Teach Yourself VISUALLY Access 2013: (Teach Yourself VISUALLY (Tech))

The easy, visual way to learn this popular database program

Part of the Office 2013 productivity suite, Access enables you to organize, present, analyze, and share data on a network or over the web. With this Visual guide to show you how, you'll master the fundamentals of this robust database application in no time. Clear, step-by-step instructions are illustrated with full-color screen shots that show exactly what you should see on your screen. Learn to enter new records; create, edit, and design tables and forms; develop queries that generate specific reports; add smart tags to your tables; and much more.

• While it is the most widely used database application, Access is not particularly intuitive; the Visual system's two-page lessons and full-color screen shots make this complex software easier to learn
• Concise, step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations show you exactly what to expect
• Covers scores of tasks, including entering and setting up new records, organizing and sharing data, designing tables and forms, and generating reports
• Shows how to perform more complex operations, such as finding dependencies between database objects and adding smart tags to tables

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Access 2013 uses clear steps and high-resolution screen images to get you up and running with this popular database program.

An Introduction to Access 4

Start and Exit Access 6

Create a Blank Database 8

Create a Database by Using a Template 10

Open a Database 12

Close a Database 13

Understanding the Access Interface 14

Customize the Quick Access Toolbar 16

Customize the Ribbon 18

Change the Navigation Pane View 20

Open and Close an Object 22

Change an Object’s View 23

Chapter 2 Working with Tables

Plan Effective Tables 26

Create a Table in the Datasheet View 28

Save a Table 29

Create a Table in the Design View 30

Open a Table in the Design View 32

Rearrange Fields 33

Insert and Delete Fields 34

Understanding Data Types 35

Change a Field’s Data Type 36

Understanding Primary and Composite Keys 37

Set the Primary or Composite Key 38

Rename a Table 39

Delete a Table 40

Copy a Table 41

Chapter 3 Entering and Editing Data

Enter New Records 44

Navigate between Records 46

Edit Records 47

Attach Files to a Record 48

Open, Save, and Remove File Attachments 50

Insert an OLE Object 52

Open, Edit, and Remove OLE Objects 54

Enter Data in a Multivalued Field 55

Select Records 56

Delete Records 57

Sort Records 58

Resize Datasheet Columns and Rows 60

Print a Datasheet or Form 61

Chapter 4 Working with Fields

Understanding Field Properties 64

Understanding Field Sizes 65

Change a Field Size 66

Set a Field Caption 67

Set a Field’s Format 68

Set a Default Value 70

Make a Field Required 71

Index a Field 72

Align Data within a Field 73

Create an Input Mask 74

Create a Validation Rule 76

Create a Record-Level Validation Rule 78

Chapter 5 Working with Relationships

Understanding Relationships 82

Create a Relationship between Two Tables 84

Edit a Relationship 86

Remove a Relationship 87

Arrange the Relationships Window 88

Print a Relationship Report 89

View Object Dependencies 90

Document the Database 92

Understanding Lookups 94

Create a Table for Use As a Field Lookup 96

Create a Field Lookup Based on a Table 98

Create a Field Lookup with Values That You Specify 102

Set Up a Multivalued Field 104

Chapter 6 Finding and Filtering Data

Understanding Find and Replace 108

Find Data 109

Replace Data 110

Filter to Show Only Blank or Nonblank Entries 112

Filter by Selection 113

Filter for Multiple Values 114

Using Text Filters 115

Filter by Form 116

Save a Filter As a Query 118

Chapter 7 Creating Simple Queries

Understanding Queries 122

Create a Query with the Simple Query Wizard 124

Start a New Query in the Query Design View 126

Insert, Arrange, and Remove Query Fields 128

Set Field Sorting 130

Add an Alias to a Query Field 131

Understanding Criteria 132

Filter a Query for a Specific Value 134

Specify a Range of Values 135

Specify a List of Values 136

Hide a Field in the Query Results 137

Create Compound Criteria 138

Limit the Records Returned 139

Chapter 8 Creating Complex Queries

Understanding Summary Queries 142

Create a Summary Query with the

Simple Query Wizard 144

Create a Summary Query in the Query Design View 148

