The Access Window and Database Objects
Navigate the Access interface and learn what each of the four object types is for.
By the end of this lesson you can
- Identify the Navigation Pane, Ribbon, and object tabs
- Describe what tables, queries, forms, and reports each do
- Switch between Datasheet view and Design view
- Explain why data is entered through forms rather than directly into tables
Lesson Notes
Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.
Four object types, four jobs
You open the practice database for the first time at Lakeside Medical Associates.
The Navigation Pane lists about twenty items with different icons. Some open as grids, some as forms, some produce printable pages. Until you know what each type is for, the database is an undifferentiated list of things you are afraid to click.
Your task: Learn the four object types so the Navigation Pane becomes a map.
Access databases are built from four object types, and each has one job. Understanding the division is most of what makes Access comprehensible.
| Object | Job | Think of it as |
|---|---|---|
| Table | Stores the data | The filing cabinet — the only place data actually lives |
| Query | Asks a question of the data | A saved question, re-answered against current data each time it runs |
| Form | Provides an interface for entering and viewing records | The data entry screen staff actually use |
| Report | Formats data for printing or distribution | The printed output |
The critical point is that only tables store data. Queries, forms, and reports all display data that lives in tables. Delete a query and you lose the question, not the data. Delete a table and the data is genuinely gone.
| View | Shows | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| Datasheet view | The data in a grid, like a spreadsheet | Read and enter records |
| Design view | The structure — fields, data types, properties | Change what the object is, not what it contains |
Data entry should happen through forms rather than directly into tables. A form can show one record at a time, present fields in a sensible order with clear labels, validate entries, and hide fields the user should not touch. Typing directly into a table exposes every field of every record at once, which is how the wrong row gets edited.
You delete a query from an Access database. What happens to the data it displayed?
Challenge
Apply what you've learned in this lesson.
Explore a database before building one. Access ships with sample templates under File > New.
- Open Access and create a database from any built-in template. In the Navigation Pane, list every object and label each as a table, query, form, or report.
- Open one table in Datasheet view and then in Design view. Write two sentences describing what each view lets you change.
- Open a form and a report built on the same table. Describe what each is optimized for and why the practice would use both.
- Without changing anything, explain in writing what would happen if you deleted the form, and what would happen if you deleted the table.
Finished this lesson?
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