MS Access short Questions and Answer

Microsoft Access Interview Questions and Answer

Q1- What is a Database? What is its significance?

Ans - Database is an organized collection of information that can be easily accessed, managed and updated. The overall purpose of a database is to record and maintain information that is relevant to the organization and necessary for making decisions. 

Q2- What is DBMS? Give any two reasons why we need it. 

Ans - A DBMS is collection of programs that enables one or more users to create , manage and retrieve information form a database. It acts as an interface between the database and application programs , A DBMS must have the following goals: -

1. To provide retrieval flexibility. it should be easy to link data form different files. 
2. To facilitate reduction of data duplication and elimination of multiple copies of a master file. Data redundancy control helps in overcoming updating problems and promotes data integrity.

Q3- What do you understand by Data summarizing and Data classification? 

Ans - Data Summarizing:- It is a process which is used to get synopsis of the data on the basis of some criteria, e.g., thousand of bills are generated and processed everyday in a shopping mall. The DBMS which stores the data provides us the facility of getting a summary of the complete data, such as the Total Sales in a day, month or year. It can also summarize the stock related data, such as Total Units received , Total Units Sold and generates reports that give useful summaries of the updated data. 

Data Classification:- It means categorization of data on the basis of some conditions. For example, a bank has millions of accounts , but all accounts are not same. They fall under different categories, such as Saving, Current, Salary and Students account. A bank provides different services for such type of account. Hence, a DBMS can categorize the data in different sections and handle it accordingly. 

Q4- what are the various component of a Database? Explain briefly. 

Ans - A  database contains a specific structure to store Let us study about some basic terminologies used in a database that will help us in getting acquainted with the functioning of a DBMS . 

1. Tables:- Tables are the building block of as database. They complete data in a structured manner. Tables store data in the form of rows and columns, which are called record and fields respectively. 
2. Queries:- A database stores vast amount of data, but queries help us to retrieve the filtered data based upon some conditions . 
3. Forms:- Forms are the user friendly interfaces that facilitate the process of entering data in tables and queries. 
4. Reports: Reports are used to display selected data in a printable format. 

Q5- What is the significance of Tables in database? Name the elements of a Table.

Ans - Tables are the building blocks of a database. They store the complete data in a structured manner. Tables store data in the form of rows and columns called records and fields respectively. Even tables has finite number of columns and rows. Various elements of a table are: 

i.   Fields

ii.  Records

iii. Data 

Q6- State the difference between Fields and Records.

Ans- Fields:- All the columns in a table are called fields. A field describes a particular attribute of all the Table: 'Students', 'stores the roll numbers of all students, and will be a common attribute of every student.

Record:- The rows in a table ate called records. A record contains the values of all the fields that belong to a single person or an object. For example, when we enter the data for all the fields, such as Roll No., Name, Marks, etc. of a given student, it creates a new row in a table, which is called a record.

Q7- What is a Distributed Database?

Ans- A database that consists of two or more data files located at different sites on a computer network is called a Distributed Database.

Q8- What is the difference between a primary and a Foreign key?

Ans- A Primary key is used to uniquely identify each record in a database table. Whereas, a Foreign key can be defined as a field or combination of fields in a table whose value matches a primary key in another table. 

Q9- Define the term Candidate key. 

Ans- A candidate key is a field or combination of fields in a table that can qualify to became a primary key in a table. There can be multiple candidate keys in one table. Which can qualify as primary key. 

Q10- Differentiate between a Tabbed bar and a Title bar. 

Ans- A Tabbed bar is used to display database objects in a tabbed document, rather than overlapping the windows. Whereas, a title bar displays the name of the current document and application.

Q11- Explain the Datasheet View and Design View. 

Ans- Datasheet View:- Looks like a spreadsheet. It allows the user to see the actual data entered into a table.

Design View:-  In this view, you set potions to allow data to be entered in a specific format. You cannot see actual data held in the table in this view.  

Q12- What is Data Type? Explain the use of Yes/No and OLE Data Types. 

Ans- A Data Type indicates the type of data the field may store. Once the data type is defined, you cannot enter a different type of data. If you try to do so, an error message will be displayed. 

Yes/No:- It is used at places where the field can have only one possible value. It can either be True/False or Yes/No. For example, a human can either be a male or a female. 

OLE:- This is used to embed an object created in another application, such as Microsoft Word document, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or Power Point presentation into the Access table. It stores up to 2 GB of data. 

Q13-When should the Currency data type be used in MS Access? 

Ans- The Currency data type is used to store currency values and numerical data to prevent rounding off during calculations. Currency valued automatically include a dollar ($) sign, decimal and comma position. The maximum size used by this data type is up to 15 digits to the left of the decimal point and up to 4 digits to the right of the decimal point.

Q14- What is Data Validation? What is the role of Field Properties in this process?

Ans- Data Validation is a process to specify restrictions on data that users can enter into a field by creating a validation rule. It ensures that a database operates on clean, correct and meaningful data. The field properties allow us to specify a valid set of rules. as per which data is validated, before it is stored in a table.

Q15- Explain the term Default Value with the help of an example. 

Ans- You can use the Default Value property to specify a value that is automatically entered in a field when a new record is created. It can be any value that matches the data type of the field. For example, in a Mailing List table, you can set the default value for the Phone field to "2664489". When users add a record to the table, they will find the default value '2664489' being displayed in Phone field. The user can either accept this value or enter the different Phone number. 

