Transcript Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database

Database Tools
Lesson 15
Objectives
Maintaining a Database
• You can maintain some important aspects of a database by
using the commands on the Info tab and Save & Publish
tab on the File tab in Backstage view. Though they might
not seem as important as the actual data in your database,
the commands on these tabs allow you to provide
protection of all the data in the file, and that is important.
By using the commands on the Info tab, you can compact
and repair your database, set database properties, and
protect your database by using encryption. The commands
on the Save & Publish tab let you save your database in a
previous file format and back up your database.
Backing Up a Database
• After all the work you have put into a database, you start to
depend on being able to access and update the data and
the information in it on a regular basis. To protect your
work, it is a good idea to back up a database. A backup is a
copy of a file. It is a good idea to create backup files of all
your databases and continue to back them up on a regular
basis. Essentially, you are making another copy of the
database that you can store on your computer, on a
network drive, or in another safe location to prevent the
loss of your data. In this exercise, you back up a database.
Backing Up a Database
• You can store a backup copy in the same place as your original
file, such as on your computer. However, if something happened
to your computer, both files would be affected. A better solution
is to save a backup copy to a network drive or removable media
that is stored in a different physical location. For example, some
companies that maintain sensitive client data have elaborate
backup processes in place to store backup copies on computers
or other media off premises in another part of the city or in
another part of the country. If an entire office building is
destroyed by fire or a city is involved in a natural disaster, the
backup files containing client data are safe in another location. It
is a good idea to consider the appropriate precautions needed
for even a small company’s data.
Backing Up a Database
• When backing up a database, Access automatically adds
the date to the filename. You can keep this filename as an
identifier for the backup file or change the filename to
something else. Just keep in mind that you need a new
name or location so that you aren’t just overwriting your
original file. In the Save In box, choose the location where
you want to save the file.
Step-by-Step: Back Up a Database
• Before you begin these steps, be sure to turn on and/or log
on to your computer and LAUNCH Access.
1. OPEN Fabrikam from the data files for this lesson.
2. Save the database as FabrikamXXX (where XXX is your
initials).
3. Click the File tab and click Save & Publish. The Save &
Publish menu appears, as shown in on the next slide.
Step-by-Step: Back Up a Database
4. In the Advanced category, click Back Up Database and then click the
Save As button. The Save As dialog box appears, as shown on the next
slide. Notice that Access automatically adds the current date to the
end of the filename.
Step-by-Step: Back Up a Database
5. Click the Save button to accept the generated filename.
• LEAVE the database open to use in the next exercise.
Saving as a Previous Version
• Access 2010 allows you to save a database in a previous
Access file format so that those using earlier versions of the
software can use the database. However, some features of
Access 2010 cannot be converted to a file format prior to
Access 2007. Access will alert you when this is the case,
and you can always remove that feature in order to save the
database as a previous version. Before you can save a
database in a previous file format, you should open the
database, but make sure all objects are closed. In this
exercise, you save an Access 2010 database as a previous
version so a user who has an earlier version of Access can
open your document without any difficulty.
Saving as a Previous Version
• When you save a new, blank database in Microsoft Office Access
2010, you are prompted to give it a filename. Although you may
have created the database in Access 2010, it is saved in the
Access 2007 format by default, which gives it the .accdb
extension. The Office Access 2007 format is not readable by
earlier versions of Access. If you need to share a database with
others using earlier versions of the software, the Save As
command allows you to save the database in the Access 2000
format or the Access 2002–2003 format, both of which have the
extension .mdb. When you use the Save As command to save a
database in an earlier format, it preserves the original database
file in its format and creates a copy in the format you choose.
Step-by-Step: Save as a Previous Version
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. Click the File tab and then click Save & Publish. The Save & Publish
menu appears.
2. In the Database File
Types category, click
Access 2002–2003
Database and then
click the Save As
button. The Save As
dialog box appears,
as shown at right.
Notice that Microsoft Access Database (2002–2003) is displayed in the Save as type
box.
Step-by-Step: Save as a Previous Version
3. Key Fabrikam2002–2003 in the file name box.
4. Click the Save button. Notice the filename and format
change is displayed in the title bar, as shown below.
• LEAVE the
database
open to use
in the next
exercise.
Compacting and Repairing a Database
• The Compact and Repair command on the Info tab in Backstage view,
optimizes files and fixes minor problems in the file structure that may
result from normal, everyday use of a database file. In this exercise, you
compact and repair a database.
