Introduction to Ms Access 2003

8/3/2019 Introduction to Ms Access 2003

1/47

INTRODUCTION TO MS ACCESS 2003

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Some Theory 1

2.1 What is a Database? 1

2.2 Where does Microsoft Access 2003 fit in? 2

2.3 Steps in Designing and Building a Database 2

3 Case Study 2

3.1 About the Educational Institutions 3

3.2 About the orders 3

3.3 Analysis 3Doc 5.131 Ver 2 Introduction to Access 2003 3.4 Data Types

4 Creating a database 5

5 Working with tables 7

5.1 Creating Tables 7

5.2 Entering Data into a table 8

5.3 Sorting Data 9


2/47

6 Queries 11

6.1 What are Queries? 11

6.2 Query Wizard 11

6.3 Adding criteria to a query 12

6.4 Joining tables in a query 12

6.5 Calculated criteria 14

6.6 More practice at working with queries 14

7 Forms 15

7.1 What are forms? 15

7.2 Create a form with Form Wizard 16

7.3 Entering Data with a form 16

7.4 Modify the form design 16

7.5 Create an object on a form 18

7.6 More practice at working with forms 19

8 Reports 19

8.1 Modifying a report 20

8.2 More practice at working with reports 21

8.3 Mail Merge 21

9 Relationships 22


3/47

9.2 Types of relationships 23

9.3 A sample database 23

9.4 Finding out More about Database Design 24


4/47

1 Introduction

The aims of this training material are:

To introduce basic techniques for creating a database using the

Microsoft Access 2003 relational database management system

(RDBMS). In this introductory material we will not cover the more

advanced features ofMicrosoft Access 2003 such as macros and modules.

These topics are necessary for the development of full-blown applications

To demonstrate the need for requirements analysis before attempting

a database design. Before you create a document with a word-processor,

you need to do some planning of the content and appearance. For a

simple document you may begin typing straight away. However, adatabase needs much more planning before you even think of using a

RDBMS such as Microsoft Access 2003

To build a simple database. You will start by learning about the topics

needed to build a single table database, that is the simplest type of

database, such as a list of names and addresses. Topics include what is a

database, steps in designing and building a database, Tables, Forms and

Reports and Queries

To become familiar with using some ofWizards that are provided with

Microsoft Access 2003

To introduce terminology commonly used in database design and in

the Windows 2000 environment. In order to understand the on-line help

d th f th di d t b f ili ith th


5/47

2 Some Theory

2.1 What is a Database?

A database is a simplystructuredcollection of data, with the emphasis very

much onstructured. Everyone encounters databases in their daily lives, even

if they are not in electronic form. Telephone books, diaries, and mailing

order catalogues are all instances of databases.

Computerised databases are created, stored, manipulated and maintainedusingDatabase Management Systems (DBMS); DBMS are the programs or

groups of programs through which we gain access to databases. In the

personal computer world, DBMSs are often referred to as database packages

or database applications.

Depending on the way data is modelled, we have relational, network,

hierarchical, and object-orienteddata models. The data model defines how

real-world data is represented in the database. DBMSs are typically tied to

one type of data model.


6/47

Microsoft Access 2003 is based on the relational model and is therefore a

relational DBMS, or RDBMS.

Relational databases are built up ofTables. The column headers in the tableare calledfields. The rows of data in the table are called records. RDBMSs

are extremely fussy and insist that each recordis uniquely identified by one

or morefields. We will see when we design tables how a unique identifier or

key is used.

