Introduction to Access Part One: Creating a Table v To open Microsoft Access, click Start > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Access 2003 v When the Access screen opens click Create a new file … 1 v Click Blank database … v In the box click to make Desktop the place to save the database, set the file name to EmployeeDatabase, then click create. 2 v Double click on the top choice, Create table in Design view. (In the Objects box, left of screen the Tables options should be highlighted.) v In the first row there should be a blinking indicator in the first box under Field Name. Type “Auto” in this first box. It is not required, but it is a good idea to make the first field an auto number (this will be a number that will be automatically assigned). This makes it easy to keep up with the number of entries1. Hit tab key and the word “Text” will appear in the second box in this row, and a down arrow will appear at the right side of the box. Click on the down arrow and click on AutoNumber in the dropdown box. 1 There are other reasons for doing this that will be mentioned in Part Two 3 v Hit the tab key twice and you are in the first box in the second row. Type “Last Name”. Hit the tab and the word “Text” will appear in the second box. Look in the box below Field Properties. Find the item under the General tab called Required. The default value for this item is No, which means that information is not required in this field. We will make it required. Click in the box next to “No” and select “Yes” in the dropdown box. Now it will be necessary to enter information into this field. v Fill in the next field areas with First Name, Address, City, Zip, and the last field will be Birth Date. Leave all these fields Data Type to be Text (default), except Birth Date. Click on the down arrow (in Data Type line next to Text) and click Date/Time. In the Field Properties box (bottom of screen), click on the down arrow of the Format item and then select by clicking on Short Date. 4 What we have done so far is create a table by establishing what we want our table to identify or what information we want in the table. The pieces of information, such as Last Name, are called fields. Access allows us not only to identify the field categories, but to qualify how data can be entered into these identified fields. For example, in the Auto Number field we told Access to take complete control of this field and to assign a number automatically, and as long as you assign AutoNumber in the Data Type box, you have no manual control over assigning a number. For the Last Name field you set up your database to demand that a last name be included in this part of the table, and if you try to not put one, the Access program will not continue - you will only get an error box. From the fields First Name through Zip we left these to default, which is Text and we did not require that information be entered. By leaving the Text default this will allow you to enter any kind of data you prefer – letters, numbers, or symbols. In the last field of this database, Birth Date, you stated that the information to entered in this field must be a date and/or a time, and then you defined what you wanted more specifically in the Field Properties box that you wanted only the date and you wanted it in a short form ( __/__/____). v Now click on the View icon at the top left, under File … v You will get a question box asking you if you want to save this database, click Yes. Next you will be asked how to save this database, click Desktop or whatever option you decide and type in the name of the Database, EmployeeInformation. You will then be asked if you want to establish a Primary Key. Click No, because you have already done this when you set up the Auto Number. Now you can see your blank database. 5 v Begin entering data into each field. Gather information from the people you work with, create your own fictitious list or use the fictitious list shown. Now that your list is complete you already have a useful tool that you can manipulate. Some tasks you can do with this table is change the order of any field, such as if you want to see the names in alphabetical order, place your cursor on Last Name and it will change to a down pointing arrow – then click, the column will darken, find the AZ down arrow icon on the tool bar and click. Now all the names are in alphabetical order. If you want to find out who is the oldest person in the group or who has birthdays in 1969, place your cursor on Birth Date, click and again click the AZ down arrow icon and the order will change to give all the dates in order. How would you regroup the list to find all the people who live in Irving? This is just beginning to touch the power of Access. Not only do you have a clear means of storing data, but you also have the ability to rearrange the data. The methodologies available for you to manipulate data will be limited only by your logic. 6 With a small database such as this one, it was easy enough to find out who is the oldest, because you only had twelve dates to compare, but what if you had a fifty dates or a thousand? Also, how you determine what will make a field will determine the power of your database. For example, if one use for this database was to help you find who has birthdays each month, this set up would not be a lot of help even though you have everyone’s birth date. To set it up to use for birthdays each month you will need a field just for months (or days and months) and a separate field for years. After this is set up, reorder the Months Days field. The more specific you want the data to work for you the more specific you will build each field. You have just barely touched the surface of the power of this software. If you go to Part Two you will really be able to make information work. The End of Part One Designed by Tim Devaney, Staff Development/Career Resource Associate HEAD START of Greater Dallas, Inc. 7 .