Building an Access Database From the Ground Up - - Part V

Creating the Database File

Now that we've developed the relational model for the Patrick's Widgets database, it's time to start implementing our database in Access! Our first task is to create a new database file that will store both the relational model and the Patrick's Widgets data. Microsoft Access Here's the step-by-step procedure:

1. Open Microsoft Access. This tutorial assumes that you're using Access 2002 (the Office XP version). If you're using a different version, the steps may differ slightly, but the general concepts still apply.


2. Create a new database. Using the Access Database Menu that appears in the right window pane, select the "Blank Database" option, as shown in Figure 1.


3. Save the file. Choose a location for the file and provide it with an appropriate filename, such as "widgets". The file may be stored in any directory you'd like, just as with any other Office file. This process is shown in Figure 2.


4. Browse the new database menu. You'll be presented with the new database's main menu, as shown in Figure 3.

That's all there is to it. Congratulations! You've created your first Microsoft Access database! In our next installment of this series, we'll begin to create the tables that make up the relational model from Part 4 and include them in our database.