7 Work with package ms Office: ms Access

Everyone trudges through data at work and at home. With the proliferation of computers, information overload seems to be the norm. A database manager, such as Microsoft Access 2003, enables you to organize your data and turn raw facts and figures into meaningful information. Access processes data details so you can spend your valuable time analyzing results. Suppose that your company keeps thousands of parts in an Access inventory database, and you need to know exactly which part sold the most in Division 7 last April. Access can find the answer for you.

This hour introduces you to the world of databases with Access. The nature of databases makes Access one of the more involved programs in the Office suite. Generally, people find that they can master Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook more quickly than they can Access. Access is not difficult to learn and use, but you must understand the structure of database design before you can fully master Access.

The highlights of this hour include the following:

• What a database is

• Which database-related objects Access manages

• Why databases contain tables

• What fields and records are

• How to create and modify tables

Database Basics

Whereas previous hours of this book began by introducing you to the program right away, this hour begins by explaining database concepts. You need to learn how a database management system organizes data before you jump into Access.

A database is an organized collection of data. Access is called a database management system because it enables you to create, organize, manage, and report from the data stored in databases.

Note

Database experts have written complete books on database theory. This hour won't give you an extremely in-depth appreciation for databases, but you will learn enough to get started with Access.

A database typically contains related data. In other words, you might create a home-office database with your household budget but keep another database to record your rare-book collection titles and their worth. In your household budget, you might track expenses, income, bills paid, and so forth, but that information does not overlap the book-collection database. Of course, if you buy a book, both databases might show the transaction, but the two databases would not overlap.

Technically, a database does not have to reside on a computer. Any place you store data in some organized format, such as a name and address directory, could be considered a database. In most cases, however, the term database is reserved for organized, computerized data.

When you design a database, consider its scope before you begin. Does your home business need an inventory system? Does your home business need a sales contact? If so, an Access database works well. Only you can decide whether the inventory and the sales contacts should be part of the same system or separate, unlinked systems. The database integration of inventory with the sales contacts requires much more work to design, but your business requirements might necessitate the integration. For example, you might need to track which customers bought certain products in the past.

Note

Not all database values directly relate to one another. Your company's loan records do not relate to your company's payroll, for example, but both probably reside in your company's accounting database. Again, you have to decide on the scope when you design your database. Fortunately, Microsoft made Access extremely flexible, so you can change any database structure when you begin using your database. The better you analyze the design up front, however, the easier your database is to create.