1. Data Types and Field Properties 5.01 Understand database tables used in business.
2. It’s All in the Details 5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side Let’s dig a little deeper into the details of how data is formatted and represented in database tables
3. Data Types and Field Properties <ul><li>Data types and field properties are used to format data so that it can be used and managed </li></ul><ul><li>The data type defines the value of a cell and the field property defines the format of the data within the cell </li></ul><ul><li>For example: the data type for a zip code field is number and the field property is used to limit the size of the entry to 5 characters </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side
4. Why are data types important? <ul><li>To control data. </li></ul><ul><li>In the example on the left , the Age data was sorted in descending order, but because the data type was not set as Number, the field cannot be sorted correctly. </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side <ul><li>In the example on the right , the Adoption data was correctly sorted in ascending order because the data type for Date was used. </li></ul>
5. Example of a Data Type <ul><li>The data type for the adoption date field is date/time </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side
6. What data types are available? <ul><li>Text </li></ul><ul><li>Memo </li></ul><ul><li>Number </li></ul><ul><li>Date/time </li></ul><ul><li>Currency </li></ul><ul><li>AutoNumber </li></ul><ul><li>Yes/No </li></ul><ul><li>Lookup Wizard </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side Note: OLE Object and Hyperlink data types are not addressed in this objective.
7. When to use data types: <ul><li>Think of data types and field properties as tools that increase the power of the database. </li></ul><ul><li>The default format for all data types is text. </li></ul><ul><li>Use a different data type if you need to control how the data in a particular field will be searched, sorted, or used in calculations. </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side
8. Why are field properties important? <ul><li>To control how data is entered in a field </li></ul><ul><li>Requiring the same format for all of the phone numbers is a way to ensure accuracy </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side <ul><ul><li>In this example, an Input Mask field property was used to force the user to enter the telephone number in a specific format. </li></ul></ul>
9. Example of a Field Property <ul><li>An input mask field property is used for the Adoption Date field to make sure the date is entered correctly </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side Actual Data
10. Field Properties: <ul><ul><li>Field Size </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Format </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Input mask </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Caption </li></ul></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side Note: Only 4 field properties are mentioned and addressed in this objective.
11. When to set field properties: <ul><li>Use a field property if you want to specify how the data is entered, what data can be entered, and how the data will appear. </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side
12. Steps in Creating a Database <ul><li>Plan the structure of the database (sketch on paper) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>How will the data be grouped? </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>What will the field names be? </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>What will you name the database? </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Open and save a new database </li></ul><ul><li>Create a table </li></ul><ul><li>Enter the field names </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Set the data types </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Set the field properties </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Enter the data </li></ul>5.01 Understand database tables used in business. Side