Microsoft Access 2021/365 for Beginners

Course Overview

Access 2021 is so much more than a way to create customizable desktop databases. It is a user-friendly tool that allows us to create business applications and templates from scratch without the need for high-level development skills. It allows even the novice database builder to start creating tables, forms, queries, and reports quickly.

Access 2021 is the latest on-premises release from Microsoft and the newest addition to the Access family of applications. It is a full life-cycle database management tool that makes creating small to large databases easy.

In this course, we will explore the basic functionality of Access and get familiar with the terminology, the interface, and the commands. We’ll look at the available templates and build tables and populate them with data. We’ll create relationships between tables and construct queries to interrogate the data. We’ll look at building nicely formatted forms so others can interact easily with our database and design custom reports to help us gain deeper insight.

This course is for the absolute beginner or anyone who is looking to refresh their basic skills. It will provide a fantastic starting point from which to build more advanced Access database knowledge.

Learning Objectives:

In this course, you will learn:

  • The characteristics of a relational database
  • Downloading and installing Access 2021
  • The differences between Access 2019 and Access 2021
  • Locating, opening, and saving Access database templates
  • Opening, closing, and saving a blank database file
  • Navigating the Access interface, ribbons, and commands
  • Customizing the quick access toolbar with frequently used commands
  • Understanding the different menu systems in Access
  • Using keyboard shortcuts to navigate and execute commands
  • Accessing the help files
  • Customizing Access options
  • Creating tables and fields
  • Modifying field properties
  • Understanding index fields and primary keys
  • Creating lookup menus
  • Adding data validation and data validation text to fields
  • Importing data into a table from Excel and from a text file
  • Using datasheet view to manage data
  • Sorting and filtering records in a table
  • Creating relationships between tables that share a common field
  • Creating relationships between tables using a link table
  • Understanding one-to-many relationships
  • Designing user-friendly forms and setting up sub-forms
  • Building simple and complex queries to interrogate table data
  • Aggregating numeric data
  • Building expressions to perform simple calculations
  • Creating and running a basic report
  • Designing a custom report
  • Using form controls to add checkboxes, attachments, and option buttons to forms
  • Modifying a form’s design and theme
  • Creating a navigation form
  • Exporting an Access database to other file formats
  • Protecting a database file by adding encryption and password protection
  • Preventing database issues using compact and repair functions
  • Printing tables, forms, and reports.