2.2 Where does Microsoft Access 2003 fit in?

You should consider building your database with Microsoft Access 2003 if

your data structures can be represented by the relationalmodel. This is

true of most business applications, and the sample databases provided

with Microsoft Access 2003 demonstrate this. Microsoft Access 2003 can

be used for quite large, complex database applications. However, even if

your data structures are quite simple, and could be easily held in a card

index, you may want to consider using Microsoft Access 2003, as it works

well with Word. If you frequently need to send out mail shots then

Microsoft Access 2003 is particularly suitable for use with the mail merge

tool in Word

There are more specialist databases available for bibliographic databases

(ITS supply Endnote in workstation rooms). Contact ITS Reception/Help

Desk on our website for information on available documentation

If the data contained in your tables is mostly numeric data, then you are

probably better off using a spreadsheet program such as Excel.

Spreadsheet programs are specifically designed to handle numeric data

2.3 Steps in Designing and Building a Database


7/47

Decide what real world things ( entities) you need to store information

about. For example Employees, Products, Customers, Orders. Entities are

represented by tables in the database

Decide what facts ( attributes) you need to know about each entity, e.g. an

Employees date of birth, salary. Attributes are represented by fields in

the tables

Decide on the relationshipsbetween the entities in the database; i.e. what

attributes do they have in common. Relationships are formed in the

database between entities that have common attributes. They have

common fields in the related tables. For example, customerFred Bloggs

can place an order for product eggs. So the Orders table has

relationships with Customers table and Products table

Decide what information you need to extract from your data. This will

allow you to design the queries

Design Forms that will allow users to enter data values for running queries

or entering data

Design Reports that will print information extracted from the database

To illustrate what this means, we will examine a sample case study, and then

build a very simple database to provide the required functions.

3 Case Study

The database that you are going to build is to hold the records of theSoftware Made Simple company. The company sells training material to


8/47

institutions. They need to keep details of the Institutions that they deal with

and the orders that they place.

3.1 About the Educational Institutions

The details SMS need to know about each institution are:

A unique identifier for each institution

The number of students in the institution this helps to know the potential

size of the market for their products

The educational sector whether pricing is covered by special deals for

certain types of institutions

The name, address, phone, fax, email of the institution. For simplicity we

will include only the institution name in our sample database

The company deals only with a named contact at each institution. SMS

needs to know who this person is

3.2 About the orders

The training material is provided either as printed books or on a CD-ROM.

For each order SMS need to know

The institution code. This links each order to the institution that placed it

The order number. This uniquely identifies the order

If the order is for books then they need to know the number. Since all the


9/47

The value of the order

The order type i.e. whether it is for books or CD-ROM

CD Renewal date. Sites buy an annual licence to make copies of the

material on the CD-ROM so SMS need to know the renewal date

3.3 Analysis

The important thing at this stage is not your knowledge of computers, but an

understanding of the problem. As this is not a course in Systems Analysis,

the analysis has been done for you, so that you can practise using Microsoft

Access 2003 straight away. TheEntities about which to keep information are

Institutions and Orders, so we will start with two tables in our database.

Since the institution is represented by the site contact, the table representing

the institution will be called Contacts. We will call our other table Orders.Tables are structured into fields (columns) and records (rows). All records

must have the same fields, though as we shall see in this example there may

be instances where a field is redundant in some records but not in others.

The Attributes (i.e. the details that we need to know) of a Contactare the

institution code, the number of students, the name of the institution, the

educational sector and the contacts forename and surname. Since the

contact is representing an institution the institution code must be unique

The attributes of an Orderare the order number, which must be unique,

the institution code, the value of the order and the order type (CD-ROM

or books). For book orders we need the number of books and for CD-

ROM orders we


10/47

need the licence renewal date. For CD-ROM orders the number of books

field is redundant. For book orders the renewal date is redundant.

