Posted by admin | Posted in Educational Software | Posted on 08-03-2008
Tags: microsoft, office, training, tutorial, tutorials
Access vs Excel - How do I use for my database?
As an instructor of Microsoft Office software for fifteen years, I am sometimes asked if you want to use Access or Excel to keep track information database and calculate summaries, subtotals or complex formulas and functions with data. The fact is that Excel, which is probably best known for its number crunching capabilities, has features of robust database. Access which is indeed a basic program can perform the most complex mathematical formulas and functions that Excel is known for. So who should I use?
Like many people who use Microsoft Office Suite, you probably have found Excel to be not only a good tool for sheet elements computing and crunching numbers, but also to keep track of lists of data. It is often one of the users of Microsoft Office first Following learning applications. Many people use and understand to varying degrees. This makes it advantageous to share your data, since others use commonly Excel.
Perhaps you have a list of employees, recording invoices, or the names and addresses of customers, friends and family in one or more Excel workbooks. Entering your records in a spreadsheet Excel is fairly simple, titles, adding a column or field. You may have found the powerful functionality of sorting and filtering, or the special function pivot table. From my experience, they made an excellent choice Excel for many basic requirements of traditional data most users.
Excel advantage is its universal use, comparative ease of use and quick solutions to simple databases. However, there are certain limitations. The number of records in your database is limited to the number of rows in a spreadsheet. In versions prior to Excel 2007, 65.536 was the boundary lines on each sheet. Excel 2007 now allows 1,048,576 rows by worksheet. The main limitation is that, by its nature, the data stored in a spreadsheet is a "flat" file that identifies all data is in one list. The result is that each record in your spreadsheet may have redundant data, such as customer name, address, etc. repeated several times on a list of bills.
If you have more complex needs for your database, Access is an excellent choice. Although access is not as easy for people to learn by themselves, it was designed to be both powerful and beautiful. This means that with a little research and / or training, you can be on your way to creating a database very powerful. Advantage Senior Access in Excel is that it is a relational database. That means it has the capacity to store data in more than one table and relate or link the tables on the common fields. This eliminates the redundancy of a "flat" files and allows entry easily, with forms data capture using functions to eliminate or reduce typing and ensure that valid data entered. The calculations and subtotals are available in queries that access data in the form of input data and printed reports.
Once you are comfortable with both applications, the choice will be easier to do. If you're more comfortable with Excel, and it meets your needs remember that all the data you enter can be imported into Access later if the need arises. Conversely, access to a feature easy to export data to Excel. One last thing to keep in mind - there is no rule you unable to use both applications, if you are comfortable doing so. As a designer of Access databases, I created databases that use efficient data storage capacity for relational database access, and said programmed automation for the export of parts of data to Excel. The permit others to use powerful Excel spreadsheet analysis capabilities on the data originally entered in Access.
About the Author
William Gee is the Director of Training at Training Connection, a leading provider of Excel and Access training in Chicago and Los Angeles.
For more detail of our classes please visit http://www.trainingconnection.com
Using The Quick Access Toolbar - Free Excel training
US $37.17
And a selection of products from Amazon
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