Excel Database Files
At times, we need to keep track of information and a good place to this is in an Excel database file. Whether it is a personal list of inventory items, an invoices list or a list of bank transactions, an Excel database file makes it easy to enter, store, and find specific information.
Excel has built its tools to help you keep track of data and to find specific information when you want it. As well, with its hundreds of columns and thousands of rows, an Excel spreadsheet can hold an enormous amount of data.
Excel is also simpler to use than a full fledged database program such as Microsoft Access. Data can be entered easily into the spreadsheet and with just a few clicks, you can sort through your data and find what you want.
The basic structure for storing data in an Excel database is a table. In a table, data is entered in rows. Each row is known as a record.
Once a table has been created, Excel's data tools can be used to search, sort, and filter records in the database to find specific information.
Although there are a number of ways you can use these data tools in Excel, the easiest way of doing so is to create what's known as a list from the data in a table.
Entering Data Correctly
The first step in creating an Excel database is to enter the data. When doing so, it is important to ensure that it is entered correctly.
Data errors, caused by incorrect data entry, are the source of many problems related to data management. If the data is entered correctly in the beginning, the program is more likely to give you back the results you want.
As mentioned, rows of data, in a database are known as records. When entering records keep these guidelines in mind:
- Leave no blank rows in the table being created, not even between the headings and the first row of data.
- A record can contain data about only one specific item.
- A record must also contain ALL the data in the database about that item. There can't be information about an item in more than one row.
While rows in an Excel database are referred to as records, the columns are known as fields. Each column needs a heading to identify the data it contains. These headings are called field names.
- Field names are used to ensure that the data for each record is entered in the same sequence.
- Make sure that all the data in a column is entered using the same format. If you start entering numbers as digits (such as 10 or 20) keep it up. Don't change part way through and begin entering numbers as words (such as ten or twenty). Be consistent.
- Leave no blank rows or columns in the table.
