New Perspectives on Access 2013

New Perspectives on Access 2013 Tutorial 1: Creating a Database Key Terms

Access A database program you use to enter, organize, display, and retrieve related information. (AC 1) backing up Making a copy of a database file to protect your database against loss or damage. (AC 43) common field A field that appears in more than one table, allowing you to connect the records in the separate tables. (AC 4) compacting A process that rearranges the data and objects in a database to decrease its file size, thereby making more space available and enhancing the performance of the database. (AC 42) database A collection of related tables stored in the same file. (AC 4) database management system (DBMS) A software program that lets you create databases and then manipulate data in them. (AC 6) datasheet selector A box in the upper-left corner of a datasheet that lets you select the entire datasheet. (AC 27) field A single characteristic or attribute of a person, place, object, event, or idea. (AC 4) field selector In a datasheet, the column heading (also called the column selector)that you click to select the entire column. (AC 16) field value The specific value, or content, of a field in a record. (AC 4) foreign key A primary key field from one table that you include as a field in a second table to form a relationship between the two tables. (AC 5) form A database object you can create and customize to maintain, view, and print records in a database in different and useful ways. (AC 24)

Layout view The Access view in which you can make design changes to a form or report while it is displaying data so that you can immediately see the effects of changing the design. (AC 34) Navigation Pane The area on the left of the Access program window that lists all the objects in the database and is the main control center for opening and working with database objects. (AC 2) primary key A field, or a collection of fields, whose values uniquely identify each record in a database table. (AC 5) query A question you ask about the data stored in a database. In response, Access displays the specific records and fields that answer your question. (AC 24)

Query Wizard An Access tool that asks you a series of questions, and then creates a query based on your answers. (AC 24) record A complete set of field values for a specific person, place, object, event, or idea. (AC 4) record selector In a datasheet, the small square at the beginning of a row (also called the row selector) that you click to select the entire row. (AC 16) relational database A collection of related tables stored in the same file. (AC 4) relational database management system A software program in which data is organized as a collection of tables, and relationships between tables are formed through a common field. (AC 6) report A formatted printout (or screen display) of the contents of one or more tables or queries in a database. (AC 25)

Short Text An Access data type that allows field values containing letters, digits, and other characters. (AC 14)

Shutter Bar Open/Close Button The button on the Navigation Pane that you click to open and close the pane. (AC 2)

Simple Query Wizard An Access wizard that lets you quickly select the records and fields to display in a query datasheet. (AC 24) table A collection of fields that describes a person, place, object, event, or idea. (AC 4)