In addition to the tables that hold your raw data, your Access database is likely to have three other types of database objects: queries, forms, and reports. In this lesson you will get an overview of these other types of database objects. You can learn more about how to create and use these objects in the second course of this series, Microsoft Access II: Working with Data. Access Data Manipulation. Do not worry if you do not understand exactly how each object works and you need only have a general idea of how the different types of objects help you to create a useful database.
Queries are used to collect the information you need for a certain purpose. Using a query you can define conditions, known as criteria, which a record must meet in order to be displayed by the query. Queries can combine data from multiple tables using the relationships between tables. For instance, you might use a query to list projects (and the clients that they are for) that you started after September 1, 2019. Occasionally you might use a query datasheet to enter data into the underlying table or tables.
Forms are a great way to enter data. Although tables actually store the data, forms can mimic the paper form that you are famililar with using for collecting data. Any new data entered or changes made to data in the form are reflected in the underlying tables.
Reports are used to present data. Most commonly you will use reports to group data and summarize it with calculations. Forms and reports can be formatted so that they look like something you might create with a word processing package.
In the next lesson you will learn how to design a database.