Once you have found the record you want to amend, click in the box containing the data you want to change. Delete the old data using the backspace key, and just type the new data in.
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Saving data
There is no need to manually save data entered into the form. The database is automatically updated when new information is added or modified. This makes for faster data input/modification. However, it is recommended that you click the save button just to make sure.
Processing Information
One useful function you will need to be able to perform is finding records. It is not recommended to use the navigation buttons all of the time, as this can become very time consuming if there are lots of records. The Find function is much more useful.
When the appropriate form is open, hold down the Ctrl key and press “F.” This will open up the Find and Replace window:
Ensure that you are looking in the appropriate table (Books Table or Customers Table) and not a specific field. To correct this, click the blue arrow next to the Look In: box and select the table instead of the field. This occurs when one field has been selected, i.e. the cursor is blinking in it.
Type the data you are searching for into the “Find What:” text box: this could be a customer’s name, telephone number or ID. Then click “Find Next”, and the record that contains data matching the search will be displayed.
Using Queries
Queries are a means of processing the data in the database. The query will search for records in the database that match criteria specified in the query’s design.
To run a query, first you must find it. To do this, find the main menu in access, which can be achieved by minimising all open access windows. To do this, click the small horizontal line in grey, not blue (the blue one will minimise the database itself).
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Once at the main menu, click on the Queries tab on the left and side, and double click on the query that you want to run on the right hand side. This will return the results of the query.
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To change the criteria of the query, (for example: to search for Fantasy books instead of Horror books) run the query in the way described above, and then click the Design view button. This opens up the query design. Simply select the field you want to edit, and type in the new criteria (in this case select the genre field, delete “Horror” and type in “Fantasy”). Then run the query by clicking on the button, and the new criteria will be displayed.
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If you want to save the changes to the query, click on File→Save As and then type an appropriate name into the box and click Save.
N.B. This option is not recommended for users who are not certain how to create new forms, as saving a query under a different name will not affect the report that the previous one was based on.
Using Reports
Reports display information returned by queries in an easy to view, printable format. To view a report, find the database’s main menu by minimising any forms, queries, etc. as described above. Then click on the reports tab and double click the report you want to open.
To print a report, open it and then click the print button at the top of the screen.
Reports are linked to queries. Changing the data in a query will change the data produced in the report. For example, if we again use the Horror Books query, and change the criteria to fantasy, the report will show fantasy books when it is run.
This is the report before modifying the query. However, after changing the criteria to Fantasy, the report looks like this:
Queries linked to reports
There are three queries linked to reports in the current database. The first is for customers living in Kent. To view the report, click on the reports tab and double click on the “Customers Living in Kent” report. This will give you the details of all of the customers living in Kent.
To change the county, click on the Queries tab and then double click on “Customers Living in Kent.” This will open up the query. Click on the design view button (circled below).
In design view, you can change the criteria for the query. To do this, simply find the category you want to search for and type in the relevant value. In the example below the county “Kent” has been changed to “London.”
Click the “Save” button (the image of the floppy disk) and close the query’s design. Then open up the corresponding report, as explained above, and you will see that now only customers living in London are shown.
The second query is linked to the Horror Books report mentioned above. The two show all the books of the horror genre.
However, it is possible to change the genre, by selecting the Horror Books query from the query tab, and going into the design view (as described above). Simply change the genre from “Horror” to any other genre. The example below shows the genre being changed to fantasy.
Upon opening the report again, after the design of the query has been saved (see above), the report will show books of the genre “Fantasy.”
The final report is linked to the “J.K. Rowling books in Stock” query, and can be viewed and printed in the same way as the two reports described above. It can also be edited by opening the “J.K. Rowling books in Stock” query, in the same way as previously described, and changing the criteria. The following example shows the criteria being changed to “J.R.R. Tolkien” books which are in stock.
Upon re-opening the report, the data will have changed, to show only books by J.R.R. Tolkien that are in stock.
Mail Merge
A useful feature that can be performed using the database and a word processing package is the mail merge function, which enables multiple copies of a letter to be sent to different people, without having to type out the letter lots of times.
Begin by creating the letter that will be sent out to the customers. To do this, open Word and type the letter. You can use the Insert→Date and Time function to insert the date to show the customers when the offer is valid.
You must then begin the mail merge, by clicking Tools→Letters and Mailings→Mail Merge. Select Letters as the document type, and click “Next: Starting Document”. Then select “Use the Current Document” and click “Next: Select Recipients”. You must then click Browse and select Library DB (the name of the database) and click Customers Table as the table that will be used. Then click OK and “Next: Write your letter”, before clicking on “More Items” and selecting all the address fields and name fields.
This is a suggestion of where to place all of the fields. After this, click “Next: Preview your letters.”
This is an example of the mail merge. You can see all of the tags have been filled in with data from the database. Finally, click “Next: Complete the merge”, which will give you the opportunity to print all of the letters, with different customer addresses on them.
Potential problems with the database and how to avoid them
Problem 1
One of the most common problems encountered is that data is cut off when entered. For example, when entering a customer’s name, the end of the name may be cut off if it is a very long name. This is due to the fact that the fields in the database are a certain size, and any data that exceeds this size will not be entered.
To rectify this problem, close the form, click on the Tables tab and open the appropriate table.
Next click on the design view button (below “File”) and click on the field you want to change.
Change the field size to a higher value and click the Save button. You can then close the table, re-open the form and enter the data. If it still does not fit, repeat the steps above but using a higher value, until it fits.
Problem 2
The second problem that is frequently encountered is when the wrong type of data (erroneous data) is entered into the database. The user may see an error message saying that the data entered “isn’t valid for the field.” An example of this is when text is entered into a number field, such as a fine due.
To correct this, ensure that the correct data is being entered into each field. If it is a fine, ensure that the data is in the form of a currency in pounds and pence.
Problem 3
Another problem that may be encountered is when entering a data of birth. The database may return the following error message:
The reason for this is that the date has not been entered in the correct format. When entering a date, the date must be entered in the correct format. To correct this problem, simply enter the date in the format DD/MM/YYYY.