Lessons

Resources

No database file for this course
PDF Handbook
Video ZIP File (50 MB)
Full Course Outline
Skills Test Quiz - Under Construction
Certificate of Completion
Post-Class Survey

Questions?

Please feel free to post your questions or comments below. If you have questions about a specific lesson, please specify the lesson number and the time index in the lesson where the issue occurs. Thank you!

Subscribe for Updates

If you would like to be notified whenever changes are made to this page, new lessons are posted, or comments are made, click on the subscribe button.

Comments for Access Expert 26

Age	Subject	From
3 years	Converting Fractions to number	Garry Frank
12 years	Microsoft Access Expert 26	MBONGA

Subscribe to Access Expert 26
Get notifications when this page is updated

Intro

In lesson 26 of my Microsoft Access Expert series, we will continue exploring the Access Function Guide by focusing on math functions and type conversion functions. We will learn about common math functions like absolute value, sine, rounding, square roots, and trigonometry, as well as how to use random numbers and integer division. I will also show you how to work with type conversion functions to convert between different data types in Microsoft Access. This is part 2 of the Function Guide series.

Transcript

Welcome to Microsoft Access Expert Level 26, brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost. Today's class is part two of our Comprehensive Microsoft Access Function Guide. Our goal is to learn just about everything about all the different functions in Microsoft Access.

Part one, the last class, Expert 25, covered the string functions and the logical functions. Today's class will focus on math functions and type conversion functions. Some of these functions we have seen before, so I'll give you a brief review of them, but a lot of them are brand new.

Prerequisites: Again, I strongly recommend you have taken Access Expert Level 25, which is part 1 of the Function Guide series. Of course, I also strongly recommend you have taken the complete beginner series and all of the Expert Classes before 25 as well.

This class was recorded with Microsoft Access 2013. I do believe that all of the functions covered in today's class work with most previous versions of Access, including 2010 and 2007. If you are using 2007 or 2010, I strongly recommend you upgrade to Microsoft Access 2013. It is a much better version and a lot of bugs have been fixed. With Microsoft's new Office 365 subscription plan, the cost is no longer a problem for most people.

If you are using Access 2003 or earlier, and yes, I know some of you still do, I cannot guarantee that all of these functions exist in those older versions. I do not even have those installed on my machine anymore, so I really cannot say for sure.

My courses are broken up into beginner, expert, advanced, and developer level classes. Beginner level classes are for novices. You should understand all the topics covered in them by the time you get to the expert level classes, which you are in now.

When you finish all of the expert level classes, the advanced classes will cover event programming and macros, and the developer classes will cover Visual Basic for Applications. Each group of classes is broken down into multiple levels: level 1, 2, 3, and so on.

In addition to my normal Access classes, I also have seminars designed to teach specific topics. Some of my seminars include building web-based databases, creating forms and reports that look like calendars, securing your database, working with images and attachments, writing work orders and running a service business, tracking accounts payable, learning the SQL programming language, creating loan amortization schedules, and lots more. You can find details on all of these seminars and more on my website at accesslearningzone.com.

If you have questions about the topics covered in today's lessons, please feel free to post them in my student forums. If you are watching this course in the online theater on my website, you should see the student forum for each lesson appear in a small window next to the class video. Here you will see all of the questions that other students have asked, as well as my responses to them and comments that other students have made. I encourage you to read through these questions and answers as you start each lesson and feel free to join in the discussion.

If you are not watching these lessons on my website, you can still visit the student forums later by visiting accesslearningzone.com/forums.

To get the most out of this course, I recommend you sit back, relax, and watch each lesson completely through once without trying to do anything on your computer. Then, replay the lesson from the beginning and follow along with my examples. Actually, create the same database that I make in the video, step by step. Do not try to apply what you are learning right now to other projects until you have mastered the sample database from class.

If you get stuck or do not understand something, watch the video again from the beginning or tell me what is wrong in the student forum and I will do my best to help you.

Most importantly, keep an open mind. Access may seem intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll see that it's really easy to use.

I strongly encourage you to build the database that I build in today's class by following along with the videos. However, if you would like to download a sample copy of my finished database file, you can find it on my website at accesslearningzone.com/databases. Sometimes, if you get stuck, the easiest way to learn is to tear apart someone else's database.

One of the ways that I taught myself Access years ago was by tearing apart the Northwind Traders database that comes with Microsoft Access. You will find there is a sample database for each of my courses on my website.

Now, let's take a few minutes and go over exactly what we are going to cover in today's class.

In lesson one, we are going to begin learning about math functions. We are going to learn about absolute value, sine, round, int, fix, and val.

In lesson two, we are going to learn about the square root, exponential, and logarithm functions.

In lesson three, we are going to learn the trigonometry functions in Access. We are going to learn how to calculate pi, how to convert degrees to radians and vice versa. We will learn about the sine, cosine, tangent, and arc tangent functions, and we will learn how to calculate the height of a building.

In lesson four, still working with math functions, we are going to learn about modulus, integer division, and we will do a bunch with random numbers. We will build a dice rolling form, and you will learn how to pull up random customer records.

In lesson five, we are going to learn about the type conversion functions, such as convert to integer, long, double, date, string, currency, and more. These are used for converting from one type of data to another.

