Via laterlife.com Jackie aims to particularly help those new to IT and the web to
build up knowledge and confidence, so no question is too basic. At the same time she will
cover Q&As for the more experienced user.
So if you
would like to ask a question of Jackie, why not email her jackie@laterlife.com
or if you
have discovered something which may be of interest to others in making the most of the
web, then she would love to hear about that too jackie@laterlife.com
Q: I need to use databases in my
work but can’t seem to get to grips with searching. Can you give me some basic
advice.
A: As you will know, databases are used to
store information about people or items and any complete entry is known as a record. The
most common database software is Access, and this allows you to carry out two different
types of search when looking for specific records: Filters or Queries. So
how do they work?:
a. When you filter an open table of records, you are simply filtering OUT records
temporarily that don’t meet your criteria. What is left is a subset of records,
displaying all the details you have entered in the same format as the original table. You
can print out or copy these details, but the filter will be lost when you close the table.
b. A query is created when the table is closed, and can be named and saved
to run again and again. Decisions you can make when designing a query include:
- which fields (categories of information) to display; and
- in which order to display this information.
c. For either a filter or a query, you must decide which fields to search (e.g. Eyes,
Price, Date or Surname), and what entries you are hoping to match. Examples can be
identical entries (such as all records of people with blue Eyes) or an expression
that may be based on logical statements or calculations (such as any Price greater than
£3, or Surnames beginning with P).
d. Expressions have to be entered in a form understood by Access e.g. greater than £3
is written >3¸ and beginning with P is written P*.
e. When searching, the resultant records can be sorted for any field e.g.
alphabetically by Surname or in descending order of Price.
Common mistakes when searching:
1) If filtering by form, you may leave an old expression still displayed in the form
that will render a subsequent search invalid. For example, after searching for people with
blue eyes, you may want to find people whose surnames begin with P but forget to remove
the word blue from the Eyes box. This will mean you only search for people
with blue eyes whose names begin with P and there may be no relevant records in the
database.
2) When querying, you must type the criteria yourself. If you include a spelling
mistake, the query will not work e.g. no-one will be found who has bloe eyes. If
you do not use accepted expressions, you will also find the query does not work.
3) In queries, you must add only one example of the table you are searching. If you
select tables more than once from the Show Table window, you will find the resultant
search displays repeated entries for some of the fields.
4) When designing your original table, you MUST take care with Datatypes. If searching
for records where the Price is more than £3, or the Date is after 19 July, no
calculations can be performed if the Price or Date Datatypes were left as Text.
Q: I sometimes find I am missing
the common toolbar buttons e.g. for saving or centre alignment. How can I get them back?
A: You can display as many toolbars as you
like when you work, and can add or hide them at any time. If the basic Formatting or
printing/saving etc. toolbar (known as the Standard) are missing, go to View -
Toolbars. On the list that is displayed, click next to any toolbar name to add it, or
click off a tick to remove it. When you return to your work, all selected toolbars should
now be visible.
If you are unlucky, you may find a toolbar has arrived on top of another one. In this
case, try gently to move the top toolbar with your mouse to reveal the one underneath. The
pointer should show a 4-way arrow at the left edge of a toolbar to allow you to move it.
Also, if a toolbar appears as a box on the screen, drag the blue title bar up or down
to just outside your main working area, let go and it should drop into place.
For even more control, select Toolbars - Customize. You can now click the
Commands tab and browse through the toolbars in the left window to view the associated
buttons. For any extra commands you want to have available, use your mouse to click and
drag the button out of the box onto a convenient toolbar.
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