Setup

Overview

Time: min

Objectives

• Install Microsoft Office to use Microsoft Access

Software setup

To practice the database design concepts in this workshop, Microsoft Access, will be used to create a simple database.

Install Microsoft Office

To use Microsoft Access for this workshop, please install Microsoft Office available through UIC Technology Solutions.

Follow the instructions from Technology Solutions to install: Microsoft Office Installation Instructions

Install the videoconferencing client

If you haven't used Zoom before, go to the official website to download and install the Zoom client for your computer.

Set up your workspace

Like other Carpentries workshops, you will be learning by "coding along" with the Instructors. To do this, you will need to have both the window for the tool you will be learning about (a terminal, RStudio, your web browser, etc..) and the window for the Zoom video conference client open. In order to see both at once, we recommend using one of the following set up options:

• Two monitors: If you have two monitors, plan to have the tool you are learning up on one monitor and the video conferencing software on the other.
• Two devices: If you don't have two monitors, do you have another device (tablet, smartphone) with a medium to large sized screen? If so, try using the smaller device as your video conference connection and your larger device (laptop or desktop) to follow along with the tool you will be learning about.
• Divide your screen: If you only have one device and one screen, practice having two windows (the video conference program and one of the tools you will be using at the workshop) open together. How can you best fit both on your screen? Will it work better for you to toggle between them using a keyboard shortcut? Try it out in advance to decide what will work best for you.

Data files:

Please download the following file(s) to participate in the workshop:

Link to Database: Sample_Database

About the Data Used in this Workshop:

The dataset used is a sample dataset for executing queries on MS Access. It is a basic data on tables like Customer, Purchase and Items.

Key Points

• Microsoft Access is available in the Microsoft Office Suite

• Microsoft Office is available through UIC Technology Solutions