WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:16.180 We've already looked at how tables store information in a database, but you're not always going 00:00:16.180 --> 00:00:18.930 to be entering data directly into a table. 00:00:18.930 --> 00:00:22.090 Much of the time, you're going to be using forms instead. 00:00:22.090 --> 00:00:27.320 A form gives you a more user-friendly interface for entering data, and they make sure that 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:29.760 the data goes exactly where it needs to. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:34.260 Sometimes, the data just goes to one table, but other times it could be several different 00:00:34.260 --> 00:00:38.590 tables—and a form can keep track of that so you don't have to. 00:00:38.590 --> 00:00:43.210 Right now, we're looking at the Customers form that was created for our database. 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:48.760 And this gives us an easy way of adding or changing information in the Customers table. 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:53.379 The difference is, here we can just focus on one record at a time, and there are also 00:00:53.379 --> 00:01:00.379 some specialized tools like drop-down boxes and buttons for saving, deleting, and printing. 00:01:00.379 --> 00:01:05.480 We can use a drop-down box to find an existing customer… and we could also type a last 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:08.490 name to jump to a record. 00:01:08.490 --> 00:01:13.280 And when we click on the name… their information will appear in these fields, where we can 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:14.610 then edit it. 00:01:14.610 --> 00:01:21.390 I'm just going to change this customer's address. 00:01:21.390 --> 00:01:26.320 Now some fields may have a validation rule that limits the type of data that can be entered. 00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:30.979 For example, here, the state needs to be a 2-letter postal code, and if I try to type 00:01:30.979 --> 00:01:36.450 anything else, a window will pop up with instructions on how to fill it out correctly. 00:01:36.450 --> 00:01:43.200 And I'll change this back to NC. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:47.390 And when you're done, you can click Save. 00:01:47.390 --> 00:01:52.520 There's also a button to create a new record… which automatically clears all of the fields 00:01:52.520 --> 00:01:55.840 so we can type in a new customer's information. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:59.469 So if you wanted to, you could do most of these things by editing the table directly, 00:01:59.469 --> 00:02:04.250 but the form is going to be a little easier and faster to use. 00:02:04.250 --> 00:02:08.060 Now let's look at a slightly more complex form, and this is going to let us do things 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:11.570 that we really couldn't do by just editing the tables. 00:02:11.570 --> 00:02:16.510 I'm going to open the Orders form… and this is what the employees will fill out when the 00:02:16.510 --> 00:02:18.710 customer places an order. 00:02:18.710 --> 00:02:23.300 Let's just walk through the process of creating a new order. 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:27.410 When you click New Order… it clears all of the fields. 00:02:27.410 --> 00:02:30.690 And then you can choose the name of the customer that's placing the order. 00:02:30.690 --> 00:02:35.070 The information in this list comes from the Customers table, so every customer will need 00:02:35.070 --> 00:02:39.840 to already be in the database before they can place an order. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:43.720 And it automatically generates a new order number. 00:02:43.720 --> 00:02:47.750 When you click on the Pickup Date field, a calendar button appears… which makes it 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:52.550 easy to quickly choose the date that you want. 00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:56.300 And there are also a couple of checkboxes for simple yes or no questions. 00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:00.720 Later, when you start creating forms, you'll be able to add these types of special tools 00:03:00.720 --> 00:03:03.440 to make your forms easier to use. 00:03:03.440 --> 00:03:10.470 And this form has a field where you can add notes if you want. 00:03:10.470 --> 00:03:13.210 Now here's where this form is a little bit different. 00:03:13.210 --> 00:03:17.420 When you click Add Item, it opens what's called a sub-form. 00:03:17.420 --> 00:03:24.840 And here you can choose the item that was ordered… type in the quantity… and then 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:28.180 save and close. 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:32.420 If the form doesn't update automatically, you can just go to the drop-down arrow below 00:03:32.420 --> 00:03:38.190 the Refresh command… and select Refresh. 00:03:38.190 --> 00:03:41.370 Then you can add another item. 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:47.310 And you can do this as many times as you need to, until the order is complete. 00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:53.830 Okay, now let's take a look at why forms are so important. 00:03:53.830 --> 00:03:59.680 When we place an order with this form, one of the tables that is modified is Order Items. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:03.120 Now it would be very difficult to edit this table directly. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:07.570 For instance, I don't know what Menu Item 156 is, and I don't remember which customer 00:04:07.570 --> 00:04:12.690 placed order number 7—but Access can piece together the order by looking up the correct 00:04:12.690 --> 00:04:15.240 records in different tables. 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:19.930 So tables are sometimes organized in a way that's easy for Access to read, but difficult 00:04:19.930 --> 00:04:24.780 for a person to read, and that's why we often have to use forms instead of editing tables 00:04:24.780 --> 00:04:28.580 directly. 00:04:28.580 --> 00:04:32.949 These were just a couple of examples of forms, and the exact content and layout of a form 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:36.090 will vary depending on how the form is meant to be used. 00:04:36.090 --> 00:04:39.960 But the basic process of using a form will generally be very similar, and it will be 00:04:39.960 --> 00:04:45.939 a combination of typing information into fields, and using drop-down menus, buttons, checkboxes, 00:04:45.939 --> 00:04:46.660 and other tools.