Access

Primary key

A field that contains unique information for each record. A primary field cannot contain a null entry.

Object

A table, query, form, report, macro, or module in a database.

Report

An Access object that creates a professional printout of data that may contain such enhancements as headers, footers, and calculations on groups of records.

Query

An Access object that provides a spreadsheet-like view of the data, similar to that in tables. It may provide the user with a subset of fields and/or records from one to more tables. Queries are created when the user has a "question" about the data in the database

Form

An access object that provides an easy-to use data entry screen that generally shows only one record at a time.

Record

In the context of database management , a record is the set of fields of data that pertains to a single entity in a database, usually thought of as a row of data in a table.

Field

In a table, a field corresponds to a column of data, a specific piece or category of data such as a first name, last name, city, state, or phone number.

Database

A collection of data that is stored electronically as a series of records in tables

Table

A collection of records for a single subject, such as all of the customers records; the fundamental building block of a relational database because it stores all of the data.

Relational database

Software such as Access that is used to manage data organized in a relational database.

One to Many relationship

The relationship between two tables in an Access database in which a common field links the tables together. The linking field is called the primary key field in the "one" table of the relationship and the foreign key in the "many" table of the relationship.

Filtering

allow you to view only the data you want to see.

Filter by Section

allows the user to select all or part of a field value and then display only those records which contain the selected value in the field

Properties

characteristics of each field so the database knows how to store, display and process field values

One to One relationship

created if only one of the related columns is a primary key or has a unique constraint.

Hyperlink Data Type

data type used to hold hyperlinks to web pages or other Microsoft® Access objects

Text Data Type

data type which accepts only letters, numbers and a few types of punctuation

OLE Object Data Type

data type which allows objects from other Microsoft® Office programs to be embedded in a table

Yes/No Data Type

data type which includes the Yes/No format as well as True/False and On/ Off in a field; data type is used when the value can only be one of two possible answers

AutoNumber Data Type

data type which inserts a unique value to each record in a table

Memo Data Type

data type which is used for fields which will contain large amounts of text

Date & Time Data Type

data type which is used when a date or time is entered into a field

Currency Data Type

data type which is used when monetary values are entered

Number Data Type

data type which is used when numeric values are entered to be used in calculations, except not for monetary amounts

Attachment Data Type

data type which stores pictures, images and other Microsoft® Office files in a field

Sort Field

field used to determine the order of records in the datasheet

Ascending order

going from A to Z or least to greatest

Descending order

going from Z to A or greatest to least

Null

indicates that the data is missing or unknown.

Lookup field

is a read-only field that displays values at runtime based on search criteria you specify.

Template

pattern used to create a specific type of database

Foreign key

primary key from one table as a field in a second table to form a relationship between the two tables

Database design

process of determining fields, tables and relationships needed to satisfy the data and processing requirements

Backing Up a Database

process of making a copy of the database file to protect the database against loss or damage

Field Size

property which determines the number of characters allowed in a field for the text, number and AutoNumber data types

Sorting

putting data in ascending or descending order

Multitable Query

query based on more than one table

Record Set

result of a query

Filter

set of restrictions placed on the records to temporarily isolate a subset of the records

Referential Integrity

set of rules which Microsoft® Access enforces between related tables when updating data in a database

Data Type

text, number, date, or time; must be assigned to every field in a data table

Lookup Wizard

tool which creates a field which looks up a value in another table or in a predefined list of values

Many to Many relationship

you can record data in table, that can relate to many records in the other table.