Saving a Database

Once you enter a database name , and save the database file in the File New Database window, Access takes care of saving your information for you automatically. Each time you add data to a form, Access saves the information and updates the data table. Whenever you close a datasheet view, Access asks whether you want to save what you ve done. This is a nice feature, which saves you from entering an hour s worth of data, and then forgetting to save the file before you exit. All programs should be this thoughtful.

You can save Access data tables in other formats, however, so that you can use them with other things. Here are two options:

• You can choose Save As on the File menu to save a database as a data access page (a Web page that also has a connection to a database).

• You can select Export from the File menu to save the database in other popular formats, including XML documents, Microsoft Active Server Pages, HTML, Rich Text Format, and Excel.

For now, however, let s keep Access in Access and move on to the fun part ”juggling all this interesting data you ve collected.