Download Extracting Access Data

Extracting Access Data and Access Reporting
Introduction
Extracting Access Data
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One of the most common uses for data in Access databases is to support data analysis done via Excel. This is
because Access is a much more effective method for storing data:
o Less redundancy
o More flexibility to just work with the data needed for a specific analysis
Excel is the best tool in the Microsoft Office suite for analyzing data, whereas Access is the best tool for
storing and managing data.
Extract is typically used in conjunction with a query or report. The query or report selects and formats the
data in the database, which is then exported to Excel for analysis.
Extracts are also useful for creating files for use by other programs or to send off to vendors, such as one of
the mass email marketer that many companies use for promoting their products and services. These
companies generally accept Tex , XML or similar files.
o Text File = a file presents each record as a series of fields typically separated by commas
o XML = a file that includes information about the contents of the file along with the data; common
intercompany exchange format that can be governed by industry standards (e.g. there is a defined
standard for Purchase Orders, Invoices, etc.)
Access Reporting
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Access Queries provide a basic level of reporting of data in Access databases, but its primary focus is to
create tables for further use in Access, or Extracts for use by other programs. The reports from Queries
aren’t particularly user friendly.
The Access Reporting tool provides a very flexible method of creating “attractive” reports from the data. The
tool offers features for customizing reports for a variety of uses. As an example you can create and print
mailing labels from a Customer Information database.
The Reporting tool will allow you to create very elaborate reports; with some additional work.
Guided Tour
Recall the basic layout of the data and relationships in the WHP database. Through the relationships we are able
to access the data without regard to the specific table any data field is located. As an example I could create a
query that pulled the name of every Customer that purchased a recording for a given Artist, even though that
data is spread across three tables (Recordings, Customer Purchases and Customer Information).
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1. To begin locate the extract_rep_tour database on the course page in the tours folder, DB_Tour_3 subfolder
2. Move the downloaded file to the Documents folder and rename the file to extract_rep_tour_yourname
3. Start Access by double-clicking the extract_rep_tour_ yourname database copy
Excel Extract
We are to create an Excel Extract for a business analyst who wants to determine “who are our best customers”.
To do so we need the following information:
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Customer Name (Customer Information table)
Title (Recordings table)
Purchase Amount (Customer Purchases table)
1. Go to the Create tab, Query Wizard
2. Select Simple Query
3. And select the following fields
o Customer Name - Customer Information table
o Title - Recording table
o Purchase Amount - Customer Purchase
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4. Select Finish – we now have the data we need in a query! (subset of the results shown below)
5. Go to the External Data tab
6. In the Export section click on Excel
The Extract will generate an Excel workbook in the Documents folder with a default file name. We’ll leave it
as shown.
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7. Click on Export data with formatting and Open the destination file after the export operation is complete
8. Excel will then open to the exported workbook. Format columns as needed for all data to show.
9. Insert a Pivot Chart using Customer Name as the Axis Fields, and Purchase Amount as the Values
10. Put your name at the bottom of the spreadsheet
Your output should look like the following.
Which customer purchased the greatest dollar amount of recordings?
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Print the Pivot Chart Sheet (ensure it fits on one sheet of paper)
Save the workbook as Extract_1_yourname
Close the workbook and don’t save the Export steps when prompted.
Close the query
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Access Reporting
We’ve been asked to produce a user friendly report for the same data. The boss doesn’t like the Query reports.
1. Go to the Create tab, Report Wizard
2. And select the following fields
o Customer Name - Customer Information table
o Title - Recording table
o Purchase Amount - Customer Purchase table
3. Click Finish
Note the difference in formatting from the query we just completed
We now have the requested report!
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At this point we could:
o Reformat the report if we didn’t like the layout
o Use the Report as the base for an Extract to Excel
4. Save the database
5. Submit just the database to D2L the MS Access Tour 3 dropbox folder
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