• As records or objects in a database are deleted, the empty space within
the file might not be replaced right away, leaving the file fragmented or
with large empty spaces within the file structure. In databases with
many records and objects, these issues can affect the database’s
performance over time. In the same way, minor errors can occur in any
file, especially when it is shared by many different users on a network
drive. Using the Compact and Repair command on a regular basis will
help to optimize the file and repair minor problems before they become
major ones.
Step-by-Step: Compact and Repair a
Database
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. Click the File
tab and then
click the Info
tab. Select
Compact &
Repair on
the Info tab
menu that
appears, as
shown at
right. Access
compacts and repairs the database.
• LEAVE the database open to use in the next exercise.
Setting Database Properties
• Database properties are details about a file that describe or identify it.
Using database properties makes it easier to organize and identify
databases later. Some properties can be specified by you and some are
automatically updated by Access. You can search to find files that
contain certain properties, such as keywords, file size, or creation date.
Standard properties are those such as author, title, and subject that are
associated with a document by default.
• In this exercise, you set database properties that will help you identify
and organize it later.
• The table on the next slide describes each Standard property in the
Summary tab of the Properties dialog box. These properties can all be
changed by the user; however, some properties in the General,
Statistics, and Contents tabs—such as the file size and date the
document was created or updated—are Automatically Updated
Properties that are updated by Access and cannot be changed.
Setting Database Properties
Step-by-Step: Set Database Properties
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. Click the File tab and then click
the Info tab. On the Info menu
that appears, click the View and
edit database properties link.
The Fabrikam.accdb Properties
dialog box appears, as shown
at right.
2. Key Fall Collection in the Title box.
3. Key preview in the Subject box.
4. Select the text in the Author box and key Your Name.
Step-by-Step: Set Database Properties
5. Key Britta Simon in the Manager box.
6. Key Fabrikam, Inc. in the Company box
7. Click the General tab. Notice that this tab displays the file
type, location, and size as well as the dates the file was
created, modified, and accessed.
8. Click the Contents tab to view a list of the types of objects
within the database file.
9. Click OK.
• LEAVE the database open to use in the next exercise.
Encrypting a Database
• Encrypting a database means to scramble the data in a way that can
only be reconverted by an authorized user who has the password. When
you use a database password to encrypt a database, you make all data
unreadable by other tools and you force users to enter a password to
use the database. Encrypting a database can provide security for
sensitive data. You can use the decrypt database command to change
the password on a regular basis or to remove it.
• When you open an encrypted database, the Password Required dialog
box appears where you key the password. Passwords are case
sensitive, meaning you can use uppercase and lowercase letters as well
as numbers and symbols, but you must enter them exactly as they were
entered when the password was set in order for there to be a match. It
is very important for you to remember your password, because if you
forget it Microsoft cannot retrieve it for you. Write down the password
and store it in a safe location.
Encrypting and Decrypting a Database
• To encrypt a database, you first need to open it in Exclusive
mode. Decrypting a database is removing the password
from a file that has been encrypted.
• In this exercise you help secure a database by encrypting it,
and then decrypting it.
• If you want to remove a password, open the database in
Exclusive mode, then click the Decrypt Database button
from the Database Tools group and key the password in the
Unset Database Password dialog box exactly as it was
entered to encrypt the database.
Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. Click the File tab and then click the Info tab. On the Info
menu that appears, click the Encrypt with Password
button. The Microsoft Office Access message box appears
saying you must open the database in Exclusive mode, as
shown below.
2. Click OK.
3. CLOSE the database but don’t close Access.
Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database
4. Click the Open command on the File tab. The Open dialog
box appears.
5. Navigate to the data files for this lesson and select
Fabrikam (or FabrikamXXX, if you saved it with this name).
Make sure you choose the Fabrikam database file that has
an ‘A’ as part of the icon, indicating it’s an Access 2007
file type.
Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database
6. Click the down arrow on the Open button and select Open
Exclusive from the menu, as shown below. The Fabrikam
database file opens in exclusive mode.
Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database
7. On the File tab, on
the Info tab menu,
click the Encrypt
with Password
button. The Set
Database Password
dialog box appears,
as shown above.
8. Key $Fabrikam09fc in the Password box.
9. Key $Fabrikam09fc in the Verify box.
10.Click OK. If you get another message box informing you
that an option will be ignored, click OK. The database is
now encrypted with a password.
Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database
11. CLOSE the database.
12. OPEN the database
in Exclusive mode
again. The Password
Required dialog box
appears, as shown above.
13.Key $Fabrikam09fc and click OK. The database opens.
14. On the File tab, on the Info tab menu, click the Decrypt
Database button. (If you hadn’t opened the database in
Exclusive mode, you would get a message prompting you
to do so.) The Unset Database Password dialog box
appears.
Step-by-Step: Encrypt and Decrypt a Database
15. Key $Fabrikam09fc and click OK.
16. CLOSE the database.
17. OPEN the database in regular mode. Notice that a
password is no longer required to open the file.
18. CLOSE the database.
• LEAVE Access open to use in the next exercise.
Configuring Database Options
• The Access Options dialog box provides many ways to
customize Access. From changing popular options to
specific or advanced options for databases, Access offers a
number of ways to customize your copy of Access. Through
the Access Options dialog box, you can enable error
checking, show/hide the Navigation pane, and select a
startup display form.
• If you want a form to be displayed automatically when you
open a database, the Display Form menu lets you choose
from available forms in the database. You can choose none
if you do not wish to display a form.
Configuring Database Options
• The Display Navigation Pane option is turned on by default, but if
you don’t want the Navigation pane to be displayed when you open
your database, click the Display Navigation Pane check box to
remove the check mark. You must close and reopen the current
database for these settings to take effect.
• Enable error checking, located in the Object Designers options, is
another feature you can change. Error checking is on by default, but
you can clear the check box to disable all types of error checking in
forms and reports. For example, Access places error indicators in
controls that encounter one or more types of errors. The indicators
appear as triangles in the upper-left or upper-right corner of the
control, depending on text direction. The default indicator color is
green, but you can change that to another color if you choose.
Configuring Database Options
• The Access Options dialog box lets you customize certain
aspects of Access and your databases. The Access Options
dialog box has 11 sections of customizable options,
including General, Current Database, Datasheet, Object
Designers, Proofing, and Language. In this exercise, you use
the Access Options dialog box to display a form and hide
the Navigation pane.
Step-by-Step: Configure Database Options
• OPEN FabrikamInc from the data files for this lesson.
1. Save the database as FabrikamIncXXX (where XXX is your initials).
2. Click the File tab and click the Options button. The Access Options
dialog box appears.
3. Click the Current
Database button on
the left to display the
Current Database
section of the Access
Options dialog box,
as shown at right.
Step-by-Step: Configure Database Options
4. In the Application Options section, click the Display Form down arrow
and select Showroom Contact Form from the menu.
5. In the Navigation section, notice that the Display Navigation Pane is
turned on by default.
6. Click the Display Navigation Pane check box to remove the check mark
and click OK. A Microsoft Access dialog box appears, as shown below,
saying you need to close and reopen the database for the changes to
take effect.
7. Click OK.
8. CLOSE the database.
Step-by-Step: Configure Database Options
9. Open the FabrikamIncXXX database. Notice that the Navigation pane
is not visible and the Showroom Contact Form is displayed, as shown
below.
Step-by-Step: Configure Database Options
10. Click the File tab and click the Options button.
11. Click the Current Database button on the left, if it’s not
already selected.
12. In the Application Options section, click the Display Form
down arrow and select None from the menu.
13. In the Navigation section, click the Display Navigation
Pane check box to insert a check mark.
14. Click the Navigation Options button. The Navigation
Options dialog box appears. Notice the grouping and
display options available and click Cancel.
15. Click the Object Designers button on the left.
Step-by-Step: Configure Database Options
16. Scroll to the bottom of the window to see the Error
checking section. The Enable Error Checking options are
turned on by default.
17. Click OK. The Microsoft Access dialog box appears again.
18. Click OK.
19. CLOSE the database.
20. OPEN the FabrikamIncXXX database. Notice the
Navigation pane is displayed and the form is not.
• LEAVE the report open to use in the next exercise.
Software Orientation
• The Database Tools tab on the Ribbon contains advanced
commands for maintaining documents.
• Use the figure below as a reference throughout this lesson
as well as the rest of this book.
Using Database Tools
• The Database Tools tab has advanced commands for
maintaining databases.
• You can do such things as identify object dependencies,
create object reports with the Database Documenter, and
split a database by using this tab.
