learn about using tables, displaying database information, finding answers to questions with

1-1 Chapter 1 Introduction to Microsoft Access Notes to the Instructor This chapter introduces the Microsoft Access 2010 database management software. Students will learn about using tables, displaying database information, finding answers to questions with database queries, using forms, and printing database reports. Some students already have an adequate working knowledge of Microsoft Access and therefore this chapter may be unnecessary review for them. We suggest that you poll your students to determine their experience levels before proceeding. If you determine that the class has sufficient experience, it may be best to proceed to Chapter 2, Databases and Accounting Systems.The many exercises presented in Chapter 1 convey the chapter’s content via a hands-on approach. It is important that the students read and carefully follow each exercise. The exercises sometimes build on one another. The exercises are an important part of the carefully crafted student learning experience.Lecture Outline The pages that follow provide an outline of the contents of Chapter 1.Objectives •Understanding the Access work environment.•Creating and using Access objects including tables, queries, forms, and reports.•Customizing the Access environment.•Opening and displaying tables.•Retrieving information with queries.•Modifying tables’ contents with action queries.•Creating and using forms to display data.•Designing and using database reports.Building Accounting Systems Using Access 2010 8e James Perry Richard Newmark (Solutions Manual All Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+ Grade) All Chapters Solutions Manual Supplement files download link at the end of this file. 1 / 4

1-2CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT ACCESS

Introduction What is Microsoft Access?•A relational database management system that supports small to medium-sized database applications. Microsoft Corporation produces the database system.What is a Relational Database?•Dr. E.F. Codd, working for IBM at the time, is the acknowledged father of modern relational database management systems.•A relational database system normally contains tables, queries, forms, and reports.•A table is a two dimensional object having rows and columns and resembling a worksheet.•Each column of a table lists a different characteristic known as an attribute.•A collection of tables that are related to one another form a database.•One table may represent employees’ personal information, another may represent employees’ skills, and another may represent employees’ work history.•When a database consists of a single file, it is known as a flat file. (In reality, this situation rarely occurs.) Starting Microsoft Access •Access 2010 opens in Backstage View.•Backstage View is where you do thing to your databases, whereas the Access client is where you deal with a particular database.Obtaining Help Exercise 1.1: Displaying Help. This exercise shows students how to locate help. You might want to ensure that they understand how to seek context-specific help so that they can be self- sufficient when expert human advice is unavailable. Search for a couple of different terms to illustrate how help works. Also illustrate that the Access toolbar has ToolTips, which are displayed when the mouse hovers over any of the toolbar icons.Printing Help •Locate the help screen you would like to print.•Choose the desired help topic.Exiting Access •Exiting Access updates all changes to the database, closes the database, and returns to the desktop or another suspended program.•Students have an especially difficult time understanding that Access is continually updating database objects and that it is not normally necessary to “save” data before exiting Access.Reassure the students that if an altered object has not yet been saved, Access will display a dialog box asking them if you want to save the changed object.•Choose Exit from the File tab to leave Access. 2 / 4

CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT ACCESS 1-3

Examining the Access Environment Exercise 1.2: Opening the Chapter 1 Database. This exercise shows the students how locate and open an existing database—the one associated with Chapter 1 Please refer to the textbook exercise.Access Work Surface • The Access Ribbon ➢ Known as Office fluent interface.➢ Contains command tabs with groups of commands by usage.➢ Home command tab contains commands to format tables (text, font, etc.), create, save, sort, and filter records, and search and replace.• The Navigation Pane displays a database’s objects in categories.➢ Contains categories (Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports, Macros, and Modules) and groups within the categories.➢ Click the open/close button on the Navigation Pane to open or hide it.➢ Custom categories are available in addition to the Object Type and Table and Related Views groupings.• Setting Access Options allows you to customize the look and feel of access and is available through the Access Options button on the Office Button.Exercise 1.3: Setting Access Options. This exercise ensures that all students’ Access programs have the same global settings such as a tabbed document window, nonoverlapping windows, compact on close, and remove personal information.• The Quick Access Toolbar provides a fully customizable list of icons that you set for easy access to often needed command buttons.Access Objects • Objects are the structures you create and methods you employ to maintain and display your data.• Objects described in this chapter include tables, queries, forms, and reports.

• Tables (see Figures 1.3 and 1.4, for example):

➢ Hold all data in the database. (Stress to the students that only tables hold the data—no other of the Access objects, including queries, forms, or reports, actually holds data.) ➢ Are two dimensional and have rows and columns.➢ Row ordering is unimportant, as the rows can be sorted and rearranged without changing the fundamental table information.➢ Column ordering is unimportant, meaning that the particular ordering of the columns bears no significance, and any table column may be placed in any particular position.• Queries (Figure 1.8 shows an example of a query that selects total sales in dollars tallied by

product description:

➢ Access supports several types of queries classified as either action queries or selection queries. Select queries are the most common type. They pose questions of the database and return answers in a dynaset.➢ Subsets of rows are returned when selection criteria are specified to filter the data. 3 / 4

1-4 CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT ACCESS

• Forms (Figure 1.9):

➢ Provide a way to view table data one row at a time.➢ Facilitate data entry for inexperienced users.➢ Display data from tables or queries but do not actually hold data.➢ Have navigation buttons that speed movement from record to record.

• Reports (Figure 1.10):

➢ Provide formatted, hard-copy output.➢ Display database information that can be supplied by tables, queries, or both.➢ Can be customized to produce typeset-level output.Working with Databases and Tables Opening a Database Exercise 1.4: Opening the Chapter 1 Database. This exercise shows the students how locate and open the Chapter 1 database. Although Exercise 1.3 did this already, this serves as an introduction to creating a backup of a database. Please refer to the textbook exercise.Creating a Backup of an Access Database This is particularly important for students to understand in case they create a database from scratch and don’t pay attention to the default folder where Access stores the data. By opening the database from the frequently used list on the opening window, students can then create a backup and thereby save the database on their flash drives or other known location. A Try it exercise reinforces, with steps, creating a backup (copy) of an open database.Looking at Data through Different Tabs • Data can be viewed and inspected through a table’s Datasheet view, a form, a query’s Datasheet view, or a report—individually or simultaneously. In addition, you can view both a form and a datasheet in with a split form (Figure 1.12 shows tabbed document windows of three of these views).• Emphasize that it is important to learn—memorize at first—these object-naming rules to conform to standard conventions and make dealing with objects consistent and uniform.• Be sure to review Figure 1.13 because it shows the relationships between the five Chapter 1 tables that comprise the database.Opening a Table Emphasize that there are usually several different ways to accomplish a task with Access.Opening a table provides is no different: Double-click a table’s name, right-click and select Open, or drag the table’s name to the Access work area.

Exercise 1.5: Opening a Table. This exercise shows the students how to open the

tblCustomers table (Figure 1.14) and examines the Access’ status bar icons (Figure 1.15). The table tblCustomers contains information about Incredible Cheesecake Company customers.Take some time to explain the command tabs and the groups they contain. Figures 1.15 and 1.16 have good graphics that you can point to while explaining the fluent interface ribbon and its contents.

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