Quiz

Q1. What is the primary focus of Microsoft Access Expert Level 26?
A. Building web-based databases
B. Math functions and type conversion functions in Access
C. Event programming and macros in Access
D. Visual Basic for Applications programming

Q2. Which class does Richard recommend you complete before taking Expert Level 26?
A. Developer Level 1
B. Expert Level 25
C. Advanced Level 1
D. Seminar on SQL programming

Q3. According to the video, which versions of Access are guaranteed to work with all functions presented in this class?
A. Access 2003 and earlier
B. Access 2010, 2013, and later
C. Access 2013 and newer
D. Access 2007, 2010, and 2013

Q4. Why does Richard recommend upgrading to Microsoft Access 2013 if you are using an older version?
A. Access 2013 has a new interface that is easier to use
B. Costs have increased for Office 365 subscriptions
C. Access 2013 has fixed many bugs and is more reliable
D. Older versions cannot create any databases

Q5. What is the suggested approach for working through the lessons to get the most out of this course?
A. Watch each lesson while multitasking on another project
B. Watch a lesson once, then build the sample database alongside the video
C. Skip directly to creating your own projects
D. Only read the textbook without using any videos

Q6. Where can students find the finished sample database for this class?
A. On Microsoft's official website
B. By requesting it via email
C. On accesslearningzone.com databases
D. In the Northwind Traders database

Q7. What topics are planned for lesson three of today's class?
A. Modulus and integer division
B. Trigonometry functions and conversions between degrees and radians
C. String manipulation functions
D. Event programming and macros

Q8. What is the purpose of type conversion functions discussed in lesson five?
A. Convert databases from Access to SQL Server
B. Convert data from tables to queries only
C. Convert data from one data type to another
D. Change data from primary key to foreign key

Q9. What should you do if you do not understand a topic or get stuck during a lesson?
A. Stop working and move on to the next lesson
B. Watch the video again or ask questions in the student forums
C. Search on a different website
D. Wait until the end of the course to resolve issues

Q10. Which of the following is NOT a prerequisite for this course, according to the instructor?
A. Taking Access Expert Level 25
B. Completing all beginner level classes
C. Building your own SQL Server database
D. Finishing all expert level classes before 25

Answers: 1-B; 2-B; 3-D; 4-C; 5-B; 6-C; 7-B; 8-C; 9-B; 10-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from Access Learning Zone is Microsoft Access Expert Level 26. I am Richard Rost, your instructor. This lesson is the second part of our Comprehensive Microsoft Access Function Guide, where we aim to explore nearly all the functions available in Microsoft Access.

In the previous class, Expert 25, we went over string functions and logical functions. In this class, our focus shifts to mathematical functions and type conversion functions. Some of these will be review, as we have seen them before, but many will be new to you.

It is important to have taken Access Expert Level 25, which serves as part 1 of the Function Guide. I also highly suggest you complete the entire series of beginner classes and all expert classes up to this point to ensure a proper foundation.

This class was created using Microsoft Access 2013, but the content should be compatible with earlier versions like Access 2010 and 2007. That said, if you are working with Access 2007 or 2010, upgrading to Access 2013 will make your experience better, with fewer bugs and new features. The Office 365 subscription plan now makes upgrading affordable for most users. For anyone still using Access 2003 or earlier, not every function discussed will necessarily be available, and since I no longer have those versions installed, I cannot verify compatibility for them.

My coursework is divided into beginner, expert, advanced, and developer levels. Beginners should be familiar with all core concepts before moving onto expert classes like this one. After the expert level, advanced classes will teach event programming and macros, and developer classes will cover Visual Basic for Applications. Each track is broken into several levels for a structured learning path.

Besides the regular classes, I offer seminars on specialized topics. These range from building web-based databases and calendar-style forms and reports to database security, handling images and attachments, work order management, service business tracking, accounts payable, SQL programming, loan schedules, and more. You can find details about these seminars on my website.

If you have questions about the material, I encourage you to visit the student forums. If you're watching this course in the online theater on my website, the forum for each lesson appears next to the video. You can review questions other students have asked, see my responses, and join the conversation. If you're not viewing on my site, you can still participate in the forums by visiting my website directly.

To get the best results, watch each lesson uninterrupted the first time through. Then, watch again, this time following along and building the sample database exactly as I do in the video. Avoid trying to apply concepts to your own projects until you have fully mastered the sample database from the class.

If you get stuck, re-watch from the beginning, or bring your question to the forums and I will help. Stay open-minded. While Access can seem overwhelming at first, it becomes much easier with practice.

I recommend building the database yourself while following along, but if you'd prefer, you can download a copy of my completed database from my website. Sometimes, breaking down a finished example helps make sense of things. In fact, this is how I learned years ago, by dissecting the Northwind Traders sample database that comes with Access. You can find a sample for each of my courses on my website.

Here's the outline for today's class:

- Lesson one covers basic math functions: absolute value, sine, round, int, fix, and val.
- Lesson two addresses square root, exponential, and logarithmic functions.
- In lesson three, we discuss trigonometric functions in Access. This includes working with pi, converting between degrees and radians, using sine, cosine, tangent, and arc tangent functions, and even calculating the height of a building.
- Lesson four continues on math functions with modulus, integer division, and random numbers. We'll create a dice rolling form and learn to pick random customer records.
- Lesson five focuses on type conversion functions, explaining how to change from one data type to another, including conversions to integer, long, double, date, string, currency, and more.

You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below.

Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Absolute value function (Abs)
Sine function (Sin)
Round function (Round)
Integer part functions (Int and Fix)
Value conversion function (Val)
Square root function (Sqr)
Exponential function (Exp)
Logarithm function (Log)
Calculating pi in Access
Degree to radian and radian to degree conversion
Cosine function (Cos)
Tangent function (Tan)
Arc tangent function (Atn)
Calculating height using trigonometry
Modulus operator (Mod)
Integer division operator (\\)
Generating random numbers (Rnd)
Building a dice rolling form
Selecting random customer records
Type conversion functions (CInt, CLng, CDbl, CDate, CStr, CCur, etc.)