Data Center & Security
Our data centers are world-class facilities with carefully selected locations that provide a redundancy and top of the line security.Do you have questions or need help?
If you need help selecting the right hosting plan or have a Sales question, please chat with a Access Hosting Sales Operator
Sales: (302) 468-7475
Get your questions answered by watching some of our Video Tutorials. Get help 24/7 from our Helpdesk and Forums
Visit our Help Desk-
Tag Archives: Access for Beginners
Microsoft Access Explained: Reports
Reports are the primary means by which you print information from your cloud database for use by company personnel and clients. You can certainly format and print in datasheet view directly from a specific form or table, but the best way to print and summarize large sets of data from multiple places in your database is through the use of a visually appealing report.
Reports are the best way to create a printed copy of information that is extracted or calculated from data in your database. Reports have two principal advantages over other methods of printing data. First, reports can compare, summarize, subtotal and total large sets of data. And secondly, reports can be created to produce attractive invoices, purchase orders, mailing labels, presentation materials and other output you need to efficiently conduct business.
When designing a report you are able to group data and present each group separately by defining separate headers and footers for each group. You can also perform complex calculations within a group or across several groups. As with other items in Microsoft Access, you can embed pictures of charts in any section of a report. You can also embed subreports, which are particularly useful for showing related details or totals of the records that make up specific rows of your report.
All of these functions can be set up in the design view of a report, but because reports are primarily used for printing hard copies of your databases essential information the primary view used to work with reports is the print preview view.
Remember that for Access 2013 Web Apps, Reports have to exist in the Microsoft Access client so anyone who wants to view them will need an Access Frontend installed on their computer and connected to Sharepoint 2013. Access 2010 Web Databases offer browser-based reporting features with the powerful hybrid application. All client based reporing works in our RDP hosting environment.
Being able to print attractive reports is an essential component of Microsoft Access and will benefit your company greatly. This way you can provide hard copies of essential information, which has been drawn safely and accurately from your company’s web database. Check back in with Access Hosting for more information on all the Microsoft Access web database software can do for you and your business.
Microsoft Access Explained: Tables
Tables are the basic building blocks of any database. They are defined by a collection of rows and columns that separate the data into individual fields. When you open Microsoft Access for the first time it will give you a blank desktop and will automatically open a dummy table. The dummy table is simply a blank datasheet that will serve as the foundation for any database you will create.
After values of a few key fields are entered, you should be ready to begin to input data as short text or number values and create a basic datasheet.
When working in Microsoft Access there are three views from which to manipulate the information in the tables that make up your database: form view, layout view, and design view. To change views simply click on the view command in the ribbon and select your view from the drop down menu.
Form view is ideal for entering or updating information, while layout view will give you a clear overview of all the information currently entered in the table. Design view is slightly more advanced, and will allow you to restrict the data in certain fields by adjusting the properties and datatype or renaming a field.
Designing your own table from scratch may be helpful in certain situations, but don’t forget to check out the pre-loaded table templates that the Access software provides to help save valuable time and gain a better understanding of how to build your own tables with design view.
To begin creating a new table the first step is to change the field names. In design view and you can define the parameters of the table by labeling specific fields with a name and matching them with the appropriate datatype from the dropdown menu on the right. There are many different choices for datatype but most likely it will either be a number, which appears as a long integer, or short text.
You may also notice that an ID field is automatically entered to correspond with each entry. This is a number that is automatically given to each specific field to stand as its unique identifier.
Although it is an option, you should never remove the ID field. The specific identifiers may never be seen by users interacting with your database but they are essential when building more complex relationships between databases.
Take notice of the primary key command in the top left of the ribbon. Be sure that the primary key is set to the ID field so that each field can be independently identified and always unique.
Microsoft Access Explained: What is a database?
A database is any collection of files and records, gathered with a particular purpose in mind. Think about all the information that your business records in a given day. Information on customers, employees, sales and accounting are only a few of the most essential databases a business would need to build to thrive in a modern economy.
The basic building block of any database are tables, or a collection of rows and columns that separate the data into individual fields. These datasheets make up a basic desktop database.
Microsoft Access is some of the most advanced relational database management software available to the public. It allows you to take basic database capabilities to the next level by incorporating tools, which allow users to build relationships across multiple databases.
The navigation pane to the left of the main window in Microsoft Access will display all the objects in you current database. Using the navigation pane will allow you to move between different forms, tables, reports and queries you have incorporated within your relational database.
It’s important to have a basic understanding of databases so that you are able to communicates about any issues you may be having or hand down tasks to subordinates who maybe using Microsoft Access for the first time.
Check back in with the Access Hosting blog for more explanations the basics of Microsoft Access, and of course don’t forget about Access Hosting customer service for additional questions about database basics or other issues.
Microsoft Access Explained: The Ribbon
The ribbon is a Quick Access Toolbar shown at the top of the Microsoft Access main screen. The ribbon contains some of the most widely used commands in Microsoft Access, and is divided into three main sections: tabs, groups and buttons or commands.
You may notice in small black lettering at the base of the ribbon each of the six main tabs are broken down into small groups. Have a look at these group names to assist you in finding the command you are trying to execute. Enabled commands are shown in black or full-color while other commands are greyed out. That is because these are contextual commands that are not always applicable to what you are trying to do. If the command you are looking for is grayed out be sure that you have the appropriate field or object selected.
Similarly, there are contextual tabs that only appear in certain view modes, and contextual menus with their own lists of commands hidden within certain parts of the ribbon. To access the contextual menus simply right click and a drop-down menu will appear next to your mouse cursor.
After you have familiarized yourself with the many functions of the ribbon you may like to take a look at the contextual drop-down menu by right clicking on one of the tabs. From there you can minimize the ribbon to give yourself more space to work in your main window or customize the ribbon to include the commands that you are using for a specific task.
Customizing the ribbon can save you precious time and improve your efficiency when doing repetitive tasks specific to the database you happen to be working on. Simply right click on the ribbon, click the “customize ribbon” command, and select “add new tab” from the menu screen. From there you’ll be given a list of all the commands Microsoft Access has to offer and you can add your most used or favorite commands into your own specialized tab. When you close out of the menu your new tab will appear on the ribbon next to the others.
If you enjoyed this explanation, don’t forget to check back in with Access Hosting for more helpful hints about operating the Microsoft Access software.
© 2010-2019 Access Hosting LLC. All Rights Reserved | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Acceptable Use Policy | Terms of Service
Microsoft ®, SharePoint ®, and Windows ® are all trademarks of Microsoft Corporation