Microsoft Works for Windows Database Instructions

Database Window

The database window opens inside the Works program window.  See views below for details.

Toolbar

Since toolbars can be customized, the buttons may vary or appear in a different order.

To reduce to 75% view -  Click on the word "Zoom" in the box in the left-hand corner of the window. Select 75% from the window that appears. Or you can click on the – (minus) button beside the percentage to decrease the size. (+ increases size).

To change size of fields - Double-click on the field name to resize the field to the size of its largest entry. OR to adjust manually, move the mouse cursor to the heading of the field that you want to increase. Put the cursor on the line between that field and the field to its right. The cursor will change and you will see the word "adjust". Click and hold the mouse button down and drag to the right. To reduce the size of the field, drag to the left. 

If there is more information in the cell than can be reasonably displayed, it is still in the cell, and can be seen in the data entry bar at the top of the window when the cell is selected.

List and Form Views

List view shows all the records in a list

Form View only shows the information concerning one record.

You can change between list view and form view in three ways:

1. On the menubar, go to View and select Form or List (selected view will have check mark in front of it)

2. OR Press F9 to go to Form view; Shift and F9 to go to List view.
   
3. OR Click the List or Form tool button in the Toolbar. (Note: Some computers may not have these choices available on the Toolbar since the Toolbar can be customized.)

Pane Control – To "split" the screen so that the name of the country (or usually the first field of the database) is visible at all times, go to the gray bar beside the Zoom Box at the bottom left-hand corner and put your mouse cursor on it. The cursor will change to the Adjust cursor and you can click and drag right until you are at the line between the first and second field. Let go of the mouse button and you will have two windows that can be scrolled, but have the very same information. If you only scroll in the second window, you will always be able to see the first field (country).

Your window will look something like this.

NOTE:  Everything in Pane 1 is also in Pane 2 (including country).

To Move a Field

1. Move your mouse cursor (thick cross) over the name of the field you want to move.

2. Click and your column will be highlighted and the cursor will change to the "drag" cursor. Click and hold and the "drag" cursor will change to "move"

3. Drag the column to its new location. You will see a darker dividing line before the column where this moved column will be inserted.

To Sort Records

1. Go to Record, and select "Sort Records".

2. At the dialog box, click on the down triangle to show a list of field names and choose the field to sort on by clicking it.  (NOTE: Another way to choose the field name is to click in the box under "Sort by" and use the arrow keys to move through the list.  Press enter to choose a field name.)

Choose Ascending (A to Z or 1 to 9) or Descending (Z to A or 9 to 1) and click on OK. In most cases the first sort by box is the only one you will use.

To filter

You will be asked to name the filter. You can name the filter or click OK to use the default, Filter 1.

Put in information you know to find information that you do not know. Select the field that contains the information you know (For the question, What is the capital of Oman? We know that the country is Oman—so we use the country field to create the filter.) Under "Field name", click on the down triangle to show a list of field names and choose the field by clicking it.  (NOTE: Another way to choose the field name is to click in the box under "Field name" and use the arrow keys to move through the list.  Press enter to choose a field name.)

The comparison in the second part of the filter definition should be chosen with the following guidelines:

Use the number phrases (equal, not equal to, greater than) when your "Compare to" will be a number. The number phrases are the phrases that could be used in number sentence, such as 2/2 = 1, ½ <1, 2>1.
In most cases, use contains as the comparison when the "Compare to" will be a word. Sometimes you can use begins with or does not begin with, but contains is safer.

Put the Compare to in the box on the right. Be sure to spell correctly—you should even be sure not to add an extra space at the end. The filter will not work if this is not exact.

Click on Apply filter or press return.

After you have completed this search, you need to "Show All Records" to see all the records before you can begin a new search (create another filter).

Show all records - Go to Record; choose Show and All Records.

You can also delete the filter at the Filter definition dialog box.

When you create a new filter (choose Tools, then Filter), you will see the old filter definitions. You can delete the filter or just change the information to meet your new definitions.

How to Start a New Database

1. Open up Microsoft Works and choose Database from the Works Tools.

2. You will get the Insert Field screen. Name your field, format it and click on Add.
3. Continue adding your fields. After you add the first field you will have the option of "Done." Choose this option when you have added the last field.

You can start adding records.

Adding a Field

1. Be sure you are in the List view. Place the cursor in a field before or after where you want to add the new field.
   

2. Go to Record in the Menu Bar and select Insert Field and choose either before or after current field (the one your cursor is in)

3. You will get a screen that will allow you to name the field and to determine what kind of field it is and how it should be formatted.

4. Click on Add when the field is named and formatted. You will get the Insert Field screen again. Click on Done after all the fields you want to add are in the database.

To Edit a Field

1. On the menubar, go to Format and select Field.
2. You can change the title or the kind of field in the window that appears.
3. You can click other tabs to change the font.

To Add a Record

1. Be sure you are in the List view. The record you add will appear above the record where your cursor is located..

2. Go to View and choose Insert Record.

To Delete a Record or Field

1. Place your cursor in the field or record you want to delete. Go to the Record Menu and choose "Delete Record" or "Delete Field."

2. If you are deleting a record, it will delete without any warning. 
3. To retrieve the deleted record, immediately go to the Edit Menu and choose Undo Delete Record (Ctrl Z).
4. If you are deleting a field, you will get a message that will warn you that you are about to delete information.

To Duplicate Data - To duplicate information in a cell, you can copy and paste, fill down, or fill right.

To Copy and Paste

1. Click in the cell you want to copy.
2. Edit - Copy on the menu OR click the Copy Button OR Ctrl-C on the keyboard. 
3. Click in the cell where you want to paste.
4. Edit - Paste on the menu OR use Paste Button OR Ctrl-V on the keyboard.

To Fill Down

Click in the cell you want to copy. Click, hold, and drag down through the cells in which you want to paste. Edit - Fill Down on the menu OR  Ctrl-D on the keyboard. In this example, Piedmont would appear in the 4 dark cells.

To Fill Right

1. Click in the cell you want to copy.
2. Click, hold, and drag right through the cells in which you want to paste.
3. Edit - Fill Right on the menu OR Ctrl-R on the keyboard.

To Customize the Toolbar - CAUTION!!!   
[In labs, it is good to keep the toolbars uniform, so this skill is NOT normally taught to students.]  There may be times when the teacher may need to add a button for a particular lesson.

1. To Add a Button, click on the menu category and then click and drag the button from the window to the toolbar.
2. To Delete a Button, drag the button from the toolbar to anywhere in the open Customize Works Toolbar window.  It will automatically go into the correct category.
3. To Enable ToolTips, check the box in the Customize Toolbar window.
   
   

To Change Options - CAUTION!!!   
[In labs, it is good to keep options uniform so this skill is NOT normally taught to students.]  
There may be times when the teacher may need to change options for a particular lesson.

On the menubar, go to Tools and select Options. Then select the Data Entry tab.

Last edited 6/4/01