However, we must include the field for all records to maintain a

consistent structure

In order to identify the Relationshipbetween an institution (represented in

the database by its Contact) and its orders we will give each institution a

unique identifier in the Contacts table. We will include this identifier as a

field in the Orders table. It is good practice, when designing a database,

to use unique identifiers. In our example each contact is uniquely

identified by the institution code. There are good reasons for this. The

contact might change in the future. In order to link an institution to the

orders it has placed we need to maintain consistency. Even if the contact

name changes the institution code remains the same so we still know

where to send the order. In addition, there may be several institutions

with contacts named (say) John Smith

3.4 Data Types

(SMS 2.10)

Having decided what tables we need, and what fields we need in the tables

we need to decide what type of data we are going to put in each field. Is it,

for example, a number, a date, or some text. When you are building a

database from scratch you will usually make use of the Microsoft Office

2003 autonumber to allocate a unique identifier for each record. Note

however that if you are building a database to contain data that already exists

with a unique identifier (e.g. Student number, National Insurance number,

bank account number), you should use your existing unique number in

preference to an autonumber.

The field that uniquely identifies a record in a database is called the


11/47

Table 1 Fields for Contacts table Field Name Data Type

Surname Text

Forename Text

Edu Sector Text

Institution Text

Num Students Number

Institution Code Autonumber


12/47

Table 2 Fields for Orders Table Field Name Data Type

Institution Code Number

Order Num Autonumber

Num Books Number

Value NumberOrder Type Text

CD Renewal Date: dd/mm/yy

4 Creating a database

Microsoft Access 2003 also provides wizards. Wizards are software tools that help

you with a programmes features. However, in this document you will learn how to

create your database from scratch, so that you are better able to match the database

to the requirement. SMS guide 2.4 describes how to create a database using a

wizard.

Exercise 1 Starting Microsoft Access 2003 on ITS workstations

At the Windows log in prompt, type your username in the Username box. Press

the TAB key to move to the Password box, and type your password. Then

press the ENTER key or click on OK Wait a few minutes while Windows 2000

checks your username and password, and allocates your network resources

Click on the Startbutton on the taskbarat the bottom of the screen. The Start

Menu will appear

Click on Programs on the Start Menu


13/47

Click on Microsoft Office on theProgram menu and then on Microsoft Access

2003

Exercise 2 Create a new database

On the menus, choose File New

Select Blank Database from the task pane on the right-hand side of the screen

In theFile New Database dialogue box make sure that you have selected the My

Documents folder on yourN: drive, and replace db1.mdb in the Filenamebox

with sms contacts.

Click on Create

You have now created a file that will become the database. Unlike programs such

as WordandExcel,Access saves the objects that you create and the data that you

enter automatically to this file.

When you create a new database it will look something like Figure 4-1.

On the left of the window are buttons representing various database objects.

Select the class of object that you wish to work on by clicking on the button.Tables are the foundation of the database; just as you start building a house by

laying the foundations you start building a database by creating the tables. The

first time that you use the database the table button is selected by default


14/47

On the right of the window you will see a list of tasks that you can perform on

the selected class of object. If a wizard matches your requirements, then it is the

simplest way to create a table (see SMS section 2.7). In this document we will

learn how to create a table from scratch

Figure 4-1 New database

5 Working with tables

5.1 Creating Tables


15/47

In the analysis section we looked at the tables needed, what fields should appear in

the tables and what data types those fields should have. It is important to realise

that we are talking about the data structures in the database. We are not talking

about the data values which will ultimately be contained in the tables. For example

the field forename is a part of the contacts table data structure. When we enter

names (Tony, Eleanor, Nurinder) we are entering data values into the table.

Exercise 3 Create a table

Select Create table in Design view and click on the Newbutton

In the New Table window select Design View and click on OK

Enter the field names and data types that we discussed in the analysis section.

(Surname, Forename, Edu Sector, Institution, Num Students, Institution Code)

By default the field type is text. Use the TAB key to move between fields

To change the data type display the data type menu. To do this:

eitherclick in the data type field, then click on the drop down arrow that

appears in the right of the

orpress the ALT+DOWN ARROW keys together

Choose the data type that you require. Your table structure should look like

Figure 5-1

Figure 5-1 Contacts Table in Design View


16/47

Choose Save As from the File menu and save your table as Contacts

When Microsoft Access 2003 asks if you want to create a primary key now click

on Yes

5.2 Entering Data into a table

Exercise 4 Entering data into a table

Click on the datasheet viewbutton (see right). It is situated at the right hand end

of the tool bar. You do not need to enter the Institution Code as it is an

autonumber Access will do it for you. Note that if you make a mistake and

delete a record Microsoft Access 2003 will not reuse a number; your numbers

may therefore be different to those given in the examples. You should use your

numbers inyourdatabase.

