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Intro

In lesson 325, you will learn how to compare two tables in Microsoft Access using recordsets, which is helpful for synchronizing databases and identifying differences between them. I will show you how to track student attendance and calculate the number of days missed or worked, including accounting for weekends and holidays. You will also pick up techniques for handling real-world scenarios like managing employee time off while getting more experience with recordsets. This lesson uses Microsoft Access 2003, but the material applies to earlier versions as well.

Transcript

Welcome to Microsoft Access 325 brought to you by accesslearningzone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.

In today's class, I am going to teach you how to compare two tables with each other. This is great, for example, if you want to synchronize two databases, and I will show you how to do this with recordsets.

Let's say you have a copy of a database in your office, and you want to put a copy on your laptop, and you want to see what records are different between them. Maybe you went away and added a couple of records, then brought it back to the office and want to see what has been changed. I will show you how to do that.

Also, we are going to see about tracking student attendance. Again, this is a very specific example of a general concept, and you will learn a lot more about working with recordsets in tracking student attendance and how that works. I am going to show you a really cool technique for tracking days off, holidays, and weekends. Everyone always asks me how to see how many days the student missed, or how many days the employee worked between two dates if you have to figure out weekends and holidays. Maybe you want to give them Thanksgiving off and Christmas off and things like that, but you want to count how many days they worked. I am going to show you that in today's class.

This class follows Microsoft Access 320 through 324. I strongly recommend you take those classes before this one.

In this class, I will be working with Microsoft Access 2003. However, most of the material should be backward compatible with all previous versions of Access, back to about Access 2000.

I strongly recommend you sit back and relax, watch the lesson one time through, then watch it a second time following along with the examples, and build the database that I build in class. Do not try to apply what you learn immediately to whatever other databases you might be working on.

The database files for this class can be found online at accesslearningzone.com/students. You will find a list of all the sample database files there. Again, it is strongly recommended that you build the databases in class that I am building.

If you have any questions about the material covered in today's class, please feel free to post a note in the student interaction forums. You will see the student interaction forums next to the video window. If you are watching this class on our website or you are using our video player software and you are connected to the internet, you should see the little student interactive forums pop up right next to the video player.

If you have any other Access questions, please visit the forums on the website at accesslearningzone.com/forums. We have brand new interactive forums as of October 2008. I created all brand new forums and you can log on, check them out, and chat with me, other students, and other Access experts.

Of course, I cannot stress enough: do the examples yourself. You will benefit the most by building the databases that I build in class.

Quiz

Q1. What is the main topic of Microsoft Access 325?
A. How to create forms in Access
B. How to compare two tables with each other
C. How to design reports
D. How to import data from Excel

Q2. In what scenario would you use the techniques taught in this class regarding comparing two tables?
A. If you want to split a table into multiple tables
B. If you want to synchronize two databases
C. If you want to change field types
D. If you want to secure your Access file

Q3. What specific example is mentioned that illustrates the general concept of comparing tables?
A. Budget management
B. Employee scheduling
C. Tracking student attendance
D. Creating user logins

Q4. What additional tracking technique is demonstrated in this class?
A. Tracking email activity
B. Tracking password changes
C. Tracking holidays and weekends
D. Tracking web traffic

Q5. According to the instructor, what should you do before applying the class material to your own databases?
A. Analyze your current database structure
B. Take a backup of all your databases
C. Watch the lesson one time through, then watch it again and follow along with the examples
D. Read the official Microsoft documentation

Q6. Where can students find the database files for this class?
A. On a USB drive mailed to them
B. On a shared Excel file
C. Online at accesslearningzone.com students
D. In the Microsoft Access templates directory

Q7. For which versions of Microsoft Access is the material in this course most relevant?
A. Only Access 2007 and later
B. Only the latest version of Access
C. Access 2000 and later
D. Only Access 2016

Q8. What does the instructor recommend for the best learning experience?
A. Only read the transcripts instead of watching the videos
B. Practice with unrelated databases
C. Build the same databases as demonstrated in the class
D. Skip the examples and focus on theory

Q9. Where should students ask questions about the material?
A. By emailing the instructor directly
B. By posting in the student interaction forums on the website or video player
C. By calling the support line
D. By sending a letter to the office

Q10. What is noted about the student forums as of October 2008?
A. They have been discontinued
B. They are only for expert-level users
C. They have been completely redesigned
D. They require an additional fee to access

Answers: 1-B; 2-B; 3-C; 4-C; 5-C; 6-C; 7-C; 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 covers how to compare two tables in Microsoft Access, especially when you need to synchronize databases or find differences between records. For instance, if you keep a copy of your database at work and another on your laptop, and you make changes to one copy while away, this lesson will show you how to identify exactly which records differ between the two when you return. The focus is on using recordsets to manage this process efficiently.

Additionally, I will demonstrate how to use similar techniques for tracking things like student attendance. Although the example centers on attendance, the tools and methods you will learn can be applied to many different real-world situations. In particular, I will show you a useful way to handle weekends, holidays, and other days off when calculating how many days a student was absent or how many days an employee worked. If you have ever wondered how to factor in specific dates like Thanksgiving or Christmas into your calculations, I'll be addressing that in this class.

This lesson builds on concepts introduced in Microsoft Access 320 through 324, so it is very helpful if you have already completed those courses. While I am using Microsoft Access 2003 for the demonstration, the majority of the techniques and procedures should work in versions as far back as Access 2000.

When taking this class, I recommend first watching the full lesson without trying to follow along, then watching a second time, working alongside the video and duplicating the database that I create. Learning is most effective when you build and practice with the examples provided instead of trying to immediately apply the concepts to your own unrelated projects.

All of the example database files for this course are available for download on the Access Learning Zone website. You will find a complete listing of these sample files, so you can work with the same materials that I use in class.

Should you have any questions about today's lesson, you are encouraged to post in the student interaction forums. These are available next to the video window when viewing the lesson on our website or through our video player software, provided you have an internet connection. The forums are a great place to get answers from me, other students, and Access professionals.

Lastly, I want to emphasize the importance of hands-on practice. Building the sample databases along with me will reinforce your understanding and help you get the most benefit from this course.

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

Comparing two tables for differences
Synchronizing two Access databases
Using recordsets to find differing records
Tracking student attendance with Access
Calculating days missed excluding weekends and holidays
Handling holidays and weekends in date calculations
Counting workdays between two dates in Access