Identifying Object Dependencies
• Object dependencies describe how objects in a database rely on
other components to function properly. The Object Dependencies
task pane helps you manage a database by displaying how all its
components interact. This can be helpful if you want to delete a
table or form. You will be able to see which other objects may
also need to be changed so that they will still function without the
deleted table. In this exercise, you identify object dependencies.
• The Object Dependencies task pane displays how database
objects, such as tables or forms, use other objects. This process
helps keep databases running smoothly by preventing errors that
could result when changes or deletions are made to objects in a
database. The Object Dependencies task pane works only for
tables, forms, queries, and reports in an Access database.
Step-by-Step: Identify Object Dependencies
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. Click the Product Placements Table in the Navigation pane
to select it.
2. On the Database Tools tab, in the Analyze group, click the
Object Dependencies button. The Object Dependencies
pane displays dependency information for the selected
table, as shown on the next slide. Notice that the Objects
that depend on me radio button is selected.
3. Click the Objects that I depend on radio button. Notice the
changes in the Reports section.
Step-by-Step: Identify Object Dependencies
Step-by-Step: Identify Object Dependencies
4. Click the Objects that depend on me radio button. Click the
plus sign (+) beside the Showroom Contact table to see
the tables and forms that depend on the Showroom
Contact table.
5. Click the Showroom Contact link to display it in Design
view where you could make any necessary changes
regarding dependencies.
6. CLOSE the Object Dependencies pane.
• LEAVE the database open to use in the next exercise.
Using the Database Documenter
• The Database Documenter provides detailed information about a
database and presents it as a report that can be printed. Use the
Database Documenter when you need to have a printed record of this
information, such as for record-keeping purposes or as insurance in
case you have to re-create the database or object. In this exercise, you
use the Database Documenter to create a report about the objects
included in the database.
• The Database Documenter creates a report that shows details, or
definitions, about a selected object and opens it in Print Preview. You
can view the properties for a form as well as properties for each section
of the form and each label, button, or control on the form. The
Documenter dialog box contains tabs for each type of object, as well as
a tab that displays all objects. Select the object whose definitions you
want to view or print. The Options button lets you further specify the
features of the object for which you want to view the definitions.
Step-by-Step: Use the Database Documenter
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. On the Database Tools tab, in the Relationships group, click the
Database Documenter button. The Documenter dialog box
appears, as shown below.
Step-by-Step: Use the Database Documenter
2. Click the All Object
Types tab.
3. Click the Tables tab.
4. Click the Showroom
Contact check box in the
Tables list.
5. Click the Options button.
The Print Table Definition
dialog box appears, as
shown at right.
6. Click OK to close the
Print Table Definition dialog box.
Step-by-Step: Use the Database Documenter
7. Click OK to close the Documenter dialog box. If you receive a message
box asking you to close the table click OK. The Object Definition report
appears in
Print Preview.
8. Click the Zoom
button in the
Zoom group to
view the report,
as shown at
right. At this
point, you could
print the report
or make any
changes to the
layout and then print it.
Step-by-Step: Use the Database Documenter
9. Click the Next Page button on the record navigation bar to
move to page 4. Notice the relationship diagram included
in the report.
10. Click the Close Print Preview button.
• LEAVE the database open to use in the next exercise.
Splitting a Database
• It can be difficult for many people to use the data in a database at the
same time. Synchronizing data can be difficult and time consuming.
• To avoid slowing down the network because of constant changes being
made to a database, the Database Splitter wizard can split the
database in two files: one that contains the tables, called the back-end
file; and one that contains the queries, forms, reports, and other objects
created from the tables, called the front-end file.
• Users who need to access the data can customize their own forms,
reports, pages, and other objects while maintaining a single source of
data on the network. It is a good idea to back up the database before
splitting it.
• In this exercise, you use the Database Splitter wizard to split a
database.
Step-by-Step: Split a Database
• USE the database open from the previous exercise.
1. On the Database
Tools tab, in the
Move Data group,
click the Access
Database button.
The Database
Splitter Wizard
appears, as
shown at right.
Step-by-Step: Split a Database
2. Click the Split Database button. The Create Back-end
Database dialog box appears, as shown below.
Step-by-Step: Split a Database
3. Navigate to the location where you want to save the backend file and click Split. After a few moments, the Database
Splitter dialog box appears, as shown below.
4. Click OK.
5. CLOSE the database.
6. OPEN FabrikamXXX_be.
Notice that it contains only
the tables for the database.
7. CLOSE the database.
• CLOSE Access.
Lesson Summary