Download No 44

East Usambara Biodiversity Database: A User’s Manual
2)
Tables
2.1
Opening the database
2.1.i A step by step guide to opening the database
Follow these steps to open the East Usambara Biodiversity Database:
a) From the Windows desktop, go to the start menu. Click once and drag the mouse up to
Programmes.
b) In programmes, double click on Microsoft Access (it has a key icon).
c) Access opens and asks whether you want to open an existing database.
d) Select ‘c:/biodiv/biodiv’ from the list of databases in the dialogue box. If biodiv/biodiv is
not listed, see 2.1.ii.
e) You are now presented with the green start up form that asks whether you want to ‘open a
data entry form’ or ‘open a data output form’.
f) If either of these options is what you want then click on the relevant button. If you wish
to access the data in table format then go to the list of menus close to the top of the screen
and click on the ‘Window’ menu.
g) At the bottom of this ‘Window’ menu it lists all the items that are currently open. At the
moment there should be a choice between:
a. Biodiv: database
b. EUCFP START-UP FORM: form
h) Select ‘Biodiv: database’. The window lists all the tables that constitute the biodiv
database. This is known as the database window. See Section 2.2 to open the table of
your choice.
2.1.ii Alternative ways of opening the database
There are various other ways of opening the database. The quickest way is to double-click on the
tree icon labelled Biodiversity Database in the desktop window. Alternatively once you are in
Access you can go to Open Database in the file menu and, select c:/biodiv/biodiv and click Open.
2.1.iii The ‘biodiv’ and ‘biodata’ databases
The EUBD consists of two linked databases called ‘biodiv’ and ‘biodata’. The contents of these
two databases are described in detail in the Appendix. In brief however the database is designed
so that a user can access all tables in both databases through the biodiv database. Biodiv should
be the database with which you work. Changes made in one database are automatically made in
the other.
2.2
Introducing tables
The biodiversity information is stored in various tables. Each table contains related information
about e.g. reptiles, amphibians, mammals etc. With the tables tab selected in the database
window you can open any table either by double clicking on it or by selecting it and clicking on
open.
For example, let’s have a look at the amphibians table:
a) In the database window, select AMPHIBIANS from the list of tables and click the ‘Open’
button to the right of the dialogue box. Access now displays all amphibian records.
Tables consist of items of information arranged in columns, called fields, which have headings,
called field names, which describe the type of information in each column. In this case FR Code,
Plot id, KMH number etc.
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