Definitions

These words are used often in Access so you will want to become familiar with them before using the program and this tutorial.

Relational Database: in relational databases such as Access, data is stored in tables made up of one or more fields. (Access calls a column a field). The data stored in each column must be of a single data type such as Character, Number or Date. A collection of values from each column of a table is called a record or a row in the table.

Different tables can have the same column in common. This feature is used to explicitly specify a relationship between two tables. Values appearing in column A in one table are shared with another table.

Table: tables are the main units of data storage in a database. A table is a collection of data about a specific topic; it is made up of one of more fields.

Field: a field is a column in a table and defines a data type for a set of values in a table. For example, a mailing list table might include fields for first name, last name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number.

Record: a record is a row in a table and is a set of values defined by fields. In a mailing list table, each record would contain the data for one person as specified by the intersecting fields.

Data type: data types are the properties of each field. A field only has one data type, such as Character, Number or Date.

Primary Key: a primary key is a value that can be used to identify a unique record in a table.

Design View: it provides the tools for creating fields in a table.

Datasheet View: it allows you to update, edit, and delete information from a table.

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