In this activity, you will work on creating a database for a fictitious company. For this, you will first read the following scenario and then complete the steps given below.
Your company, TechSkill, a customer support organization located in Half Moon, New York provides computer services to different businesses in the metropolitan area.
TechSkill has technicians who support a variety of different software and hardware. These technicians have skills in Operating Systems, Applications, Communications, Servers and PCs.
Since TechSkill is doing well and growing, there is an urgent need for a database for storing technicians' information. The IT Management team wants to use MS Access as the database system and have tasked you with creating this database. Please complete the following steps:
1. Use MS Access to create a new, blank database and save it as TechSkill.accdb.
2. In Datasheet view for the Table1 table, name the table Technicians.
3. For the Technicians table, rename the default primary key ID field as TechID. Change the data type of the TechID field to Text (Access 2007 and 2010) or Short Text (Access 2013).
4. Add the following five fields to the new table in the order shown; all of them are Short Text fields except HireDate, which is a Date/Time field: FirstName, LastName, TechLevel, SkillSet, and HireDate. Resize the columns, if necessary, so that the complete field names are displayed.
5. Enter at least 15 records into the Technicians table. Examples of the table and its fields/records are listed below:
TechIDFirstNameLastNameTechLevelSkillSetHireDate
68-9250 Your Name Your Name 1 OS 04/13/2015
6. Resize all datasheet columns to their best fit, and then save the Technicians table.
7. Use the Simple Query Wizard to create a query that includes the FirstName, LastName, SkillSet, and HireDate fields from the Technicians table. Save the query as StartDate, and then save and close the query.
8. Use the Form tool to create a form for the Technicians table. Save the form as TechInfo.
9. In Form View of the TechInfo form, use the navigation buttons to navigate to the fifth record you created, and then change the SkillSet value to Business Intelligence.
10. In Form View, click on the "new record" button and input the information of your newly hired technician, and then close the form.
11. Use the Report tool to create a report based on the Technicians table, and name the report as TechReport. In Layout view for the report, use the mouse to resize the width of the fields so they are slightly wider than the widest entry (either the field name itself or a data in the field). All six fields should fit within the page area (vertical dotted line) after you resize the specified fields. At the bottom of the report, move the text "Page 1 of 1" to the left so it is within the page area. Display the report in Print Preview and verify that the fields and page number fit within the page area, and that all the values are fully displayed. Save the report and close it.
12. Close the Technicians table and submit the file to the blackboard.
When you are ready to submit your work, click "Browse My Computer" and find your file. Once you have located your file, click "Open" and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit."