Introduction to the Records of a Table

Data Entry Fundamentals

Introduction

After creating a table, you (actually the user) can start(s) populating it with information. Data entry consists of entering data into the database. To do this, you can use a table or some of the other objects we will study. Data is entered in a table by typing it into cells. Some fields can be configured to accept some types of data and reject others. Some other fields would allow anything. This depends on how the database fields were setup.

A table's cell holds one particular unit of data. All cells on the same (vertical) column belong to the same category of information. As reviewed in the previous lesson, a horizontal range of cells is called a record; and all cells on this range belong to the same record:

To perform data entry on a table, you can click a cell under a column header and (or select) a value. Although a table appears with many rows of cells, when a table is empty with no record, only the cells just under the column header are accessible. Those cells appear with a light-blue color. If you click one of those cells, its background becomes white and its borders are orange, indicating that it is ready:

Another way to indicate an empty record, the field of the most left column is marked with (New) and its row of records uses the same light-blue color. After typing data into a cell, you can press Enter or Tab to move the caret to the next cell. In many circumstances you will also be able to move to the next cell by pressing the right arrow key. Sometimes you can move to the next record even if the current record is not completed. In this case, you could press the down arrow key.

When a record has been completed, the background color of its cells changes. The next record under it has the first cell marked as (New) and its empty cells are in light-blue. The other cells remain white:

The white cells cannot receive data: if you click them (with the left mouse button), nothing happens. You can only right-click them to get a context-sensitive menu.

There are three kinds of fields or cells the user will face: a field in which the user can type data, a field that displays a list as a combo box the user has to select from, and a field that does not receive input from the user. If you as the user have to select from a list, click the field that holds the list and select from the combo box. There are two kinds of combo boxes, those that accept new entries from the user and those that allow only a selection from a preset list. The classic field allows the user to just type the appropriate data in a field. After setting the data in a particular field, you can click another cell and type the desired data. The easiest way is to press the right arrow key to move to the next field or the left arrow to move to the previous field; pressing Enter would work as well. After typing data, if you press Enter at the end of a record, the caret would move to the beginning of the next record. At anytime, you can press the up arrow key to move to the same category field of the previous record. If you press the down arrow key, the same category of the next record would receive focus.

1. Start Microsoft Access and, from the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Bethesda Car Rental1 database
2. To create a new table, on the Ribbon, click Create and, in the Tables section, click Table
3. On the new table, double-click ID and type CompanyAssetID
4. Double-click Add New Field
5. Type Category and press Enter
6. For the next column name, type Make and press Enter
7. For the next column, type Model and press Enter
8. For the next column, type Date Acquired and press Tab
9. For the next column, type Purchase Price and press Enter
10. To save the table, right-click Table1 and click Save
11. Set the Name to Company Assets and click OK
12. Click the first empty field under Category and type Printer 
13. Press Enter and type HP for the Make
14. Press Tab and type LaserJet 4200dtn as the model
15. Click the empty box under Acquired Date and type 10/08/2007
16. Complete the table as follows:
     

    Category	Make	Model	Date Acquired	Purchase Price
    Printer	HP	LaserJet 4200dtn	10/08/2007	1950.95
    Desktop Computer	IBM	NetVista M42	10/08/2007	1035.00
    Laptop	Gateway	200XL	12/05/2007	2095.95
    Printer	Xerox	Phaser 8200	10/22/2007	1250.55
    Digital Camera	Olympus	C-50	11/06/2007	450.75
    Desktop Computer	IBM	ThinkCentre S50	10/08/2007	1055.55

17. Close the Company Assets table

Record maintenance consists of copying, pasting, or deleting records, etc. Some of the operations you will perform on one or more records on a table require that the record(s) be selected first. To select a row or record in Datasheet View, click the desired row header. To select more than one record, click and hold your mouse on one of them, then drag to cover the other desired row or rows. When all desired rows are highlighted, release the mouse. Another technique used to select more than one row consists of clicking one row that will be at one end, pressing and holding Shift, and then clicking the row that will be at the other end. To select all records of a table, you can press Ctrl + A or you can click the button at the intersection of the column headers and the row headers.

1. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Cruise1 database
2. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Cabins: Table to open it
3. To select one record, position the mouse on the box to the left of the third record until the mouse turns into a right pointing arrow
    
   
4. Then click.
   Notice that all cells of the second records are highlighted
    
   
5. Click the box to the left of the 7th record. Then click once
6. Press and hold Shift
7. To select a range of records, click the box to the left of the 3rd record, and release Shift
    
   
8. Notice that 5 records have been selected
9. To select all records, position the mouse on the button at the intersection of the column headers and the row headers
    
   
10. Click
     
    
11. Notice that all records have been selected.
    Click any cell in the table

If a record is not needed anymore or has become irrelevant in a table, you can delete it. To do this: You can click a row header and press Delete You can right-click a row header and click Delete Record In both cases, a message box would come up to warn you. If you find out you were making a mistake, you can click No. If you still want to delete the record, click Yes. You can use this same approach to delete more than one record.

1. The Cabins table should still be opened.
   To delete a record, right-click the box to the left of the fourth record
    
   
2. Click Delete Record
3. A warning message box will appear. Read it and click Yes
4. To delete more than one record, click and hold the mouse on the box to the left of record number 5, then drag up to include record number 2 in the selection
    
   
5. On your keyboard, press Delete
6. Read the warning message box and press Enter
    
   
7. Close the table

If you have a list of records from one table and you want to use those records in another table, you can copy the records from one table and paste them in another table. You have various options.

You can copy the values of a column from one table and paste the values in another column. Both columns should be of the same type. That is, you should not attempt to paste the names of people in a column of a Boolean type (a Yes/No column that display check boxes). You can also copy and paste many columns. When selecting the columns, they should be selected in a range. After selecting and copying, you can paste the values in a range of columns of another table. The columns from the originating table and the range of columns from the target table must be of the same type. That is, the first column in each range must be of the same type; the second column of both ranges must be of the same type, and so on.

You can also copy a whole record or a range of columns. First select the range of records. Then, either right-click the selection and click Copy, or press Ctrl + C. You can then paste the records in another table.

1. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Cruise2 database
2. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Cabins: Table
3. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Cabins Update: Table
4. In the Cabins Update table, right-click the Size column header and click Copy
    
5. Click the Cabins tab
6. Right-click the Size column header and click Paste
    
   
7. When you receive a message box whether you want to add the 10 records, click Yes
8. Click the Cabins Update tab
9. Select the last two columns: Available and Description
10. Right-click the selection and click Copy
     
    
11. Click the Cabins tab
12. Select the last two columns: Available and Description
13. Right-click the selected columns and click Paste
     
    
14. Close the Cabins Update table
15. In the Navigation Pane, double-click New Cabins: Table
16. Click the box on the left side of record number 4
17. Press and hold Shift
18. Click the box on the left side of record number 1
19. Press Ctrl + C
20. Click the Cabins tab
21. Click the box on the left side of (New)
22. Press Ctrl + V
23. When asked whether you want to add the four new records, press Enter
24. Close all tables

You will usually not provide tables to the users for data entry. Instead, you will use objects called forms. A form appears in a view friendlier than that of a table. Here is an example of a form presented to a user:

For you as the database developer, a form only serves as a relay between the source of data, which can be a table, and the user who looks at it. Of course, in order to have a form in your application, you must first create it.

When it comes to data of a database, there are two broad types of form: data-unrelated and data-related.

Although most of the forms you will use in a database are meant to display data from a table, you can create an independent form whose functionality and behavior do not depend on the data from a database. Such a form can be used to display other types of information to the user. The form can be referred to as unrelated.

To create a blank form, on the ribbon, click Create and, in the forms section, click Blank Form. You would be presented with an empty rectangular object.

The other category of form involves those used to display data to the user. Such forms are primarily made for data entry. Before creating such a form, you must decide where data would come from. The source object can be a table or other means we will study in future lessons. If the data of a form will be based on a table, you can specify it, before or while creating the form.