Enter the data values shown in Table 3. You can use the TAB key to movebetween fields. Use the BACKSPACE or DELETE key to correct mistakes

Table 3 Data values for Foren Edu Institu Num Institu


17/47

Contacts table Surname ame Sector tion Studen

ts

tion

Code

Taylor Tony School Callow

Grammar

500 1

Blake Victor Univer

sity

Lermo

uth

120000 2

Ambrose Guy Univer

sity

Mawle

y

8000 3

Patterson Peter Colleg

e

North

Cambe

r

8000 4

Keenan Penny School Abdul

Kamee

r

600 5

Wright Eleano

r

Colleg

e

Callow 1000 6

Waverley David Univer

sity

Newbri

dge

160000 7

James Philip School Robert

s High

700 8

Su Chi Hong School Southfi

elds

Tech

700 9

Patel Nurind

er

Univer

sity

Westch

ester

150000 10

Clarke Lenny School Wyre

High

800 11

Patrick Roger School Westm

outh

800 12


18/47

Parkinson Helen School Schofi

eld

Tech

900 13

Mathews Karen University

Waverley

9000 14

Quentin Terry Colleg

e

Eastma

n

7000 15

Walters Trudy Univer

sity

Aberda

re

100000 16

Peabody Ruth Univer

sity

Bradbu

ry City

9000 17

Young Alice Univer

sity

Folkla

nds

140000 18

Lomar Shiree

n

Univer

sity

Persho

re

12000 19

Booth Charlie Colleg

e

Truma

n

5000 20

Cazinaska Dimen Colleg

e

Trowb

ury

5000 21

5.3 Sorting Data

(SMS Section 4.0)

Each record in the contacts table is stored in the order in which it was entered. You

will often want to view it in a different order for example sorted by date or

alphabetic order.


19/47

Exercise 5 Sorting Data

Click in the Surname field to select it

Click on the Sort Ascending button (see right) to sort the records in ascending

alphabetic order. What is the seventh surname in the list?

5.4 More Practice on working with tables

Now practice using the techniques that you have just learnt to create another table,

enter and sort data.

Exercise 6 Create Orders Table

Make the sms contacts database window the active window (either by clicking

on it or choosing it from the Window menu)

Using the techniques that you learnt in Exercise 3 create a table called Orders,

with the field names and data types shown on the right

Note that the date for renewing CD licences (CD Renewal) needs to be expressed

in Short Date format. To change the format select the CD Renewal field, click

in the Format field in the Field Properties section of the table design view


20/47

window. Click on the down arrow to display the format menu and choose the

option that you want see Figure 5-2

Save the table as Orders

Figure 5-2 Field Property

Exercise 7 Entering & Sorting Orders Data

Using the technique that you learnt in Exercise 4 enter the data shown in Table 4

into the Orders table. As Order Num is an autonumber there is no need to

enter it yourself

Table 4 Orders Data

Institution Code

Order

Num

Num

Books

Value Order

Type

CD

Renew

al

8 1 200 1,190.

00

Books


21/47

14 2 540 3,213.

