In the relationships window change the relationship

USING MICROSOFT ACCESS 2013 Improve It Project 2-7

Improve It Project 2-7 Placer Hills Real Estate wants to expand the database created in the Improve It Project 1-7 in Chapter 1. To ensure consistency, the starting file is provided for you. In this project, you use Design view to edit properties in a table and integrate data integrity rules. You edit data records, create a relationship between the two tables, and enforce referential integrity constraints. Finally you view how the table records will print using Print Preview.

Skills Covered in This Project  Edit a table using Design view.

 Edit field properties in Design view.

 Create an input mask.

 Save a table.

 Create a foreign key.

 Create a 1:M relationship between tables.

 Enforce referential integrity.

 View a table in Datasheet view and expand related records.

 Preview table results for printing.

1. Open the PlacerHills-02.accdb database file.

2. The file will be renamed automatically to include your name. Change the project file name if directed

to do so by your instructor, and save it.

3. Enable the contents in the security warning.

4. Open the Agents table in Datasheet view (Figure 2-96).

2-96 Datasheet view of the Agents table

a. Look at the DateHired and Phone fields. The manager of the real estate office wants those to be

formatted differently.

b. Notice that both Jack Johnstone and Kallyn Duarte have the same value in the EmployeeNum

field. If the employee number is supposed to be unique, something must not be set correctly with

the primary key in this table.

c. Change Kallyn Duarte’s EmployeeNum to be 168, the correct value.

5. Change to Design view to make needed corrections to the Agents table.

a. Notice that the table does not have a primary key. Although Access recommends that you assign

a primary key in a table, Access lets you create a table without one.

b. Set the EmployeeNum as the primary key.

c. Set the Format property of the DateHired field to use Short Date.

d. Create an input mask for the Phone field. Select the Phone Number Input Mask. Don’t make any

changes to the mask or placeholder character and select the radio button for Without the

symbols in the mask, like this. Complete the Input Mask Wizard.

e. Make all fields Required.

f. Save the table.

g. Switch to Datasheet view to ensure that the formatting shows as desired.

Step 1

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Access 2013 Chapter 2 Using Design View, Data Validation, and Relationships Last Updated: 2/27/15 Page 2

USING MICROSOFT ACCESS 2013 Improve It Project 2-7

h. Adjust the field width of the DateHired field to 13. Remember that you can select the column,

right-click to open the context menu, and then select the Field Width button to change the width

to a specific size.

i. Adjust the field width of the Phone field to 16.

j. Save and close the Agents table.

6. Determine the type of relationship and the foreign key field.

a. There is a one-to-many relationship between the two tables since an agent can list many different

real estate properties, but a property is listed by only one agent.

b. The foreign key comes by taking the primary key field from the 1 table and adding it in as an

additional field in the M table. In this case, the EmployeeNum should also be added into the

Listings table.

c. Open the Listings table in Datasheet view. Notice that this table has a field that stores the agent’s

name. However, it doesn’t have the foreign key. To minimize redundant data, you will change the

Agent field so that it will now store the agent’s employee number instead of the agent’s name.

This requires changing the data values as well as field properties.

7. Edit the data values in the Agent field in the Listings table.

a. Click the arrow to the right of the Agent Field Name and select Sort A to Z. Because the employee

name values begin with the first name, the sort isn’t alphabetical by last name. However, the sort

makes it easier to change the data values since all the properties by the same agent are

grouped together.

b. Change each of the six records for Jack Johnstone to have the value of 160 for the Agent field.

After entering the first value, you can use copy and paste to enter the remaining values.

c. Continue changing the remaining records using the information in the following table.

d. Remove the sort from the Agent field.

e. Save the table.

8. Switch to Design view in the Listings table to edit the properties of the foreign key.

a. Click in the ListingAgent Field Name property box.

b. Change the field name to ListingAgentNumber.

c. Change the Description to read Must match an EmployeeNum in the Agents table.

d. Change the field size to 3.

e. Save and close the table. Access warns you that the field size has been changed and that you

may lose data. Your values meet this new size. Click Yes.

Access 2013 Chapter 2 Using Design View, Data Validation, and Relationships Last Updated: 2/27/15 Page 3

USING MICROSOFT ACCESS 2013 Improve It Project 2-7

9. Create a one-to-many relationship between the

Agents table and the Listings table.

a. Open the Relationships window and add the

two tables.

b. Enlarge the table objects, if needed, to see all

of the fields.

c. Drag the EmployeeNum field from the Agents

table on top of the ListingAgentNumber field in

the Listings table as shown in Figure 2-97.

d. Make the correct choices to Enforce

Referential Integrity and Cascade Update

Related Fields.

e. Leave the Cascade Delete Related Records

check box not selected. You do not want to

delete property records just because an agent

may leave the company. This allows you to

keep a record of the listings.

f. Create the relationship.

g. Save the changes and close the Relationships window.

10. Open the Agents table in Datasheet view.

a. Click to expand the records for Kelly Weatherby. There should be eight properties listed.

b. Close the Agents table.

11. Preview the data records in the Listings table for printing.

a. Select the Listings table in the Navigation pane.

b. Use Print Preview to show a preview of how the table will print.

c. Change the page to Landscape orientation.

d. Close the Print Preview.

12. Close the database.

13. Upload and save your file.

14. Submit project for grading.

Step 2

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Step 3

Grade my Project