Chapter 3

Data source

a list of variable information, such as names and addresses—that is merged with a main document to create customized form letters, envelopes, or labels.

Bound

a term used to describe objects and controls that are based on data stored in one or more tables or queries in the database.

Database

an organized collection of facts about people, events, things, or ideas related to a particular topic or purpose.

Criteria

are the conditions in a query that identify the specific records for which you are looking.

Message Bar

the area directly below the Ribbon that displays information such as security alerts when there is potentially unsafe, active content in an Office 2010 document that you open.

Navigation Pane

the area of the Access window that displays and organizes the names of the objects in a database.

Object

the basic parts of a database that you create to store your data and to work with your data; for example, tables, forms, queries, and reports.

Mail Merge

a Microsoft Word feature that joins a main document and a data source to create customized letters, envelopes, or labels.

Query

a database object that retrieves specific data from one or more database objects.

Form

a database object used to enter data, edit data, or display data from a table or query.

Wizard

a feature that walks you step by step through a process—starts, and the Export - RTF File dialog box opens.

Primary key

a field that uniquely identifies a record in a table.

Text box

a movable, resizable container for text or graphics.

Subset

a portion of the total records.

Template

a preformatted database designed for a specific purpose.

Field

a single piece of information that is stored in every record.

Record

all the categories of data pertaining to one person, place, thing, event, or idea.

Design view

an Access view that displays the detailed structure of a table, query, form, or report; and the view in which some tasks must be performed.

Select query

is a type of query that retrieves specific data from one or more tables or queries, displaying the selected data in a datasheet.

Table

the Access object that stores data organized in an arrangement of columns and rows, and which is the foundation of an Access database.

Layout view

the Access view in which you can make changes to a form or to a report while the object is running—the data from the underlying data source display.

Datasheet view

the Access view that displays data organized in columns and rows similar to an Excel worksheet.

Data type

the characteristic that defines the kind of data that can be entered into a field, such as numbers, text, or dates.

Main document

the document that contains the text and formatting that remains constant.

Cell

the intersection of a row and column in a table.

Run

the process in which Access searches the records in the table (s) included in a query design, finds the records that match the specified criteria, and then displays those records in a datasheet.

Sorting

the process of arranging data in a specific order based on the value in each field.

Filtering

the process of displaying only a portion of the data based on matching a specific value to show only the data that meets the criteria you specify.

Form view

the view in which you can view the records, but you cannot change the layout or design of the form.

Populate

to fill the table with records.