Microsoft® Access® 2010 24-Hour Trainer

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Access Database Objects

Database objects for Access 2010 can be generally defined as tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, and modules. The Access 2002–03 MDB database file format also supports Data Access Page (DAP) objects, which are no longer supported in the ACCDB database file format. These objects may use other objects as subcomponents of the parent objects. For example, forms use other forms as subforms and reports as subreports. Also, each of these database objects contains a collection of one or more subobjects. For example, tables have fields, indexes, and data; forms and reports contain controls, sections, and properties; modules store functions and subroutines. By using all of these database objects, you can build highly complex and robust database applications, but to do so, you must first understand how each of these object types works in the database.

LESSON SETUP

This lesson introduces the six major database object types allowed in the ACCDB (Access 2007) database file format and explains the basics of how each is used. You should have an existing knowledge of how to start Access and create new database files to successfully complete this lesson.

ACCESS DATABASE OBJECTS

The Access database file is the file that is physically stored on a drive and is visible from Windows Explorer. These files usually have (though they are not required) the .accdb or .mdb file extension. The database file is the container that stores all of the database objects. Each table, query, ...