Microsoft Access 2007, 2010 and 2013 Tutorial

1 Introduction to the MS Access 2007/2010/2013 Tutorial

Welcome to the MS Access tutorial. This tutorial is designed to get the user up and running with MS Access (henceforth simply “Access”) in a rapid fashion. The four basic modules of Access are demonstrated: Tables, Forms, Reports and Queries. A business example is discussed first which provides a background for developing a simple database.

It is assumed that users of this tutorial are proficient in working with Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/Win7 and with MS Excel. This includes the use of the keyboard and mouse. The tutorial is based on Microsoft Access which is part of the Microsoft Office Professional suite that also includes MS Excel, MS Word and MS Powerpoint.

This tutorial covers MS Access 2007, 2010 and 2013 which have a common interface (the “ribbon bar” across the top) that is different from earlier versions. If you are interested in working with MS Access ’97 or 2000, please visit the Microsoft Access Tutorial – Covering MS Access ’97 and 2000 web page.

The tutorial begins with a brief overview of Relational Databases. The majority of database management systems in use today are based on what is called the relational database model. Access is a relational database management system. We then describe a business example and give an outline for the database and applications we wish to develop. In the sections that follow, we give step-by-step instructions for creating the tables, data entry forms, reports and queries for the application.

1.1 Intended Audience

This tutorial is intended for students just getting started with the MS Access database management system.

1.2 Pre-Requisite Knowledge

This tutorial assumes the student is familiar with the basic operation of a personal computer and Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. Specific skills required for this tutorial are:

• Use of the mouse and keyboard
• Opening and saving files on the hard disk and on USB memory stick (thumb drive) for example
• Managing files in general including the difference between drive letters, hard disk, etc.
• Running programs from the Windows Start menu
• Minimizing, maximizing and resizing windows

The student should have a USB memory stick (thumb drive) or other portable memory device available to store their files that will be created during this tutorial.

1.3 Running Microsoft Access on a Apple Mac

One issue that may face some students is the fact that MS Access only runs under the Windows operating system (such as Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7). If you have a MacBook, iMac or other Apple system running MacOS that uses an Intel CPU, there are a few possible alternatives you can try. Many modern Apple computers that use Intel CPU can run the Windows operating system. Note that you will need a legally licened copy of Windows operating system to do this. There are two main ways to accomplish this:

• You can set up your Mac to “Dual Boot” both MacOS X and Windows. One product that can enable this is Apple BootCamp software.
• You can run Windows OS “side by side” with Mac OS X using a “virtual” computer such as VirtualBox

Table of Contents

• 1 Introduction to the MS Access Tutorial
  • 1.1 Intended Audience
  • 1.2 Pre-Requisite Knowledge
  • 1.3 Running Microsoft Access on a Apple Mac
• 2 Brief overview of Relational Databases and Database Applications
• 3 A Business Example
• 4 Starting Microsoft Access
  • 4.1 Review of Starting Microsoft Access
• 5 Creating and Viewing Tables
  • 5.1 Creating a Table Using the Design View
  • 5.2 Exercise: Creating a Table
  • 5.3 Viewing and Adding Data to a Table
  • 5.4 Exercise: Adding Data to a Table
  • 5.5 Creating Relationships Between tables
  • 5.6 Review of Creating and Viewing Tables
• 6 Creating and Running Queries
  • 6.1 Single Table Queries
  • 6.2 Exercise: Single Table Queries
  • 6.3 Multiple Table Queries
  • 6.4 Exercise: Multiple Table Queries
  • 6.5 Review of Creating and Running Queries
• 7 Creating and Running Data Entry Forms
  • 7.1 Creating a Single Table Form using the Wizard
  • 7.2 Exercise: Creating a Single Table Form
  • 7.3 Review of Creating and Running a Data Entry Form
• 8 Creating and Running Reports
  • 8.1 Creating a Single Table Report using the wizard
  • 8.2 Exercise: Creating a Single Table Report
  • 8.3 Review of Creating and Running a Report
• 9 Creating and Running a Master/Detail Form
• 10 Creating and Running a Switchboard
• 11 Creating and Running a Navigation Form
  • 11.1 Exercise: Modifying a Navigation Form
  • 11.2 Setting the Navigation Form as the Default
• 12 Summary