1. Open the program Under the Start menu at the bottom left side of the screen, choose Programs and select Microsoft Access. (see below)

2. Create a new file In the window that appears (see below), select "Blank Database" and then click OK. This time we are creating a whole new database. Later, after we have saved our work, we can come back to this screen and choose Open an Existing Database to retrieve the information we entered previously.

3. Name the new file Click in the File name box at the bottom of the window, and type in a name for your new database file. Note that in this example, the file will be saved to the My Documents folder. In this example, the new file is called "Larry". Then click the Create button at right.

4. Design your database Make sure that the Tables tab is selected, and then click the New button on the right. In the New Table window that appears, select Design View and then click OK.

5. Define the fields Databases are made of records, and within each record there can be many fields. If this was a database of books, each book would be a record and the fields would be things like book title, author, year of publication, etc. In this example, each person will be a record and the information about that person is contained in the fields. Fields are most commonly text, but you can also specify (as I did for ZIP Code in the example below) other field types. More fields is usually better because it gives you more power over the information. For example, if I created a field called Name, I could only sort my records by Name. If I break down Name into Lastname and Firstname, I can now sort my records either way. Take your time in planning out your database. Think carefully about what you will need the database to do, because it is a lot of work to go back and redesign it later. When you're done creating fields, go to Step 6.

6. Switch to data entry mode Until now, you have been in Design View. When you are done creating fields, select the View menu and switch to the Datasheet View by selecting it. You can go back to the Design View in the same way if you decide to change things later.

7. Enter your data At this point, you are ready to start entering the information into your database. When you begin to enter information on the first record, a new line will appear below it for the next record. Please enter at least 5 records so that we can do some sorting later...

A. To easily view, enter, and change data directly in a table, create a form. In the Database window, select the Forms tab and then click the New button. A "New Form" window will appear. Select "Form Wizard" and specify where the data for this form will come from (In this example, the data will come from Table1). Then click OK and the Form Wizard will walk you through the process.

B. Specify which fields you want to appear in the form by moving them individually from the left side to the right with the or by moving all at once with the button as shown below. When you are done, click the Next button.

C. Select a layout for your form and then click the Next button again as shown below.

D. Select a style from the list of choices as shown below.

E. Save your new form and then click Finish.

9. Create a Report

To analyze your data or present it a certain way in print, create a report. For example, you might print one report that groups data and calculates totals, and another report with different data formatted for printing mailing labels. To create a report, select the Reports tab from the database window and then select the "Report Wizard". Also try the "Chart Wizard" and the "Label Wizard".

10. Create a Query

To find and retrieve just the data that meets conditions you specify, including data from multiple tables, create a query. A query can also update or delete multiple records at the same time, and perform built-in or custom calculations on your data. To create a query, select the Queries tab from the database window and then select the "Simple Query Wizard" or the "Find Duplicated Query Wizard".