Q16- What do you understand by Index property? Describe the three available values for index?

Ans- Creating indexes allows Access to sort records faster. There are three available values for index:

Yes (No duplicates):- Creates a unique index on the field. 

Yes (Duplicates OK):- Create a non-unique index on the field.

No:- Removes any index on the field.

Q17- What is Filtering in a table? Write the steps to filter the table.

Ans- A filter is a set of criteria that is applied on data in order to display the data accordingly. To apply filter in a datasheet, take the following steps: 

i.  Click on the drop-down arrow of the column whose data you wish to filter. 

ii. Deselect all the selected boxes from the drop-down list by clicking the Select All check box. 

iii. Now, select the items you want to see in your datasheet. 

Q18- What is a query? How many types of query can you create in MS Access?

Ans:- A Query is like a simple question that you ask to find specific information from the database. You can use queries to view, change, summarize, and analyze specific data in different ways. 

* Selected query 

* Parameter query                 

* Crosstab query 

* Action Query            

* SQL query

Q19- What do you understand by relationship between table? What are their types? 

Ans: Relationships are links that associate a field in one table with a field in another. A relationship works by matching a field with the same name in both tables. In most cases, these matching fields are the Primary key from one table that uniquely identifies each record in a table and a Foreign key in the other table. Tables can three of Relationships: 

1. One-to-One
2. One-to-many
3. One-to-many

Q20- What is a Parameter query? How is it different from a simple select query?

Ans:- A parameter query, is a query, that prompts the user to enter specific input before the query is run and controls the output depending upon the criteria defined by the user. Whereas, a select query retrieves data from one or more than one table, and displays the record set according to the user specified criteria stored in the query design.

Q21- What is Action query?

Ans:- An Action query is used to change the data in existing tables by adding data to it, deleting data from it, or updating it. It also creates new tables based on the query's result. The main advantage of using action query is that it allows you to modify a large number of records. Action query can be used to perform Delete, Update, Append, and Make table.

Q22- Name the available views in which a query can be displayed.

Ans: * Datasheet view

         * PivotChart view                   

         * Pivot Table view

         * SQL views                

         * Design view

Q23- What do you understand by Cross tab query? What is the use of cross tab query? 

Ans:- Crosstab query, allows you to use data from more than one table. You can create a crosstab query by using the Crosstab Query Wizard, which will ask you to specify, which field should be the row heading , which should be the column heading, and in which fields you want to calculate the summary , and what types of summary you want- Sum, Average, etc.

Q24- In how many ways a query can be designed?

Ans:- A query can be designed in following two ways:-

          * Query Wizard             

          * Query Design

Q25- Differentiate between Criteria and Sort property?

Ans:- The criteria property contains the condition. This is used to filter the records for the query output. The sort property is used to filter the data either in ascending or descending order.

Q26- State the difference between And & Or operator.

Ans:- The And operator displayed only those records that satisfy all the specified condition. Whereas, the Or operator displayed all the records that satisfy at least one condition.

Q27- What is the use of Or property in query design grid? 

Ans:- The Or property can be used to set multiple criteria in a query.

Q28- Explain three main views in which a fo0rm is displayed. 

Ans:- Access provides three main views in which a form can be displayed. They are:

Form View: It is used to enter or edit data. 

Design View: It is used to adjust the design of a form. It provides a more detailed view of the structure of form, i.e., Header, Detail, and Footer sections of form.

Layout View: It is used to change the look and feel of a form. It is a also a very useful view for setting the size of controls and changing their appearance 

Q29- What so you understand by Reports?

Ans:- A report is an effective way to organize and summarize data for viewing or printing. It is the end product of your from tables or database. A report consists of information that is taken form tables or queries, and presents the data the way a  user wants it. The text can be formatted in as Access are generally prepared for presenting data in a hard copy by using printers. 

Q30- Differentiate between Report Header and page Header. 

Ans:- Report header contains the information that generally date. It appears at the top pf each page i a report. Whereas, the Page header contains information that is to be displayed at the top of the report. 

Q31- What does Detail section contain? 

Ans:- This is the space where you place the controls the make up the main body of report. It displays the records, and appears between Page header and Page footer. 

Q32- What is the difference between Importing and Exporting. Explain with the help of an example.

Ans:- Importing refers to the process of transferring objects from an external database to the current database in use. In this manner, you get a copy of the imported object in the currently opened database. 

For example, A school wants to create a new database to maintain records of students who participate in co-curricular activities. To create this new database, the basic details of all the students are needed, such as Student's Name, Father's Name, and DOB, etc. These details are already present in the Student table of School Database. Hence, you can easily import this table to het a copy in the new database. This new copy of the data can be easily modified, as per your requirement. 

Q33- That is Object linking and how is it different from Embedding? Explain.

Ans:- Object linking is used to connect external objects to our database. The external objects can be images, MS Excel or Word files, etc. After linking, we can access the file through our database, whereas embedding is used to insert a copy of an external object in our database. 

Q34- What do you understand by the term Exporting?

Ans:- Exporting is the process of transferring object from the currently opened database to an external database. In this manner, a copy of the selected objects will get placed in another database.