Add an application part
You can use an application part to add functionality to an existing database.
An application part can be as simple as a single table, or it can comprise several related objects, such as a table and a bound form.
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Copy data from another source into an Access table
If your data is currently stored in another program, such as Excel, you can copy and paste it into an Access table.
In general, this works best if your data is already separated into columns, as they are in an Excel worksheet.
If your data is in a word processing program, it is best to separate the columns of data by using tabs, or to convert the data into a table in the word processing program before you copy the data.
If your data needs any editing or manipulation (for example, separating full names into first and last names), you might want to do this before you copy the data, especially if you are not familiar with Access.
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Create a database by using a template
Access comes with a variety of templates that you can use as-is or as a starting point.
A template is a ready-to-use database that contains all the tables, queries, forms, macros, and reports needed to perform a specific task.
For example, there are templates that you can use to track issues, manage contacts, or keep a record of expenses.
Some templates contain a few sample records to help demonstrate their use.
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Create a database without using a template
If you are not interested in using a template, you can create a database by building your own tables, forms, reports, and other database objects.
In most cases, this involves one or both of the following:
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Import, append, or link to data from another source
You might have data that is stored in another program, and you want to import that data into a new table or append it to an existing table in Access.
Or you might work with people who keep their data in other programs, and you want to work with it in Access by linking to it.
Either way, Access makes it easy to work with data from other sources.
You can import data from an Excel worksheet, from a table in another Access database, from a SharePoint list, or from a variety of other sources.
The process you use differs slightly, depending on your source, but the following procedure will get you started.
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Overview
This article covers the basic process of starting Access and creating a database that will be used on desktop machines, not over the Web.
It explains how to create a desktop database by using a template, and how to build a database from scratch by creating your own tables, forms, reports, and other database objects.
It also explains some techniques.
The Petrological Database of the Ocean Floor (PetDB) is a relational database for global geochemical data on igneous and metamorphic rocks generated at mid-ocean ridges including back-arc basins, young seamounts, and old oceanic crust, as well as ophiolites and terrestrial xenoliths from the mantle and lower crust and diamond geochemistry.
These data are obtained by analyses of whole rock powders, volcanic glasses, and minerals by a wide range of techniques including mass spectrometry, atomic emission spectrometry, x-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and wet chemical analyses.
Data are compiled from the scientific literature by PetDB data managers, and entered after methodical metadata review.
Members of the scientific community can also suggest entry of specific data that has been entered into the EarthChem Library.
PetDB is administered by the EarthChem group under the IEDA facility at LDEO headed by K.
Lehnert.
PetDB is supported by the U.S.
National Science Foundation.