To easily create a form that would display data, in the Navigation Pane, select the table. In the ribbon, click Create. In the Forms section, click Form.

1. The Cruise2 database should still be opened.
   In the Navigation Pane, click New Cabins: Table to select the table
2. On the ribbon, click Create
3. In the Forms section, click Form

Like a table, you can create a temporary form to test something and get rid of the form after use (you do this by not saving the form). As done for a table, if you intend to preserve a form, you must save it. To save a form:

• You can right-click its tab and click Save
• You can attempt closing the form. You would be prompted to save the form

If the form was not saved previously, you would be prompted to give it a name. Like every object of a database, a form must have a name. Microsoft Access is very flexible when it comes to names of objects. For example, a form can be named D#%bb or 5&#GM* or anything like that. As you can imagine, such names are not realistic. For this reason, you should give easily recognizable names to your form so you would be able to predict what the form is used for. If a form is based on a table, it may be a good idea to give the same name as the table. If a form is independent, that is, if it doesn't display data from a table, you can give it a name that reflects its role in the database.

1. On the form tab, right-click Cabins and click Save
2. Accept the suggested name for the form as New Cabins and click OK
3. Close the form

For a typical database, a form is used to view, enter, manipulate, and search data. Because users spend a great deal of their time looking at forms, you should create and make them as attractive and friendly as possible. Form design can take a long time in database development but Microsoft Access provides quick means to get around. The Form Wizard provides an easy and fast means of creating a form.

To launch the Form Wizard, on the Ribbon, click Create. In the Forms section, click More Forms, and click Form Wizard. This would start the wizard. The first page of the Form Wizard allows you to choose the originating table that will supply the necessary fields in the form. Once you have selected the object, its corresponding fields display in the Available Fields list box, you can select all fields or decide which ones you want to include in the form. The 2nd page of the wizard allows you to select the desired layout of the form. The 3rd page of the Form Wizard presents the forms designs you can choose from. The 4th page allows you to name the form.

1. The Cruise2 database should still be opened.
   On the ribbon, click Create
2. In the Forms section of the ribbon, click More Forms and click Form Wizard
    

   You may receive a security warning: If you do, read the message and click Open. If this happens many times and you find it annoying, under the ribbon, click the Options button. In the Options dialog box, click Enable This Content and click OK

3. In the first page of the wizard, in the Tables/Queries combo box, select Table: Cabins
4. In the first page of the wizard, click the Select All Fields button 
    
   
5. Click Next
    
   
6. Accept or choose the Columnar layout, then click Next
    
   
7. Click the Equity style and click Next
    
   
8. Accept the name of the form as Cabins and click Finish
   An automatic form is created for you
    
   
9. To close the form as a Windows object, click its Close button

Data entry of a database is mainly performed on forms as they provide a friendlier display of information than tables. Data entry on a form is performed using various types of Windows controls. On text boxes, the user enters data by typing it. On a combo box, depending on how the object was configured by the database developer, the user may have to only select an item from the list. In some other cases, the user may be allowed to enter new data.

After entering or changing data on a control, to move from one field to the next, the surest way is to press Tab. On most occasions, the user can also press Enter. The Enter key may not move the focus from a text box that allows multiple lines of text. If the user is simply reviewing data without performing data entry, the keyboard’s arrow keys can also be used to move among fields.

