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Access Lesson 2
Creating a Database
Microsoft Office 2007:
Introductory
1
Pasewark & Pasewark
Objectives
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Access – Lesson 2
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Create a database.
Design, create, and save a table in
Datasheet view.
Set a field’s data type in Datasheet view.
Add, delete, rename, and move fields in
Design view.
Set field properties in Design view.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Vocabulary
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Access – Lesson 2
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Alphanumeric data
AutoNumber
Blank Database template
Data type
Default Value property
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Vocabulary (continued)
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Access – Lesson 2
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Description property
Design grid
Design view
Field Properties
pane
Field property
Pasewark & Pasewark
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Field Size property
Format property
Primary key
Required property
Template
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Creating a Database
Access – Lesson 2
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The first step in creating a database is to
create the file that will hold the database
objects.
You can use a template that already has
objects in it.
You can also use a Blank Database template
with no objects in it.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Creating a Database (continued)
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Access – Lesson 2
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To create a database, start Access.
On the Getting Started with Microsoft Access
page, double-click the template you want to
use.
Specify a file name and storage location.
Click Create to create the new database and
open it in Access.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Creating and Saving a Table
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Access – Lesson 2
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When you create a blank database, Access creates
the first table and names it Table1.
You can change the name when you save it.
To save, click the Save button on the Quick Access
Toolbar. Fill in the name in the Save As dialog box.
The new table name appears on the tab for the table
and as an object in the Navigation Pane.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Designing a Table
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Access – Lesson 2
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After creating a table, you need to tell Access what
fields to include.
Access creates one field named ID and sets it as the
primary key.
A primary key is the field that contains a unique field
value for each record.
In some tables, this field is called AutoNumber
because it automatically adds a unique number.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Designing a Table (continued)
Access – Lesson 2
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You can tell that Access created an AutoNumber for
the ID field because of the word New in the first
record’s field.
Good candidates for being a primary key are
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Employee numbers
Social security numbers
Student ID numbers
The advantage of setting a primary key is that
Access will not let you enter duplicate values for this
field in different records.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Designing a Table (continued)
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Access – Lesson 2
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To enter a field name in Datasheet view, double-click
the “Add New Field” field selector.
After you have created all the fields, you can enter
the first record.
Access assigns a data type as you enter data (Text,
Memo, Number, etc.).
You can change the data type for a field by clicking
the Data Type arrow in the Data Type & Formatting
group on the Table Tools Datasheet tab.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Working in Design View
Access – Lesson 2
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In Design view you can add, delete, and
make changes to how fields store data.
The field names and data types appear in the
upper half in a design grid.
The Field Properties pane appears below.
A selected field turns orange. The primary
key has a key symbol in it.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Working in Design View (continued)
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You can use the options in the Tool group on the
Table Tools Design tab to:
Access – Lesson 2
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Add and delete fields, insert a field
Drag fields in the design grid to a new location
Rename a field, and change a field’s data type
The Description property in the design grid is
optional, and you can use it to describe what to enter
in the field.
Any changes made in Design view are automatically
updated in Datasheet view when you save the table.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Changing Field Properties in Design
View
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A field property describes the field’s contents beyond
the field’s basic data type, such as:
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Access – Lesson 2
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Indicating number of characters allowed
Indicating allowable values
Field properties will vary depending on the field’s
data type.
The Field Size property sets the number of
characters you can store in a Text, Number or
AutoNumber field.
There is an array of Field Size property options
including the ability to store decimals, positive
numbers, negative numbers, or whole numbers.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Changing Field Properties in Design
View (continued)
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Access – Lesson 2
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Use the Format property to specify how you want
Access to display numbers, dates, times and text.
For example, if you enter the date 10-28-10, Access
will display it as October 28, 2010, if the Format
property is set that way.
The Default Value property enters the same field
value in a field every time a new record is added to a
table.
The Required property specifies whether you must
enter a field value in a record.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Summary
Access – Lesson 2
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Creating a database creates a file that will store
database objects. You can create a database using
a template or a Blank Database template.
You can create a table in Datasheet view by entering
the field names, and then entering the first record.
Access assigns the data type as you enter data.
Access also creates an ID field to serve as the
table’s primary key. The primary key is the field that
contains unique field values for every record in a
table.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Summary (continued)
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Access – Lesson 2
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To save a table, click the Save button on the
Quick Access Toolbar.
A field’s data type determines the type of
data that can be entered, including text,
numbers, or a combination of both.
The data types for Access are Text, Memo,
Number, Date/Time, Currency, AutoNumber,
Yes/No, OLE Object, Hyperlink, Attachment
and Lookup Wizard.
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory
Summary (continued)
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Access – Lesson 2
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In Design view you can add, delete and rename
fields.
A field property describes a field beyond the data
type. The properties you can set depend on the data
type. Additional properties include:
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Description property describes the field
Field Size property sets # of characters/numbers
Format property sets formatting (i.e. date format)
Required property is used when a field must contain data
Pasewark & Pasewark
Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory