Microsoft Access 2003 part 1

Introduction:

• Microsoft Access is part of the MS Office suite, the latest version of which is MS Office 2007 to which Access 2007 is a part of.
• The initial screen and look and feel of the new MS Office 2007 is very much different from the 2003 version, the basic functionality however is still the same. This is usually the case with new Microsoft versions of its products, they just change the look and feel but not the core functionality of the software.
• Access can convert from and to other database or file formats:
  Ex. Excel, textfile, foxpro, dbase, oracle, mysql and etc.

Opening, Creating and Closing an Access Database:

Opening Microsoft Access

• From the Start menu, you select Start, Programs, Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Access 2003 ; or
• From the Start menu, you select Start, Programs, Microsoft Office Access 2003; or
• If the MS Access icon is in the desktop, just click on the icon.

Creating a new Microsoft Access database

• If the task pane is open click New, Blank Database, or if the task is not open, click the File Menu and click New, the task pane will now be open and you can click Blank Database.
  

Opening an Existing Microsoft Access Database

• If MS Access is already open, click the Open button or icon in the toolbar, and navigate to where your access database file is located in your harddisk; or
• Navigate to where your access database file is located and double click your existing access database file.

Closing a Microsoft Access database

• Click the File menu then click Close; or
  Click the close symbol “X” on uppermost part of the database window, or just close Microsoft Access.
  
  

Microsoft Access as an Audit Tool!

Microsoft Access is part of the Microsoft Office Suite. It is usually available in every computer setup powered by MS Windows operating systems like XP or Vista.

MS Access is a full featured database software that is both powerful and easy to learn and use. It can be utilized by accountants and auditors to assist them in their work.

My initial curiosity about the workings of MS Access started in 1997 while working for Sharp (Phils.) Corporation. I purchased a book about Access in order to learn the functionality of this program. I soon discovered the power of its query and report capability. I used it to convert Dbase files into MS Access tables and begin to improve my skills creating queries and reports. Instead of printing the Dbase files and manually calculating discounts to give to dealers based on their purchases from Sharp, I can now produce the information through MS Access queries in 30 minutes or less what usually took hours and days. In addition, reports can be prepared out of query results in a flash. More on how to utilize Access in my next blog post.