1. To create a new database, click the Office Button and click New
2. Set the Name to BCR1 and and click Create
3. Double-click ID and type CustomerID
4. Double-click Add New Field, type Full Name and press Enter
5. Create the following additional columns:
    

   CustomerID

   Full Name

   Driver's License #

   Address

   City

   State

   ZIP Code

6. To save the table, right-click Table1 and click Close
7. When asked whether you want to save it, click Yes
8. Set the Name to Customers and press Enter
9. To create a new form, on the ribbon, click Create
10. In the Forms section, click More Forms and click Form Wizard.
    If you receive a Microsoft Office Access Security Notice, read it and click Open
11. In the Tables/Query combo box of the first page of the Form Wizard, select Table: Customers
12. Click the Select All button and click Next
13. Accept the Columnar Layout and click Next
14. In the style page, select Paper and click Next
15. Accept the suggested name of the form as Customers and click Finish
16. Click the text box on the right side of Full Name and type Ernestine Aarons
17. Press Tab and type A-682-638-146
18. Press Enter and type 6044 Lolita Drive
19. Moved to the next record
20. Click the text box on the right side of Full Name and type Raymond Simms
21. Click the Next Record button to get to the next record
22. Click the text box on the right side of Driver's License # and type 837-62-5860
23. Click the Previous Record button twice to return to the first record
24. Complete the form with the following records:
     

    Full Name	Driver's License #	Address	City	State	ZIP Code
    Ernestine Aarons	A-682-638-146	6044 Lolita Drive	Silver Spring	MD	20904
    Raymond Simms	629-49-2746	815 Arundela Rd NE	Washington	DC	20008
    Johnny Edmondson	837-62-5860	10696 Great Alberta Crt	Alexandria	VA	21233
    Albert Faughty	F-374-590-749-205	702 Mechanics Drv	College Park	MD	20707

25. To close the form, click its close button

Editing a value consists of changing it. This can be done on the table or the form (or on a query as we will learn in Lesson 20). To do this, first locate the value in the field. If you are working on a table, you can click the value and use the keys (left, right, Home, End, Backspace, or the Space Bar) to edit the value. If you are working on a form, you can click the label next to a field. This would completely select the corresponding value in the control. You can then press F2 to position the caret in the control and edit its value. Alternatively, you can click the control's field and edit the value.

1. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Ceil Inn5 database
2. In the Navigation Pane, double-click Customers: Table to open it
3. In record number 2, click the empty box under Emergency Name
4. Type Albert Lomey and press Enter
5. Close the table
6. In the Navigation Pane, under Customers: Table, double-click Customer to open the form
7. Click the Next Record button once to navigate to the second record
8. Click the Emergency Name label and type 301-412-5055
9. Close the form

Sometimes there will be some regular problems in your database. For example during data entry, some information could be missing, mistyped, or entered in the wrong field. These problems would be easy to locate on a small table or form. If the database grows, values could become difficult to locate. Fortunately, Microsoft Access provides many tools you can use to find values and take actions. To assist you with finding a value in a table or a form, the Home tab of the Ribbon is equipped with a section named Find:

To start looking for a value, you can click the Find button or you can press Ctrl + F. This would open the Find and Replace dialog box with the Find tab selected:

The Find and Replace dialog box is modeless, meaning you can access the table or form in the background while the dialog box is present.

To specify the value to look for, type it in the Find What combo box. If you had previously used the dialog box, the Find What combo box keeps track of the previous searches and stores them in the control. This would allow you to perform a search on a value previously used.

The Look In combo box allows you to select the column where the value should be located. By default, when the Find and Replace dialog box displays, it selects the column or field that had focus and puts its name in the Look In combo box. You can look into that column but, if you want to search the whole table, select its name in the Look In combo box.

The Match combo box allows you to specify how close the match should be. The options are Any Part of Field, Whole Field (the default), and Start of Field.

The Search combo box allows you to specify the direction to follow. The options are Up, Down, and All (the default).

After specifying the options, you can click Find Next. After using the Find and Replace dialog box, to dismiss it, you can click Cancel or press Esc.