Understanding Calculated Fields 150

Create a Calculated Field 151

Understanding Action Queries 152

Run a Make Table Query 153

Run a Delete Query 154

Run an Append Query 155

Run an Update Query 156

Prompt the User for a Parameter 158

Understanding Parameter Syntax 159

Chapter 9 Creating Forms

Understanding Forms 162

Create and Save a Form 164

Create a Form with the Form Wizard 166

Create a Form in the Layout View 170

Create a Form in the Design View 172

Delete a Field from the Design View 173

Arrange Fields on a Form 174

Group Fields Together 176

Define the Tab Order on a Form 177

Chapter 10 Editing Forms

Display the Header and Footer 180

Resize Sections of a Form 181

Select Sections of a Form 182

Add a Form Title 183

Apply a Theme 184

Browse for a Theme to Apply 185

Apply a Font Theme or Color Theme 186

Create a Custom Font Theme 187

Create a Custom Color Theme 188

Create a Custom Theme 189

Adjust Internal Margins and Padding 190

Add a Label 191

Format Label Text 192

Change the Background Color 194

Add a Background Image 195

Add a Hyperlink 196

Add a Tabbed Section 198

Insert a Logo or an Image 200

Set Conditional Formatting 202

Chapter 11 Creating Reports

Understanding Report Views 206

Create a Simple Report 208

Apply a Theme to a Report 209

Preview and Print a Report 210

Create a Report with the Report Wizard 212

Create a Report in the Layout View 216

Set the Page Size and Orientation 217

Change the Report Layout Type 218

Set Page Margins 220

Set Control Margins and Padding 221

Format Report Text 222

Size and Align Report Fields 224

Insert a Page-Numbering Code 225

Chapter 12 Grouping and Sorting Data

Understanding Grouping and Summarizing 228

Group Report Results 230

Group a Numeric Field by Intervals 232

Group a Date Field 233

Group Records Using an Expression 234

Sort Report Results 236

Count Records 237

Add an Aggregate Function 238

Hide the Group Header and Footer 240

Keep a Group Together on a Page 241

Change the Grouping or Sorting Priority 242

Remove a Grouping or Sorting 243

Chapter 13 Creating Mailing Labels

Create Labels 246

Add a Field to an Existing Line 250

Add a Field to a Label As a Separate Line 251

Color the Label Background 252

Color the Label Text 253

Apply Font Formatting to the Label Text 254

Export Labels to Word 256

Chapter 14 Performing a Mail Merge

Start a Mail Merge 260

Create the Main Document in Word 262

Insert an Address Block 263

Insert a Greeting Line 264

Match Fields 265

Insert Individual Fields 266

Preview the Merge Results 267

Filter the Recipient List 268

Sort the Recipient List 270

Merge to a New Document 271

Merge Directly to a Printer 272

Save the Merge for Later Use 273

Chapter 15 Working with External Data

Import an Excel Worksheet 276

Link to an Excel Worksheet 280

Link to an Outlook Folder 282

Manage Linked Tables 284

Import a Table from Another Access Database 286

Import Data from a Delimited Text File 288

Import Data from a Web Page 292

Import Data from an XML File 294

Export Data to Excel 296

Export Data As HTML 297

Export Data to a Plain Text File 298

Save Import or Export Specifications 300

Using Saved Import or Export Specifications 301

Analyze Access Data Using an Excel PivotTable 302

Add Multiple Fields to a PivotTable Area 304

Move a Field to a Different PivotTable Area 306

Group PivotTable Values 308

Apply a PivotTable Filter 310

Chapter 16 Maintaining a Database

Set a Trusted Location 314

Save in an Earlier Version Format 316

Convert to the Access 2007-2013 Format 317

Back Up a Database 318

Analyze Database Performance 319

Compact and Repair a Database 320

Password-Protect a Database 322

Create a Switchboard 324

Set Switchboard Startup Options 328

Index 330

Paul McFedries (Toronto, Ontario) is the president of Logophilia Limited, a technical writing company. He has been programming since he was a teenager in the mid-1970s and has programmed everything from mainframes to desktops to bar code scanners. He has worked with many different languages, including Fortran, assembly language, C++, and, JavaScript. Paul has written more than three dozen books that have sold more than three million copies worldwide, including: Windows Vista Simplified, Teach Yourself Visually Windows Vista, Macs Portable Genius, Office 2007 Visual Quick Tips, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY Macs. Paul encourages all readers to drop by his Web site, www.mcfedries.com.