University Blida 2 CHAPTER 3: Introduction to Microsoft ACCESS

Department of Commercial Sciences

What is MS Access?

Microsoft Access is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that provides

a user-friendly interface for creating, managing, and querying relational databases.
It's part of the Microsoft Office suite and is suitable for small to medium-sized
database applications.

Creating a Relational Database in MS Access:

1. Launch MS Access:

 Open Microsoft Access and create a new database.

1. Select Blank database

3. Select a folder
for the Database

2. Enter a name for

the database

4. Create the Database

Figure 1: Launch MS Access

 2. Access user interface:

The main components of the Access user interface are:

The Ribbon

Work area

The navigation Pane

Figure 2: Access user interface

2.1. The ribbon: The Ribbon is a tabbed toolbar at the top of the Access
window. It contains various tabs, each representing a set of related commands.
Tab

Figure 3: The ribbon

Command Group of Commands

2.2. The navigation Pane:

The main control center of each Access database is the navigation pane. It shows you
what is in the database and makes the information accessible to you.
 Figure 4: The navigation pane

3. MS access objects:

There are four main objects found in Ms Access databases:

1. Tables: a collection of data arranged in rows and columns

2. Forms: a place to enter data easily
3. Queries: a tool that lets you view, change and analyze data in different
ways
4. Reports: a method to present your data in printed format
 3.1. Design Tables:

There are two basic views when you work in a table: Design View and Datasheet
View. Design View (Figure 6) is used to set the data types, insert or delete fields, and
set the Primary key and relationships between tables. Datasheet View (Figure 5) is
used to enter the data for the records.

The Ribbon

Work area

The navigation Pane

Figure 5: Datasheet view

Creating tables in Microsoft Access involves using the Table Design view. Here's a
step-by-step guide on how to create tables in MS Access:

 In the Navigation Pane, click on the "Table Design" icon to open the Table
Design view.
Table design icon
  Use the Table Design view to create tables. Define fields, data types, and
relationships between tables.

Field name
Field type

Figure 6: Design view

3.1.1. Define table fields:

To enter a field in a table, we type first the name of the field then we select the
appropriate data type (e.g., Text, Number, Date/Time, etc.). We can also add a
description to document the purpose of the field which is optional.

3.1.2. Setting a primary key:

Figure 7: Primary key

 The Primary Key is the unique identifier for each record in a table. Access will not
allow duplicate entries in a Primary Key field. Identify a primary key for each table.
This unique identifier helps establish relationships between tables.

3.1.3. Establishing relationships:

Navigate to the Relationships view to define relationships between tables.

Connect the primary key of one table to the foreign key of another.

Figure 7: Relationships between tables

3.2. Data Entry and Management:

3.2.1. Data Entry Forms:

Create data entry forms to simplify the process of entering and editing data. Access
provides a Form Wizard for this purpose.

To create a form from a table, click on the Form icon from the Create Tab.
Select Create tab

Click on Form icon

 Figure 8: Create a form

3.3. Database Queries:

We use queries to retrieve specific information from a database. They can be also
used to change and analyze data in different ways.

3.3.1. Create a query: To create a query:

1. Click the Create “Créer” on the ribbon

1 2. Click query design icon “Création de requête”

2

3. Select the table that you would like to base your query on (here we select table
Etudiant)

3
List of tables

Design grid

The design grid is divided into rows and columns. Each column represents a field
that will be included in the result of the query.

4. In the design grid, Select the field names which you would like to include in the
query.
4

5. Define a cretria for your query by entering the criteria in the criteria row in the
field for which you wish to define the criteria for.

This query shows the student number, first name and last name of all students
studiyng “Commerce”.
Example: If the table “Etudiant” contains the records below

The result of the query would be:

3.4. Reports:

Reports can be based on tables or queries and can be made with the Report Wizard
(Assistant état).

To Create a Report Using the Report Wizard

1) Click the Create tab on the Ribbon

2) Click the Report Wizard icon

3) Select the table or query upon which the report will be based

4) Select the fields that you want to include on the report by double clicking on them

5) Click Next

6) If you would like to add grouping to your report, select the field you wish to
group by double clicking on it

7) Click Next

8) Select a style for the report

9) Click Next

10) Type a title for the report

11) Click Finish