Lesson 29: Building a Database

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Learning Objectives

After studying this lesson, you will be able to:

Identify key database design techniques

Open an existing database

Create a database table using Design view

Create a form

Create a report

Create a table from an Excel worksheet

Create a new database using a template

Planning a Database Design

Asking questions helps

identify objects What info do you want to

obtain from the database? What pieces of data do you

need for the info? What groups do the fields fit

into? How do the groups

interconnect? What is the most efficient way

to input data? What questions will the data

answer?

Reports

Fields

Tables

Foreign keys

Forms

Queries

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Opening a Database Same basic procedures used to open files in other

computer programs Enabling content to control security

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Saving a Database as a New File

File > Save As command in Access is different from

other applications

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Save an existing object as a new object Save an existing database

as a new database

Opening Database Objects

Database objects are grouped by type on the

Navigation Pane

Procedures for opening database objects similar to

those used to open programs from the Desktop:

Double-click the object in the Navigation Pane

Right-click object in the Navigation Pane and choose

Open

Drag the object name from the Navigation Pane to the

work area of the Access window

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Working with Tabbed Objects Each open object in the database window is identified

by a tab

To switch among open objects, click a tab

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Creating Database Objects The Create tab of the Ribbon contains tools for

creating all database objects Tools on the Ribbon are grouped by object type Each object type has several different formats to

choose from

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Creating a Simple Form – Input

Forms are used to input data into database tables Forms obtain their field names and data from tables or

queries Simple forms contain all fields for the table or query

on which they are based

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Creating Simple Reports – Output

Processes data into meaningful information

Formats data for printing Contains all fields from the associated table

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Creating a Table Using Design View

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Importing Data from Excel Creates new tables from data stored in other

programs

External Data tab on the Ribbon contains Import tools

Most import procedures use Wizards

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Create a Database Using a Template In Access, database templates are ready-to-use

databases Each template contains a set of objects designed for a

specific purpose Storing contacts, tracking projects, etc.

Each object in the database created with a template can be customized to meet specific needs

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Finding and Selecting Templates

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Sample templates

Search for more templatesBusiness templates group downloaded from Microsoft

Lesson 29: Building a Database