1. The Ceil Inn5 database should still be opened.
   In the Navigation Pane, double-click Customers: Table to open it
2. In the Find section of the Ribbon, click the Find button
3. In the Find What combo box, type Carney
4. In the Look In combo box, select Customers
5. In the Match combo box, select Any Part of Field
    
   
6. Click Find Next
7. Click Find Next again. Notice that a second result is found
8. In the second result, while the Find and Replace dialog box is still opened, on the table, click the found Carney and press Tab three times to get to its Emergency Phone
9. Press F2 to position the caret in the cell and edit it to display 990-326-5144
10. In the Find and Replace dialog box, replace Carney with Beckins
11. Click Find Next.
    Notice that the Phone # of that record is incomplete
12. Click the right side of the incomplete telephone number and type 1440 to make it 410-944-1440
13. Click the Find and Replace dialog box

We have seen that you can use the Find and Replace dialog box to simply locate a value. Instead of just finding it, you may want to replace the found value with an alternate. To assist you with this, you can use the Replace section of the dialog box. To get it, in the Find section of the Ribbon, you can click the Replace button or you can press Ctrl + H. This would open the Find and Replace dialog box with the Replace tab selected:

You can also open the Find and Replace dialog box as we did for finding, then click the Replace tab.

The Replace section of the dialog box provides the same options at the Find counterpart with the addition of the Replace With combo box, the Replace and the Replace All buttons. After specifying what to look for in the Find What combo box, the Replace With combo box allows you to specify the value to replace the Find What with.

1. The Ceil Inn5 database should still be opened.
   In the Navigation Pane, double-click Customers: Table to open it
2. In the Find section of the Ribbon, click the Replace button
3. In the Find What combo box, type ratner
4. In the Replace With combo box, type Rattner
5. In the Look In combo box, select Customers
6. In the Match combo box, select Any Part of Field
    
   
7. Click Find Next
8. Once the value is found, click Replace
9. Close the Find and Replace dialog box and close the table
10. In the Navigation Pane, under Customers: Table, double-click the Customers form
11. Press Ctrl + H to display the Replace dialog box
12. In the Find What combo box, replace the string with Annie and press Tab
13. In the Replace With combo box, type Annette
14. Make sure the Look In combo box displays Customers and make sure the Match combo box is set to Any Part of Field.
    Click Find Next
15. Once a match is found, click Replace All
16. Click the right side of the incomplete telephone number and type 1440 to make it 410-944-1440
17. Close the Find and Replace dialog box and close the form

The primary function of the table is to provide a means of storing and arranging information of a database. Nevertheless, you can print data of a table, especially if for example you are in a hurry and do not have access to another object. You can print data on a table whether the table is opened or not.

To print a closed table, locate it in the Navigation Pane and click it to select it, then click the Office Button, position the mouse on Print and select one of the three options. In the same way, if the table is opened in Datasheet View, click its tab to give it focus, then click the Office Button -> Print and select to print or to preview.

The Print menu of the Office Button presents three options:

1. If you click Print, the Print dialog box would be presented to you. It allows you to specify the printer you want to use. Most of the time, the Name combo box will present the default printer; otherwise, you can select one:
    
   
    
   After specifying the printer, if you are ready to print, you can click OK. To customize the printing job, you can click Properties. A dialog box, whose contents depend on the selected printer, would come up. Among the various options you would have is that of specifying the orientation of the paper (Portrait or Landscape). Again, remember that different printers provide different features. Here is an example of the Properties of a printer that would allow you to print on both sides of the paper:
    
   
    
   After setting the properties of the printer, you can click OK. Once you are ready to print, you can click OK on the Print dialog box to send the job to the printer
2. If you select Quick Print from the Print menu of the Office Button, the print job would be sent directly to the printer. Microsoft Access would use the default printer that is set in Control Panel and would use the previous settings that were set on that default printer
3. If you select Print Preview, Microsoft Access would draw a print job on the screen for you. This allows you to see what the final job would look like on the paper. The characters on the screen may appear too small for you. To zoom in, you can click the middle of the window. To zoom out, you can click it again. Once you are ready to print, on the ribbon and in the Print section, you can click Print. This would send the print job to the printer

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Customers: Table to select the table
2. To print data from the table, click the Office button, position the mouse on Print and click Quick Print
3. From the Navigation Pane, double-click the Company Assets table to open it
4. Click the Office Button, position the mouse on Print and click Print
5. Select the desired printer Name combo box and click Properties
6. Based on your printer, select the Landscape radio button (usually in the Orientation section of a Paper Layout tab) and click OK
7. On the Print dialog box, click OK
8. Close the table

Although not part of their primary role, forms provide a quick means of printing data, especially in the absence of desired reports. There are various issues related to printing forms, including printing all records or just some of them.

