WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:07.069 --> 00:00:13.360 Access 2007 is a program that allows you to create and manage databases. 00:00:13.360 --> 00:00:14.940 But what is a database? 00:00:14.940 --> 00:00:19.960 A database is a place where you can store information related to a specific topic. 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:26.750 It is an organized collection of info, like telephone book or mailing list. 00:00:26.750 --> 00:00:30.510 But in Access you can do more than store data. 00:00:30.510 --> 00:00:36.670 You can sort, extract, and summarize information related to the data. 00:00:36.670 --> 00:00:43.180 For example, if you own or work for a business you might have a customer address list that 00:00:43.180 --> 00:00:48.620 you use to keep a list of the customers' addresses, orders, and so forth. 00:00:48.620 --> 00:00:52.850 Or maybe you need to keep track of how much each salesperson in the company sells each 00:00:52.850 --> 00:00:53.850 quarter. 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:59.399 These are examples of types of data you might need to keep track of. 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:05.059 The most common question people have is, why can't I just use Excel to track that information? 00:01:05.059 --> 00:01:08.220 Well, in many cases you can. 00:01:08.220 --> 00:01:12.710 On the surface, both programs may appear similar. 00:01:12.710 --> 00:01:18.470 If you've worked with Excel you know you can enter data in a grid and store it, right? 00:01:18.470 --> 00:01:21.540 You can do the same thing with Access. 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:25.030 But they are very different programs. 00:01:25.030 --> 00:01:28.200 So, how do you choose? 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:33.280 First, you need to think about how much data you have to store and manage. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.890 Then determine what you want to do with the data. 00:01:36.890 --> 00:01:41.350 This is key in choosing whether to use Excel or Access. 00:01:41.350 --> 00:01:46.650 Let's use a typical customer address list that a company might maintain of their customers 00:01:46.650 --> 00:01:49.440 as an example. 00:01:49.440 --> 00:01:54.869 In Excel you can easily organize your data so that you mail promotional information to 00:01:54.869 --> 00:01:59.820 the entire list, or sort and find specific customers. 00:01:59.820 --> 00:02:05.750 For example, we can sort and locate all the customers that live in a particular state 00:02:05.750 --> 00:02:08.300 or city. 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:14.090 But what if I want to see how many orders a customer placed in a year? 00:02:14.090 --> 00:02:17.290 Or what products he or she ordered? 00:02:17.290 --> 00:02:22.699 If you add a customer's information each time he or she orders, you'll end up with redundant 00:02:22.699 --> 00:02:26.550 data - the same customer entered several times. 00:02:26.550 --> 00:02:30.640 In Excel, this is not easy to keep track of. 00:02:30.640 --> 00:02:35.670 Well, in Access it is. 00:02:35.670 --> 00:02:43.019 I'm going to need to teach you a little Access lingo for you to understand what Access does. 00:02:43.019 --> 00:02:47.359 It's easy to keep track of your orders in Access because the information is arranged 00:02:47.359 --> 00:02:49.040 differently. 00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:54.370 Each time someone places an order with my company they give me their name, street address, 00:02:54.370 --> 00:02:56.160 and phone number. 00:02:56.160 --> 00:03:01.590 Instead of entering this information each time they call to place an order, I can enter 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:05.470 it once and place this information in an Access table. 00:03:05.470 --> 00:03:10.639 A table is a list of related information in columns and rows. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:16.850 In this case, it is their basic customer information. 00:03:16.850 --> 00:03:20.130 Each row is called a record. 00:03:20.130 --> 00:03:26.190 So, Bob Hope's info here is a record in the table. 00:03:26.190 --> 00:03:28.609 Each column is called a field. 00:03:28.609 --> 00:03:35.510 So, First Name is a field, Last Name is a field, Street Address is a field, and so forth. 00:03:35.510 --> 00:03:39.699 This looks a lot like the Excel spreadsheet we looked at earlier doesn't it? 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:42.549 Well, this is where Access and Excel differ. 00:03:42.549 --> 00:03:48.460 In Excel I stored all my customer information and order information in the same spreadsheet, 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:51.640 so I could sort and filter data. 00:03:51.640 --> 00:03:56.859 But in Access, I would place all my customer information in a table, information about 00:03:56.859 --> 00:04:03.370 the books I sell in another table, and information about specific orders in another table. 00:04:03.370 --> 00:04:08.720 Access allows me to search, I can easily find out how much Pete Moss has ordered over the 00:04:08.720 --> 00:04:12.450 year, or the most popular book in a month. 00:04:12.450 --> 00:04:20.480 You can do this because Access allows you to create multiple tables and link them. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:25.670 Here we have our Customer Info table that has fields for First Name, Last Name, Street 00:04:25.670 --> 00:04:28.780 Address, and all the fields you saw in that table. 00:04:28.780 --> 00:04:35.410 We can also create another table that contains information about the books we sell. 00:04:35.410 --> 00:04:40.390 If I look at the information in these tables separately, they don't tell me much. 00:04:40.390 --> 00:04:46.221 Sure, I can see all my customer's contact information and create a mailing list, or 00:04:46.221 --> 00:04:49.320 view a list of all the books in the store. 00:04:49.320 --> 00:04:54.870 But the real power in Access is its ability to link data. 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:59.440 With Access, you can design databases that allow you to do more with the information 00:04:59.440 --> 00:05:06.220 you have because it creates links or relationships between the different types of data you have. 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:12.900 For example, I want to keep track of the items each customer ordered. 00:05:12.900 --> 00:05:18.511 Each time a customer places an order I can create a record of that order that links to 00:05:18.511 --> 00:05:25.840 the customer's information and the books they ordered at that time. 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:32.090 Access links the tables using specific identifiers called primary keys that we will talk about 00:05:32.090 --> 00:05:33.130 later. 00:05:33.130 --> 00:05:38.680 By adding this table and forming a relationship with other tables, I can now do more with 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:40.100 the data. 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:45.950 I can track a customer's ordering preferences, or see which book was most popular on a specific 00:05:45.950 --> 00:05:47.280 day. 00:05:47.280 --> 00:05:52.660 There is a lot to learn about how databases work, but the first step is really to decide 00:05:52.660 --> 00:05:57.380 whether you need an Access database or if Excel meets your needs. 00:05:57.380 --> 00:06:01.540 Think about the information you work with and whether you might be able to use a database 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:02.560 to manage it.