It's All About Team 

To get started, we are going to create a basic database with information about teams in the National Football League (NFL).  As you are probably aware, there are many fields of information we could gather to include in our database such as team name, logo, location, colors, players, coaches, sponsors, stadium information, schedule, salaries, owners, and much more.

 

Since we are just beginning with Access though, we are going to keep this relatively simple.  Following the instructions below, we will (1) create a new database, (2) edit the database, and (3) create queries to search the database.  Be sure to read the learning target sites and/or watch the video links to assist you! 

Learning Target How to... Additional Help
Creating a New Access Database                 File > New > Blank Database > Name & Save                 Video Clip 
A Database from Scratch  How to Create a Database Step-by-Step 
Primary Key in Access      Set a Primary Key in Access 2010 Step-by-Step
Setting a Primary Key Set a Primary Key in Access 2010 Video Clip 
Modifying an Access Database Modifying an Access Table Video Clip   
Creating a Form with Access  Create Tab > Forms Group > Form Wizard Video Clip
Using Queries in Access  Short Course in Access Queries Step-by-Step
Queries in Access Create Tab > Queries Group  Video Clip

To begin, you will create an Access database including some information about some of the teams in the NFL.  To organize your files in one place, create a folder for Microsoft Office if you have not already done so.  Within the Microsoft Office folder, create folders for Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access.  Move the files you created to this point to the Word folder.  As you create databases, save them in the Access folder!

 

Important Note:  Access saves the file when you first create the database, unlike Word where we save at the end.  Click File > New > and on the right side of the screen you will be prompted to name the database.  In addition, the location to which the file will be saved is indicated below the file name box.  The "folder" icon to the right of the file name box will allow you to change the location to your Access folder.  This must be changed for every new database you create! 

 

Click here to get started with creating your first Access 2010 database!

As with most projects, we are prone to make changes along the way.  For this database project, we have decided to include another field of information about each team - the quarterback!  In addition, we would like to add a few more teams to the list and the appropriate information for these teams. 

 

Click here for directions to modify your Football database!

The ability to search a database for information is just one advantage of using a program like Access 2010.  Although our current database is relatively small, queries can help us find specific information and sort the information we have by criteria that we select.  The ability to do this could save hours of time as the size of our databases grow!  To begin practicing with queries, we are going to search our football database.

 

Click here for specific queries to use with the Football database!