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Getting started with Access 2013


In this part . . .


  • Discover what Access is and does and what’s new in Access 2013.
  • Learn about the objects that make up an effective database, and get started building your first table.
  • Master database lingo so you can speak the language and understand the terminology.

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Access Field Types and Uses

A field, you remember, is where your data lives. Each field holds one piece of data, such as Last Name or Batting Average. Because there are so many different kinds of information in the world, Access offers a variety of field types for storing it. In fact, Access puts the following field types at your disposal: Short Text Long Text Number Currency Date & Time Yes/No Lookup & Relationship Rich Text Attachment Hyperlink OLE Object Calculated There’s also an Autonumber field type, which is applied automatically to the first field in a new, blank database. The types just listed are those available for fields you create in addition to that first field — the ones that will contain your data. For now, suffice it to say that the Autonumber field is a field that contains an automatically-generated number so that each record is unique in that it has a unique autonumber, or ID. You get the word about the need for (and ways to create) unique fields later on, in Chapter ...

Building a Database in Access

So you’ve read a few posts here at the beginning of the blog, maybe you’ve leafed ahead where I’ve referred to other chapters, and now you feel ready. You want to dive in and start building a database. Keeping in mind my previous advice to take it slowly, you can take a whack at it here. In the following procedure, you set up a new database and then use the Table Wizard to build the first table in the database. Ready? Here we go . . . 1. If Access is not already running, take a moment to start it. Chapter 1 shows you how to do this. In the Access workspace, a series of large template icons appears, below a Search for Online Templates box, accompanied by links to likely searches for templates that store Assets, Business, Contacts, Employee, and so on. 2. Click the Blank Desktop Database icon. A Blank Desktop Database dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 3-1. Figure 3-1: New blank databases need names. Give yours one here. 3. Type a name to replace the generic Databa...

Adding buttons to the Quick Access toolbar

Speaking of the Quick Access toolbar and all the ways you can access commands for customizing it, try this to add commands: 1. With any database open (so that the Ribbon tabs are displayed), rightclick any of the buttons on any of the tabs. You can also right-click the Quick Access toolbar or any Ribbon tab. 2. Choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar. The Access Options dialog box opens (shown in Figure 2-13), with its Customization options displayed. Figure 2-13: Pick a command category and a command to add to the Quick Access toolbar. 3. Click the Choose Commands From drop-down list and choose a command category. A list of Popular Commands appears by default. 4. From any (or each) category, choose the commands you want to see at all times in the Quick Access toolbar by clicking them one at a time and then clicking the Add button. As you click the Add button, the command you chose is added to the list on the right. Note that you have up- and down-pointing triangles o...