Access

Data validation

: used to ensure database users enter the proper type or amount of data

Caption

: what appears as field name in datasheet view (overrides field name)

Enable content

Button on the message bar when a user opens a database outside of a trusted location. The database contains active content.

Data type

Controls what kind of data a field will contain.

Report Tool

Creates a basic report of all the table or query information in a single mouse click

Table

Datasheet View which shows the data in a table format of columns and rows; Design View which allows the user to add field names, data types and field properties

Record Source

Is the table or query that provides the data used to generate a report

Navigation Pane

Lists all the database objects; enables the user to open, copy and delete database objects

Short text

Most common data type for fields; can store up to 255 characters.

Layout View

Permits the user to make certain changes to the appearance of the form while it is displaying actual data; can change the form theme in this view

Fields

Refers to the individual piece of data being collected

Relational database

Stores information in separate tables and these tables are connected or linked by some defined relationship that ties the data together.

Datasheet view

Table Tools Field > Properties can select field size, default value, name and caption.

Form design tool

This creates a blank form, a design grid, in design view which provides a more detailed view of the structure of the form; create > forms > form designs

Look Up Field

This property allows the user to select a value for a field that is stored in another field

Database

Tool For collecting and organizing information.

Foreign Key

a primary key from one table used in another table; the foreign key refers back to the data in the original table that has the primary; helps avoid redundancy (data duplication)

Query

a question you can ask a table or another query; search/retrieve data - datasheet view

Input Mask

a string of characters that indicate the format of valid input values

Form(extra)

a user interface to a database; A database object you can use to enter, edit and display data from a table or query. can be used to control access to data by limiting fields available to use. Forms must be saved before they can be used.

Required

all instances of the field must contain a value

Unique

all values must be different, no duplicates

Zero Length strength

allows a field to contain no characters

Form Wizard

allows the user to select fields that will appear in the form (select from one or more tables and or queries) also pick the form layout which determines the positioning of the form elements; create > forms > form wizard

Blank Forms

allows user to add a blank pre-defined form to a database

Filter

allows user to set criteria which determines which records will be displayed; filters can be saved and used again; located on Home > Sort & Filter Group

Records

are represented by a row; can be added, edited and deleted; Home > Records Group; DELETED RECORDS CANNOT BE RECOVERED

Sort

arrange records alphabetically, numerically and chronologically; located on Home > Sort & Filter Group; can sort ascending (low to high) or descending (high to low); Access adds a sort arrow to the header row

Attachment

attach images, spreadsheet files, documents, charts, and other types of supported files (up to 2 GB per record) to the records in your database, much like you attach files to email messages.

Record Selector Box

blank square located to left of the record; used to select one or more records; can be right-clicked to open shortcut menu to add or delete record

Create a new database

by default Access creates a primary key field named ID and sets the data type as Autonumber.

Create fields

can be added in Datasheet and Design View; Table Tools Fields > Add & Delete Group

Remove sort

clears all sort; located on Home > Sort & Filter Group

Datasheet View

click on the field you want to edit; Table Tools Fields > Field Validation can select Required and Unique

Rearrange Fields

click to select the field (header row); click and drag to location and drop

Composite Key

combining two or more primary keys in one table

Table Relationship

connect tables that share a common field by defining a link that ties the data together; common fields do not have to have the same name but they must have the same data type; located on Database Tools > Relationships > Relationship opens Relationships Tools Design ribbon

Quick Parts

consists of a collection of pre-defined database objects such as tables, forms, reports

Record

contains information from all the individual fields

Form

control data entry and data views

Form Tool

creates a form with a single mouse click; all the fields from the table are placed on the form; displays a single record at a time; create > forms > form

Blank Form tool

creates a new form in layout view; automatically opens the field list pane; Create > Forms > blank form

Add

data is entered at the bottom of the table; Home > Records > Add; click the Add a New Record button

Delete fields

deletes all data and cannot be undone; Table Tools Fields > Add & Delete > Delete; can also use short cut menu and delete in Design View

Expression Builder

dialog box that permits the user to define a rule

One-To-Many Relationship

each record in first table can reference many records in the second table

one-to-one relationship

each record in the first table can only have one matching record in the second table

Validation Rule

expression that limits the values that can be entered

Report Wizard

guides the user through a series of questions and then generates a report based on the answers including grouping, sorting, layout and page orientation

Define a primary key

in Design View by selecting the row that contains the field for which you want to assign the primary key; Table Tools Design > Tools > Primary Key; Access adds a small key icon to the row selector box

Field Properties

in addition to field name and data type user can select different properties; user can set them in Datasheet View (some properties) and Design View (all properties)