You can print a form without opening it. Once you know the form you would like to print, locate its name in the Navigation Pane and use the same steps reviewed for a table.

When a form is opened, you have the option of printing all of its records or the selected one. In the Form View, to print just one record, navigate to the record you would like to print, click the Form Selection bar to select the record and proceed to print.

1. From the Navigation Pane, under Customers: Table, double-click the Customers form to open it
2. Click the Office Button, position the mouse on Print and click Quick Print
3. To navigate to the 3rd customer, click the Next Record button twice
4. Click the Office Button -> Print -> Print
5. On the Print dialog box, click the Selected Record(s) radio button
6. Click OK
7. Verify that only the displaying customer's record was printed
8. Close the Customers form
9. Open the Cruise2 database you were working on earlier
10. In the Navigation Pane, under the Cabins: Table, double-click Cabins
11. We will print records from 3 to 7.
    Click the Next Record button twice navigate to record number 3
12. Click the Record Selector bar
     
    
13. Press and hold Shift. Click the Next Record button four times to display the seventh record where the Cabin ID field would display 7 (even though the record # still displays 3)
14. Release Shift
15. On the ribbon, click the Office Button -> Print -> Print
16. On the Print dialog box, click the Selected Record(s) radio button and click OK
17. Verify that records from 3 to 7 have been printed
18. Close the Cabins form

A report provides an object used to print a database's records. Although you can print tables or forms, reports are customized to be printer friendly. They can perform and display calculations. Once again, Microsoft Access provides wizards to quickly create reports.

Microsoft Access can help you quickly create a report using one of the pre-designed layouts. This is done using the Report Wizard. The Report Wizard is available from the Reports section of the Create category of the ribbon.

1. On the ribbon, click Create
2. In the Reports section, click Report Wizard.
   If you receive a Microsoft Office Access Security Notice, read it and click Open
3. On the first page of the wizard, click the arrow of the Tables/Queries combo box and select Table: Cabins
4. Click the Select All Fields button 
5. Click Next
6. Accept anything in the second page and click Next
7. Accept anything in the third page and click Next
8. In the Layout section, click the Columnar radio button:
    
   
9. Click Next
10. Select the Office style and click Next
11. Accept the suggested Title of the report as Cabins and press Enter
     
    

The report is the favorite object used to print data. As done with the other objects, you can print a report whether it is opened or not. Before printing a report, you must first select or open it. If you want to print a report without opening it, in the Navigation Pane, locate the desired report and click it to select it. Then, proceed from the Office Button as we reviewed for the table and the form. In the same way, you can first open the report from the Navigation Pane and use the Print menu from the Office Button the same way we described for the other objects.

1. The Cabins report should still be opened.
   Click the Office Button, position the mouse on Print and click Print Preview
2. To start the printing process, in the Print section of the Print Preview, click Print
3. On the Print dialog box, select the printer and make sure the All radio button is selected
4. Click Properties, click the Portrait radio button (in the Orientation section) and click OK
5. To send the print job to the printer, on the Print dialog box, click OK
6. Close the Employees report

1. Open the Yugo National Bank1
2. Open the AccountTypes table fill it up as follows:
    

   Account Type ID	Account Type	Description
   1	Checking
   2	Saving
   3	CD

3. Print the table and close it

1. Create a blank database and name it Watts A Loan1
2. Create a table with the following fields: TransactionID (you will rename the ID column), TransactionNumber, TransactionDate, TransactionAmount, and Notes. Save the table as Transactions

1. Open the World Statistics1 database
2. Use the Table button in the Tables section of the Ribbon to create a new table with the following fields: CountryID, CommonName, InternetCode, LongName, and GovernmentType
3. Save the table as Countries and switch it to Design View