00

Books

11 3 0 170.0

0

CD 31/12/0

117 4 0 720.0

0

CD 05/05/0

2

20 5 0 720.0

0

CD 01/08/0

2

16 6 0 720.0

0

CD 04/08/0

2

13 7 0 170.0

0

CD 01/07/0

2

4 8 3200 19,04

0.00

Books

5 9 100 595.0

0

Books

1 10 53 315.0

0

Books

2 11 0 720.00

CD

9 12 0 170.0

0

CD 04/03/0

2

10 13 0 720.0

0

CD 05/06/0

2

15 14 0 720.0

0

CD 20/10/0

2

12 15 20 119.0

0

Books

7 16 0 720.0

0

CD 19/11/0

1

3 17 340 2,023. Books


22/47

00

6 18 0 720.0

0

CD 25/01/0

2

21 19 0 720.0

0

CD 27/02/0

2

19 20 0 720.0

0

CD 18/12/0

1

18 21 44 261.0

0

Books

12 22 50 298.0

0

Books

3 23 400 2,380

.00

Books

1 24 352 5,095

.00

Books

8 25 32 190.0

0

Books

12 26 70 416.0

0

Books

Sort the table in ascending order on the Value field. What is the fourth value?

6 Queries


23/47

6.1 What are Queries?

You use queries to view, change, and analyze data in different ways. You can also

use them as the source of records for forms and reports. The examples that we will

build today is called a Select Query because we are selecting fields and records

from the database.

The steps in designing a query are:

Decide on the type of query to design

Add the tables that contain the fields to be displayed

Add the fields which contain the data to be displayed

Add any criteria you want to use. Criteria are instructions that you use to tell

Access which records to display. When you come to design your own

databases you should use the on-line help to search for examples ofcriteria

expressions

6.2 Query Wizard

A query creates a dynamic subset (called a dynaset in database terminology) ofthose records in the underlying tables that satisfy the criteria specified in the

query.


24/47

The next task is to create a query that finds all the records in the Contacts table.

We will then see how to apply criteria to the query to return dynasets.

Exercise 8 Create a simple select query

In the database window select the Queriesbutton

Double click on Create query by using wizard. The query wizard starts

In the box labelled Tables/Queries select Table: Contacts from the drop down

menu

Click on >> to move allthe fields from the Available fields list to the Selected

fields list

Click on Next >

In the next step select Open the query to view information (it should be

selected by default) and click on Finish. Your query will return data and should

display the data that you entered into the contacts table

In the above example you moved all the available fields from one table. However,

if you only need some fields

Click on the field name in the

Available fields list

Click on > to move it to the Selected fields list

Repeat this for all the fields that you need


25/47

If you need fields from another table or query select the other table or query from

the Table/Query list

If you change your mind about a selected field, select it in the Selected fields list

and click on < to return it to the Available fields list.

6.3 Adding criteria to a query

You enter criteria in the criteria cell, that is the intersection of a row and a column.

You may use a text value as a selection criteria; e.g. a persons surname or you

may use mathematical values e.g. >=10

Exercise 9 Select a contact

In the query window switch to design viewby clicking on the Design viewbutton

on the tool bar In the Criteria Row and Surname column type Parkinson.

Your query should look like Figure 6-1

Figure 6-1 Select Query example


26/47

Run the query by clicking on the Run button on the toolbar at the top of the screen

(see right)

Close your query by clicking on the close button (x) at the top right corner of the

query window. (When asked if you want to save changes click on No.)

6.4 Joining tables in a query

You can also create a query that uses more than one table. For example, if we want

to find all the orders made for institutions with more than 10,000 students we need

to know the institution and number of students, which is held in the Contacts

table, and the order numbers which are held in the Orders table. The institution

code in


27/47

both tables allows us to link together the information. In database terminology it

identifies a relationshipbetween the tables.

When working with several tables, designers often use the Table.Field notation to

clarify the specification. In the following exercise you will see this notation used;

for example Contacts.Institution Code refers to the Institution code field in the

Contacts table.

Exercise 10 Joining tables in a query

In the database window double clickon Create Query in Design view

In the Show Table window click on contacts, then click on add to add the table

to the query.

