It is one of the least known programs in the Microsoft 365 office suite, despite being included since the 1992 version. However, it is a very useful tool. In this post we explain What is Microsoft Access and what is it used for?.
The most recent version of Microsoft Access, which is the one we are going to talk about here, was released on October 5, 2021 to be used on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It takes up between 44 MB and 60 MB on the hard drive, depending on which installation options are chosen.
What is Microsoft Access?
Microsoft is a database management system included in the Microsoft Office suite of applications (now Microsoft 365). It is a tool designed to help users create and manage databases in order to store, organize and analyze information.
The reason why this application is so little used is mainly due to the fact that its true utility is not known. Many users mistakenly believe that anything that can be done with Access can actually be done with Excel.
Although it is true that both programs have points in common, Excel is more suitable for handling numerical data and performing calculations on that data. Access, on the other hand, adds a greater degree of specialization and includes specific functions to manage different types of dataIt also allows you to restrict the data that users enter in each field, as well as link related data across multiple tables.
Databases saved with Microsoft Access display the file extension «.accdb». Although this is the most common and also the most current, it is still possible to find other extensions («.mdbe» o «.mde»), which correspond to versions prior to 2007. Sometimes, to open this type of extensions, the user must first use a conversion tool to convert it to ".accdb».
Things we can do with Access
How can Access be used to manage a database? Below we explain some of the most common tasks that can be performed with this tool.
Create a database
On the Access home screen, we click on “File” and in the column of options on the left, we select “New”. Among the different options that appear on the screen, we must choose the one titled as «Blank Desktop Database».
This newly created database can be given a name as a preliminary step to accessing the new template and starting to use it.
Create a table
To add a data table to the database we have created, it is necessary to go to the ribbon and click on the tab "Table". As many fields as we want can be added to this new table. To do this, right-click and select the option «Click to Add».
The combo box section is used to list the different data types that can be assigned to a field (in Access it is mandatory to assign a data type to each field).
Add data to the table
There are many ways to add data to an Access table: using a form, importing from an external file, using SQL, or entering data directly (i.e. manually). The most common option is the import via files ".Csv". This is how you do it:
- In the instrument ribbon, click on «External data».
- Then we click on "Text file".
- Next we select the source file and the destination table.
- Before proceeding to import, we can review all the details of the file (use of periods or commas as delimiters, need to omit certain fields.
- Finally, we press the button «Finish» to run the import.
From here, there are many actions that we can perform in the application with the different tables that we have introduced. For example, it is possible create relationships between tables to query data from different tables. You can also create a lookup table, which contains data referenced by another table, or even create complex queries across multiple tables with different data types.
Other possible actions are perform backups, create executable databases (which cannot be modified by external users) create macro to automate complex tasks or export data to excel, among many other possibilities.
To carry out all these actions, Microsoft Access includes a practical assistant which is certainly a great help for those who use this application for the first time.
Conclusion
Microsoft Access is a highly recommended option for small and medium-sized businesses that need a simple and easy-to-use data management tool. Ideal for tasks such as ginventory management or project tracking. For all these cases, it is worth learning how to use it.
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