Looking at Access
When you start Access, you'll see a screen that looks similar to Word, as Figure 17.3 shows. The New File task pane provides you with links you can use to create a new database or load an existing database. As with Word and Excel, Access supports the use of template files on which you can base new database files that conform to a predetermined pattern.
Here are the fundamental steps you follow most of the time when you want to work with Access:
Open an existing database so that you can modify the database structure or work with the database information. Select a database from the list or click the More option to browse a list of existing database files. The section of the New File task pane where you open an existing database is labeled Open. Create a new database, which requires that you manually set up the entire database structure, including tables, fields, and other pertinent database-structure information. You can also create a more advanced database project, which creates a database system that runs in a networked client/server workspace where the Access database might transfer data to multiple workstations attached to the server. The section of the New File task pane where you create a blank database is labeled New. Create a new database that is a copy of an existing database. The New File task pane contains the section for creating a new database file from an existing one. You can get to this option by selecting More. This New File task pane option in effect makes a copy of an existing database file. Create a database file based on a template. Access provides templates that create sample blank databases that track data such as asset management, expenses, and inventories. Microsoft provides additional templates on the Web as well.
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