Do the same fororders, then click on Close

A query design window appears. Add the following fields by double clicking on

the field name

Contacts.Institution Code (i.e the institution code field from the contacts

table)

Contacts.Institution

Contacts.num students

Orders.Institution code

Orders.Order num

In the Criteria row, Num students column type >10000


28/47

Save as Large Institutions Query. Your query in design view should look like

Figure 6-2

Figure 6-2 Joining tables query

Run the query. The results should look like Figure 6-3

Figure 6-3 Results of Large Institution Query


29/47

Close Large Institutions Query

If you do not want to display a field then clear the check box in theShowrow in

the designer view.

The records are sorted in ascending order by Institution code. In design view

you can choose to sort on a different field by clicking in the Sort row of the

column for your chosen field. You can select a sort order from the drop down

menu.

6.5 Calculated criteria

You can group records based on fields that have the same value. You can calculate

mathematical functions such as totals or averages. To do this you need to add the

Totals row to the design view window.

Exercise 11 Calculate the sector Average

In the database window open a new query in design view


30/47

Using the techniques that you learnt in Exercise 10, add the contacts table, then

add the fields Edu Sector and Num Students

Click on the Totalsbutton on the toolbar (hint: it looks like a ). A totals row

appears in the QBE grid

In the Edu Sector field choose Group By from the totals menu

In the num students field choose Avg (average) from the totals menu

Run the query

Save the query as Sector Average Query

7 Forms

7.1 What are forms?

Forms provide an alternative and more accessible way of presenting and entering

data than using a datasheet. The form permits the viewing of a single record at a

time, and the design of the form may be easily customised to suit your

requirements.

Other advantages of forms are:

they are familiar, as they are similar to a paper form

it is often quicker to enter data using a form rather than the datasheet


31/47

data can be presented in a more attractive and accessible manner and can include

graphs and pictures

Each form is based on either a table or a query. In order to create a form that uses

fields from more than one table you will need to create a query that contains all the

necessary fields. The quickest way to create a form is by using the form wizard.

7.2 Create a form with Form Wizard

We will create a columnar form based on the contacts table, using the Form

Wizard. The contacts table is the record source of the form, i.e. the source from

which it retrieves data.

Exercise 12 Create a form with Form Wizard

In the database window select the Formsbutton

Double click on Create form by using wizard. The form wizard starts


menu


fields list then click on Next >

Select columnar layout and click on Next >

Select standard style and click on Next >


32/47

Type Contacts Form in the title box, select Modify the form design and click

on Finish

7.3 Entering Data with a form

To enter data using the form you simply type the data into the boxes, using the

mouse or clicking on the TAB key to move to the next field.

7.4 Modify the form design

In Access jargon everything is called an object. Tables, Forms, Queries and

Reports are all Objects. The labels, boxes, text boxes and other items on a form or

report are a special type of object known as a control. Before you can do anything

with an object you have toselectit, by clicking on it when you are in design view.

On Forms and Reports you can make Multiple Selections; that is you can selectseveral objects at once.

All objects haveproperties that you can edit.

If you cannot see the properties window then click the rightmouse button and

choose Properties from the menu that drops down. The properties window is

displayed (see right). In the title bar is the name of the object that you have

selected (theform in this example).


33/47

To change a property click in the relevant field. Some properties will display a

drop down arrow, allowing you to choose a value from a menu. For other

properties you will need to type a value.

To select several objects located next to each other, hold down the SHIFT key

and click on each object in turn.

