Access Lesson 6 Integrating Access

1. Access Lesson 6Integrating Access Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

2. Objectives • Import data from other Office programs into a database. • Export data from a database to other Office programs. • Create a form letter. • Merge a form letter with a data source. • Edit a data source to print specific form letters. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

3. Comma-separated values (CSV) Data source Delimited data Delimiter Export Form letter Import Main document Merge field Vocabulary Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

4. Importing and Exporting Data • When you save database data in another file format, you export the data from the database. • You can export data to a Word document, an Excel workbook, or a text file. Access also exports data to another Access database, another database format, or an HTML document (Web page). • If you need to add data stored in a different format to an Access database, you can import the new data into the database. • When you import data, you copy it from another Access database, an Excel workbook, a text file, or other file format into an existing or new table in the current database. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

5. Importing and Exporting Documents • When you need to export data from a database table to a Word document, it will be saved as an RTF file (Rich Text Format). • You can import data from a Word document into an existing database table when the data has the same number of columns and the same type of data as the database table. • When data is stored in another format, such as a text file, you may use a comma-separated values (CSV) format. When data is formatted using comma separators, it is called delimited data and the comma is called a delimiter. A paragraph mark indicates the end of a record. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

6. Importing and Exporting Workbooks • When you export data from a database table to an Excel workbook, it will be saved in Excel format, with each field in the table stored in a worksheet column and each record in the table stored as a row in the worksheet. • You can also import data stored in a workbook into a new or existing database table. When you use the data in a workbook to add records to a database table, the columns in the worksheet must be the same as the fields in the database and contain the same type of data. When you need to create a new table using the data in a workbook, the Import Spreadsheet Wizard will guide you. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

7. Creating Form Letters • A form letter is a document that includes codes that print information from a data source. The data source might be stored in Word, Excel, Access, or another file format. When you merge the data source with the form letter, one letter is printed for each record in the data source. • Creating a Form Letter: A form letter is a document that you create using Microsoft Word and that contains codes to tell Word where to insert the record from the data source. The codes are the same as the field names used in the data source. When you insert the codes in a main document, they are called merge fields. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

8. Creating Form Letters (continued) • When you insert a merge field in a Word document, the field name is enclosed in angle brackets such as <<First_Name>>. • You can use any documents as a form letter, including documents that you create from scratch or a template. You can start a mail merge from Word or from Access. • If you want to merge selected records in the data source, open the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box. A check box is shown to the left of the first field for each record; a check mark indicates that the record will be printed. If you want to remove a record, clear its check box. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

9. Creating Form Letters (continued) • You can filter records by clicking the Filter link in the Refine recipient list section, which opens the Filter and Sort dialog box with the Filter Records tab selected. • Word provides several options for adding merge fields to a document. • Use the Address block link in the Mail Merge pane to add an address to the letter in the location of the insertion point. • Add merge fields individually at the location of the insertion point by clicking the Insert Merge Field button in the Write & Insert Fields group on the Mailings tab. • You can insert individual fields from the data source wherever necessary in the main document. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

10. Creating Form Letters (continued) • After adding the merge fields to the letter, click the Next: Preview your letters link at the bottom of the Mail Merge pane. • Editing the Recipient List: The default setting for a mail merge is to print all the records in the data source. If you want to restrict the printout to certain records, you can set a filter or choose specific records individually. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

11. Summary • You can import and export data from a database and use it in other programs. When importing data, you can append records to an existing table or create a new table. When appending records to an existing table, the data source must have the same number of fields and contain the same type of data as the existing table. • Delimited data contains commas or other separators to separate the fields in a data source. When the delimiter is a comma, the data is called comma-separated values (CSV). Access, Excel, and other programs can read and process CSV files. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory

12. Summary (continued) • A form letter is a document that includes codes that print information from a data source. The data source might be information stored in a Word document, an Excel workbook, an Access database, or another file format. When you merge the data source with the form letter, one letter is printed for each record in the data source. • A merge field tells Word where to print data from the data source. • To print certain records from a data source in a form letter, edit the recipient list by applying a filter or by selecting individual records. Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory