shows the fields that are currently selected for the query. You can add new ones or change/remove existing ones using the drop down list in the Field: row. 3) Click in the Criteria: row for the field that you want to add criteria too. For example, if you have a query of names and addresses and you want the query to show just the addresses of people in London, you add the word London (not case sensitive) in the criteria row for the Town or City field. 4) Click the Run command in the Results group. To return to the query design, save or close the query: Right click the tab at the top of the datasheet and select the required command. Commonly Used Criteria Operator Description < less than <= less than or equal to > greater than >= greater than or equal to = equal to <> not equal to Not reverses logic, eg. Not >=100 Is Null empty cells a range of numbers or dates, eg: Between 1/1/2011 And 31/1/2011 Between And filters all the records with a date for January 2011. Multiple Table Queries The real power of a query comes from its ability to combine related data from two or more tables. In order for this type of query to work, the tables used must have a common field so that Access knows how to match data from one table against the equivalent data from another. For example, if you have a table containing data about your sales reps with each rep having a unique ID, you could create a query to find out how many sales each rep has made by matching their individual IDs to the many IDs in another table that keeps data of all sales made and who made each sale. 1) Select the Create tab. 2) Click Query Design on the Queries group. 3) In the Show Table window, select the tables that you want to add to your query. 4) Click Add. 5) Close the Show Table window.
6) An automatic join will occur between the matching fields if the following rules have been followed: a) Field names are identical. b) The data type is the same. c) At least ONE of the tables has the matching field as a Primary Key. 7) If the tables do not automatically join, you can create a manual join by clicking and dragging between the related fields using the mouse pointer. 8) Once the tables are correctly joined, add to the grid below, the fields that you want to see in your query in the Fields: row. 9) If necessary, specify a sort order and/or add criteria to the Criteria: row. 10) Click the Run button in the Results group. 6 Printing a Query 1) Click the File tab. 2) Click the Print command at the left. 3) Select the relevant command at the right. Creating a Simple Form in Layout View Forms are ways of viewing records from a table or query one at a time, rather like index cards. It is generally considered easier to view or edit data in forms. In advanced databases, forms are usually automated with macros and modules to increase and simplify the functionality of the database. 1) In the Navigation Pane, select the table or query that you want to see in a form view. 2) Select the Create tab. 3) Click the Form command in the Forms group. Making Basic Layout and Formatting Changes to a Form Resizing Labels and Text Boxes (Controls) on a Form Forms created by the above described method are in an arrangement. This means that they are automatically positioned and sized to provide good visual appeal and perspective. 1) Click onto a single label or text box. An orange border appears around it. 2) Click and drag from an edge of the control. If adjusting the width of a control, ALL the controls of that type are adjusted to the same dimension. If adjusting the height of a control, only THAT control is adjusted. Formatting Controls on a Form 1) Select the control(s) that you want to format. To select multiple controls, select the first one and then hold down the SHIFT key and click each of the others in turn. Release the SHIFT key when the controls are selected. 2) Select the Form Layout Tools > Format tab. 3) Use the commands in the Font and Number groups to modify the typeface, colours and styles of your controls. Saving and Closing a Form 1) Right click the tab at the top of the form. 2) Select the relevant command Creating a Simple Report in Layout View While forms are mainly used for viewing data on-screen, reports are more commonly used for producing hard copy output. 1) In the Navigation Pane, select the table or query that you want to create a report from. 2) Select the Create tab. 3) Click the Report command in the Reports group. Making Basic Layout and Formatting Changes to a Report Reports in Layout View are edited in a similar way to Forms. Follow the instructions in the previous topic, substituting Report Layout Tools tab where mention was been made of Form Layout Tools tab. Because reports are usually printed, greater care must be taken to adjust column widths to fit between the page breaks (shown as dashed lines on the screen).