To select several objects that are not next to each other hold down the CTRL key

and click on each object in turn

You may have used a similar technique when selecting files with Windows

Explorer. Windows applications use consistent techniques for performing

tasks. The techniques explained above work equally well for selecting emails

in Outlook and selecting files in Windows Explorer

All Windows applications require you to select an object before you try to do

anything with it. For example, you must select a block of text in Word before

you can copy it


34/47

Exercise 13 Modify a form

The form should now be in design view. If it is not then switch to design viewby

clicking on the Design viewbutton on the tool bar

Click on the label Surname. Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the other

labels (forename, edu sector, Institution, Num Students and Institution

code). Your form should now look like Figure 7-1

Figure 7-1 Selected objects on a form

Still holding down the SHIFT key display the properties window (as explained

above). The properties window should have the title Multiple Selection

If the Format tab is not on top click on it to select it


35/47

Click to select Fore Color (scroll down the window if you cannot see it). A

continuation button (), appears (see right). Click on it to see the choice of

colours

Select a suitable shade of red and click on OK

Click on the form and you will see that the text labels are now red

Select Save from the file menu to save your design

7.5 Create an object on a form

You can add objects such as labels to your forms. These objects are known as

controls.

You create controlsby clicking once on an object from the Toolbox (see right) and

clicking and dragging the mouse pointer to draw it on the form. When you point

(do notclick) to a control the name of the control appears as a small yellow label.

If you cannot see the Toolbox then, in form design view, select toolbox from theview menu.

We will start by creating a simple label on the form. However, some controls are

more sophisticated. For example you can use a combo box to display a menu of


36/47

items that the user is allowed to select (see SMS section 5.3). You can use a

calculation as the control source from which a text box takes its data.

Exercise 14 Add a control to a form

Make sure that you have the Contacts form open in design view. Position the

mouse pointer between the headersection and the detailsections on the form

(see Figure 7-2). The pointer will change to a bar with a double arrow across it

Figure 7-2 Header/Detail sections


37/47

Drag the detail section down so that a gap of about 1cm appears between the form

header and detail sections.

Click on the label tool on the tool box to select it. To find the tool move the

cursor along the tool barwithout clickingon the buttons. You will see a label

appear to indicate the function of the button. This is calledHover Help

Click in the space that you created between the header and detail sections, then

drag to draw a box. In the box type Software made Simple Contacts


38/47

In the Format section of the properties box set the Text alignproperty to center,

font size to 10 and font weight to semi bold. Set the fore colour to a colour of

your choice

Save your changes

8 Reports

Reporting is the way in which you choose to present the contents of your database

as printed pages.

Reports enable you to select which fields will be printed out and what data

should be included. Reports can also summarise data in various ways

Microsoft Access 2003 gives you the opportunity to design the layout of a

particular report, including the position of headings, labels and the data itself

along with graphics such as pictures and logos

Reports can take their data from tables or existing queries or you may create a

query especially for the report

In order to create a report that uses fields from more than one table a query

should be created which contains all the necessary fields. For example you


39/47

could create a report based on the Large Institutions Query that you created,

which uses data from the contacts and orders tables

The best way to create a report is by using the report wizard

We will use the Contacts table to create a report grouping the fields by Edu

Sector. We will sort on Institution and Surname fields in ascending order, and

display the report in landscape format.

Exercise 15 Create a report

In the database window select the Reportsbutton

Double click on Create report by using wizard. The report wizard starts


menu


fields list

Click on Next >

In the grouping window select Edu sector from the list of fields & click on >

Your window should now look like Figure 8-1

Click on Next >


40/47

Figure 8-1 Group by Edu Sector

In the sorting window select Institution in the box labelled 1 and Surname in the

box labelled 2. The sort buttons are already set for ascending order. Click on

next >

In the layout window select Stepped layout and landscape orientation. Click on

next >

Select a style that you like and click on Next >

Type the title Contacts Report in the title box and click on Finish


41/47

Your report will now appear as aPrint Preview. You can print it by either clicking

on the printbutton on the toolbar or by selecting print from the file menu.

8.1 Modifying a report

(SMS Section 6.2)

A basic report is divided into three sections Page

Header

Contain data that will appear at the

top or bottom of each page of the

report. You might use this to

include information about the

source of the report, the date it was

completed or the page number.

Page Footer

Detail The most important section since

any fields added here display the

actual information from the

database for every record in the

table or query on which the report

is based.