Relationship Line

indicates the common field and the type of relationship

Freeze Fields

keeps one or multiple fields (hold shift while selecting) fixed on the screen as the user scrolls horizontally; include an Unfreeze All Fields command; Home > Records > More

click to add

last column in Datasheet View

Field Size

length of the field in characters and spaces

Table

list that stores data in fields and records

Record Navigation Buttons

located below the table; user can select from First Record, Last Record, Next Record, Previous Record, user can select record number; Add a New Record Button and a Search field allows user to locate content in a record; Home > Find > Go To

Save Object As

located in Backstage; permits the user to create a duplicate of a database object; save objects in other formats such as PDF and XPS

Find

located on Home > Find Group or Ctrl + F; options for user include look in current field or the entire document; user can choose to match at the start of the field, the whole field or any part of the field

Replace

located on Home > Find Group or Ctrl + H

Delete

located on Home > Records > Delete Record;

Views

located on Home > Views Groups; Table Tools Fields > View Group; shortcut buttons on status bar

Many-To-Many

many records in the first table can reference many records in the second table

Field Name

new field name; used in datasheet view when no caption value has been specified

Delete (Database object)

object must be closed prior to delete; remove an object; access in Navigation Pane; select object and press Delete, right-click and select Delete on shortcut menu

Rename (Database object)

object must be closed prior to rename; change the name of the database object; accessed in Navigation Pane; select object right-click and select Rename or shortcut key F2

open

opens a document with default access

Add existing fields

opens the fields list pane and allows the user to select the fields that they want to add to the form; forms design tools design > tools > add existing fields or Alt + F8

Open Read-Only

opens with only viewing ability and not editing ability; others can still read and write

Open Exclusive Read-only

opens with only viewing ability and not editing; others can only view and not edit

Copy/Paste Table

options include Structure Only; Structure and Data; Append Data to Existing Table

Filter by form

permits the user to filter several fields in a form; user is provided a blank form with all fields and can fill in as many fields as they want; user enters the first set of values in the look for tab; click the Or tab and enter another set of values; filter is applied by clicking the toggle filter button; Home > sort & filter > Advanced > Filter by form

Application Parts

pre-defined objects that contain one or more database part; Create > Templates > Application Parts

quick start field

pre-defined package of characteristics and properties that describe a field including field name, data type and some properties; Table Tools Fields > Add & Delete > More Fields

Report

present information in ways that are useful to user

Referential Integrity

prevent orphan records; an orphan record is a record in one table that references records in another table that no longer exist.

Outermost field

primary or first sort (LastName)

Relationship report

provides a printed copy that shows the relationship between tables

Toggle filter

remove the filter to show all records; permits filter to be reapplied; located on Home > Sort & Filter Group

Hide Fields

removes from view one or more fields; includes an Unhide Fields command; Home > Records > More

innermost sort

secondary sort field (FirstName)

Object Tab

separates different database objects open in work area; keeps objects visible and accessible

Caption

specifies the text displayed by default as column name in a table

Validation Text

specifies the text in the error message that appears if a user violates the rule

Default Value

specify a default value to automatically assigned when a new record is added

Calculated

stores an expression based on two or more fields within the same table

Date/Time

stores date and/or time data

OLE Object

stores images, documents, graphs, and other objects from Office and Windows based objects

Long Text

stores large amounts of text—up to 1 gigabyte (GB) —but only the first 64,000 characters of text, and numbers (or a combination of both) will be visible on the screen

Hyperlink

stores links to websites, sites or files on a network and files on your computer

Currency

stores monetary data with precision to four decimal places. Use this data type to store financial data and when you don't want Access to round values

number

stores numeric data that can be used in mathematical calculations

Yes/No

stores true or false data. Access uses 1 for all Yes values and 0 for all No values

Open Exclusive

the database is only available to YOU; others receive a message the file is already in use

Primary Key

the field (column) that uniquely identifies each row; student number or patient number

Datasheet

the visual representation of data contained in a table or of the results returned by a query

Auto Number

unique values created by Access when you create a new record. Tables often contain an AutoNumber field used as the primary key

Report

used to organize and display data pulled from a table or a query and commonly formatted in a hard copy; reports can be saved, modifies and tr-tun; reports can be sorted & filtered

Property Sheet

user can set table properties that control the appearance and the behavior for an entire table; accessed in Design View use Table Tools Design > Show/Hide > Property Sheet or use shortcut Alt + Enter

Attachments (Files)

uses the Attachment data type; Table Tools Fields > Add & Delete > More Fields