Key Terms

Key Terms

action query

query that specifies a particular action, such as creating a new table, deleting a row or rows from a table, updating records, or creating new records

aggregate query

instruction that carries out calculations on a group of records rather than on individual records

append query

query that adds records from one or more tables to the end of another table or tables

arithmetic operator

used to calculate a value from two or more numbers or to change the sign of a number from positive to negative, or vice versa

command control

tool that is used to start an action or a set of actions

comparison operator

used to compare values and return a result that is true, false, or null

control source

area in the property sheet that controls which data is displayed in a particular field, as well as any updates you make to the field

crosstab query

instructions that calculate and restructure data for easier identification of trends or patterns

dashboard

allows users to view account activity at a glance and quickly find records and reports

data validation

process of ensuring that data is entered correctly into a form by specifying a validation rule for the control in the form

delete query

query that deletes a group of records from one or more tables

Detail section

information that appears once for every row in the record source that is being referenced

external data

data stored outside the current database

form control

part of a form used to enter, edit, or display data; controls can be bound, unbound, or calculated

form property

option that is set in Design View on the property sheet; they control how the form looks, works, and interacts with the rest of the database

Group Footer

area where summary information appears at the end of each group of records

Group Header

area that displays names at the beginning of each new group of records

logical operator

used to combine two Boolean values and return a true, false, or null result; also known as Boolean operators

macro

tool that allows you to automate tasks and add functionality to your forms, reports, and controls

make-table query

query that creates a new table from all or part of the data in one or more existing tables

many-to-many relationship

relationship in which each record in one table can have many related records in another table, and vice versa; this type of relationship, which really consists of two one-to-many relationships, is made possible only by defining a table

message box

used to display alerts, warnings, and other useful information

null criteria

query used to find records that have a null value in a particular field

one-to-many relationship

relationship in which each record in one table has one or more related records in another table, but a record in the second table has only one matching record in the first table

one-to-one relationship

relationship in which each record in one table has at most one related record in another table

parameter query

query that allows you to prompt users whenever a query runs

query criterion

expression that Access compares with query field values to determine whether to include the record that contains each value

range criteria

query used to specify a range of values for a field

select query

query that retrieves data from one or more tables and displays the result in a datasheet

simple criteria

query that specifies an exact value or expression to filter results

SQL query

query created by using a statement in SQL, a programming language designed to manage data stored in relational databases

subform

form that is inserted into another form (the main form)

syntax

set of rules by which the words and symbols in an expression are correctly combined

tab order

helps control which section of the form the curser moves to next

update query

query that makes global changes to a group of records in one or more tables

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

event-driven programming language and environment from Microsoft that provides a graphical user interface (GUI), which allows programmers to modify code by simply dragging and dropping objects and defining their behavior and appearance

wildcard

symbol used to represent an unknown character in a search string