8.3 Mail Merge

Although Microsoft Access 2003 is good for producing tabulated reports, there will

be occasions when you need something more flexible than Access. The Microsoft

Office suite of programs allows you to combine the data management features of


42/47

Access with the formatting and layout features ofWord, using a feature called Mail

Merge.

Exercise 16 Mail Merge with Word

Make sure that the Contacts table is notopen

In the database window select the Contacts table by clicking on it once do not

open it

Move the cursor along the tool barwithout clickingon the buttons. You will see a

label appear to indicate the function of the button. This is calledHover Help

When you have located the Office Linksbutton click on it and select Merge it

with Microsoft Office Word

In the Mail Word Wizard dialogue box select Create New Document and

click on OK

When Microsoft Wordstarts type Dear followed by a space

You should be able to see the mail merge toolbar if not, choose View

Toolbars Mail Merge

Click on the button Insert Merge Fields. You will see a list of fields from your

contacts table. Double-click on Forename (or click once and click insert). You

will see a place marker in your document.


43/47

Type a space, then insert the merge field surname

Type the some text in your letter so that it appears as shown below: Dear

Forename Surname

Please find enclosed an evaluation copy of the latest version of Software

Made Simple material on CD-ROM. We can also supply this material in

book form.

Yours Sincerely

Simon Simple

Use Hover Help to locate the button Merge to New Document. When you click

on this button Wordwill generate a set of form letters, based on yourAccess

data source. The names of the people in the contacts table have been substituted

for the place markers in yourmasterdocument. This document may be printed

9 Relationships

9.1 Why use Relationships

In the first session we discussed the tables needed for the database and introducedthe idea ofrelationshipsbetween the entities (mapped to tables) in the database.


44/47

We have seen that by using the Institution Code as the primary key in the

Contacts table and as aforeign key in the Orders table, it is possible tojoin data

from the two tables into a dynasetusing the Large Institutions Query.

In the small sample data base that youve worked with you may wonder why we

did not combine all the data in one table SMS Orders (Table 5)

Table 5 SMS Orders Field Name Data Type

Order Num Autonumber

Institution Code Number

Surname Text

Forename T Edu Sector Text

Institution T

Num Students Number

Num Books Number

Value Number

Order Type Text

CD Renewal Date:

dd/mm/yy

Value NumberOrder Type Text

CD Renewal Date:

dd/mm/yy

Consider what would happen if an institution placed many orders. Institutions thatorder books sell them on to the students and re-order each academic year. For each

order the SMS Orders table would have repeated fields for all the fields shown

above in italics.


45/47


46/47

matching records in Table A. This type of relationship is only possible by

defining a third table (called a junction table) whose primary key consists of

two fields the foreign keys from both Tables A and B. A many-to-many

relationship is really two one-to-many relationships with a third table.

A sample database

We will now use a Microsoft Access 2003 database template to build a rather more

complicated database than the simple example that we have looked at so far.

Exercise 17 Create a database using a wizard

OpenAccess

Close any databases that you have open and select New from the File menu

In the task pane, click on under Templates

Click on the Databases tab

From the database templates select Event Management and click on OK

In the File New Database dialogue box click on create

As the database wizard takes you through the steps click on next > until it is

finished


47/47

After a few minutes Microsoft Access 2003 will create a database. From the Tools

menu select relationships. You will see that the relationships are rather

complicated! Let us look in more detail at the relationship between the Events,

Attendees and Registration tables.

Events.eventid is related to Registration.eventidby a one to many relationship

(shown as 1 to ).

Attendees.attendeeid is related to Registration.attendeeidby a one to many

relationship (shown as 1 to ).

The Registration table is the junction table used to model the many to many

relationshipbetween Events and Attendees. Attendees can attend one or more

events, events are attended by one or more attendees. Registration relates an

employee to an event

Date post:	07-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	vmsumalatha2002
View:	215 times
Download:	0 times