Databases Operation - Openoffice 3.2 March 2010 & Microsoft Access
The table is called a Datasheet
and is the way OpenOffice & Microsoft Access commonly present data.
A database can be very small such as a simple personal address book,
or it can be a huge collection of data encompassing all the activities
and transactions of a large business.
When working with a database you require more than just the data. In order to manipulate, process and present your data as information you require a set of utilities or tools.
You can use a form to input, edit or view information in your database record by record.It will allow you to see what you want in the way that you want to see it.Forms can be created to imitate your paper documents.
A query is a question you ask about your data: How many accounts are overdue?, What customers do we have in a specific city? How many new accounts this year? Whenever you ask a query of your database you get the latest up to date information.
You use reports to print and view information from your database.Reports allow you to produce your information in the way that you want and enable you to: Group information. Calculate totals and averages.
Install OpenOffice 3.2 - it's a free office system. - go along with the default installation and it will place a shortcut icon on your desktop, start a new database - as below
The next stage of the Openoffice database is covered on the next page 'tables, page 63' as this is the first stage in the creation of a database. Once you have a table or series of tables all the work is created around them. Queries, Forms and Reports are all extracted from the tables. The tables can also cross reference each other which is referred to as a relational database but this is getting to the more advanced stage.
Microsoft Access - Open a database application
Click on the Windows Start icon. Click on Programs. Click on the Microsoft Access icon from within the sub-menu displayed
After opening-- The Access Window follows the standard layout for all Microsoft Windows applications. A Title Bar is displayed at the top of the window with a Control Menu box to the left and Minimize, Restore and Close buttons to the right. Underneath is the Menu bar and below that the toolbars. When you start Access, only the File and Help menus are available and most of the buttons on the toolbar are grayed out. This is because there is no database open
The Microsoft Access toolbar contains buttons that provide shortcuts for commands found in the menu bar. There are several toolbars available, they can be displayed by selecting Toolbars from the View menu.If you are unsure of what command a button will carry out when clicked, hold the mouse pointer over the button to get a short description of the button's function.
TO OPEN AN ACCESS FILE
If an access file is selected and double clicked it will open within access even if the access program isn't open
From the File menu choose Open Note: Recently used databases may be listed at the bottom of the File menu. If the database you require is included in the list, click once on the list entry. OR click on the Open icon on the Standard toolbar. · Select the File name from the list on the left-hand side of the box. You might need to change folders in order to find the required database. Click on Open to complete the operation.
The next box will appear after clicking open
Now click on one of the database folders then open
The Access Database Window The Access Database Window appears within the Access application window when a database is opened. It provides an easy way of accessing all database objects. Icons down the left hand side provide access to tables, queries, forms, reports, macros and modules. We shall examine some of these, in detail, later on in this course. You can select an object by clicking once with the mouse pointer. An object can also be selected by choosing it from the View drop-down menu
Before we can connect to a database we need a database to connect too.
Creating the Contacts Database
To create a database your first need to open Microsoft Access and choose
'Blank Access Database' from the starting menu. You will be prompted
for a name for the database and where you want it saved. Call the database
'contacts.mdb' and save it in the same directory as the web page connecting
to the database is going to be.
You should now see the main Access dialog box, from here select 'Create
table in design view'.
You now need to create 3 fields for the database and select there data types.
Field 1 needs to be called 'ID_no' and have the data type of 'AutoNumber'. Also set this field as the primary key.
Field 2 needs to be called 'Name' and have the data type of text.
Field 3 needs to be called 'Notes' and also has
the data type of text, but this time you need to change the default
field size of 50 to 100 characters under the 'General' tab in the 'Field
Properties' box at the bottom of the screen.
Once all the field's have been created and the data types and primary key set, save the table as 'customers'.
Now the table has been created you need to enter some test data into the table. You can do this by double-clicking on the new table (customers) in the main dialog box. From here you can enter some test data. I would recommend entering at least 3 pieces of test data.