I must print a MS Access table in two differet formats (datasheet & form). What is the difference?

Question

I am doing an exercise related to O level Computer Studies and am required to print the contents a simple MS Access table in two differet formats (1. datasheet format and 2. form format). Can someone please explain the basic different of these two formats?

Answer 1

Datasheet will show all of the records and every field within the table. A form will show only one record and the fields relating to that one record. Forms can be laid out in a way that suits the user, whereas datasheet is in a tabular layout. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

A Database is made up of several elements/components, the main one being tables. Without a table or tables, you can't do anything. But because you create a table, which means that everything you input is in tabular format which is the datasheet view, it isn't aesthetically pleasing to the idea. Also, if you have a lot of fields, inputting the data means you can't see all fields to the one record at a time. Therefore, those people who design databases, especially thinking of those who will be inputting the actual data, create forms from the table. You don't have to actually design a form from scratch, but once you've started creating a table, you can create an autoform by clicking on the icon that looks like a filing cabinet with a flash of lightning through it. You then have the option of inputting data into either the table or the form. Whichever one you use for inputting, the other is automatically updated so both form and table contain all records.

Hope this answers your query. I don't think from your question, you need get into how exactly to design from scratch a form.

Answer 3

Access is a database application (small scale compared to the likes SQL Server/Oracle) and Excel is spreadsheet application. The confusion usually arises because both have spreadsheet like data entry screens. 1) Access stores data in tables that can be related to each other (relational database) while Excel uses flat spreadsheets 2) Access like other database apps can use the SQL language to query but excel has none 3) Access can store much more data than excel can hope that helps a bit? all the best on your test!

Answer 4

Another view on this is that the tables, queries and database diagrams are objects from the database server. The table you see is just a representation of the information as it is stored. Forms, reports and web pages on the other hand are client side objects. They are part of your user interface and should be designed to present information to suit your needs - primarily data input and presentation. (By combining the two aspects of database usage into a single application MS Access somewhat confuses the distinction)

Answer 5

These layout the data in a different way.



On the datasheet, it is in rows and columns, and can show more than one record at a time.



On the form, the form design fixes what data and where it appears.



I suspect you are being asked to print these out to show that you understand the difference (which is which).