Fixing Access Annoyances

Chapter 0. Access Basics

If you’re already an Access ace, you can skip this chapter and move right into the meat of the book. But if you’re still clawing your way up the learning curve, here’s a brief overview of some basic Access concepts and procedures.

The Database Window

When you start Access and create a new database (File → New), you’ll find yourself in the Database window. This is home base when working in Access. A list of the object types in your database appears on the left side of the window. You can click an object name to show objects of that type (of course, there won’t be any until you create some). The key types of objects are:

Tables

Tables are where data gets stored. A table in Access is roughly analogous to a table in Word or a worksheet in Excel—column headings (a.k.a. fields) and rows (a.k.a. records) are the main structural elements. The difference is that in a database, you must define these structures much more precisely. This is the foundation on which everything else rests. (See “Table Design 101” in Chapter 3 for more info.)

Queries

Queries which are based on Structured Query Language (SQL) typically retrieve selected data from tables. They can also be used to modify or delete existing data, add new data, and create new tables. Of course, you could view all of your data just by looking at the table, but the power of a database is that it lets you create alternate views of your data to answer specific questions. For example, your boss may say, “I need a list ...