Logical Design – must be carefully designed to incorporate all the data and applications needed, including possible future changes and developments. Define the output(s) required, then work backwards to include all the elements needed. Database Creation – set up tables, … Take lesson

For this module we are going to create a database for a car repairs garage. We are going to set up some tables and a form in this section to demonstrate the principles. First, create a new database in LibreOffice … Take lesson

Libreoffice Base doesn’t allow you to create a ‘lookup’ list in a table in the way it does in MS Access. We will have to use a form to do the same thing. Right click on the Jobs Entry form … Take lesson

Open the ‘Jobs’ table in design mode. If we want to ensure that data is always entered for a certain field, click on the relevant field. In the Field Properties box at the bottom of the screen, select ‘Yes’ from … Take lesson

A one-to-many relationship links the primary key to a field in a second table that may have more than one records (row). Click Tools – Relationships from the main window ribbon. The Relation Design window opens. Click ‘Insert’ – Add … Take lesson

Referential integrity means controlling how records are altered or deleted in a relational database (i.e. one with links/relationships between fields in different tables). To define the rules of how records are altered across relationships, you must right click on the … Take lesson

Joins are links between table that are used to modify the way queries select records. To demonstrate, create a new query in design view. Add the tables ‘Car and owner details’ and ‘Jobs’ In the Field drop down menus, select … Take lesson

For this example we need to add a record to the ‘Car and owner details’ table with a Car Reg Number that doesn’t appear in the ‘Jobs’ table. Open the Car and owner details table and add a new record … Take lesson

Many of the ‘action’ queries that we are going to look at in this section differ in the way that they are executed between MS Access and LibreOffice Base. Queries that directly update, add to, append or delete records in … Take lesson

To add records to a table in Base you must use an SQL statement, using the command INSERT. Go to Tools->SQL and in the SQL Command box type: INSERT INTO “Jobs” VALUES (’18’, ‘105’, ‘Repair handbrake’, ’17th JAN 17′, ‘RS1’) … Take lesson

Apply, remove bound control properties like: limit to list, distinct values. Limit to list and distinct values options are only available in MS Access, not Libreoffice Base. Limit to list changes the properties of a combo box to only allow … Take lesson

Imagine we want to copy all of the records with a job number of 10 and above from the ‘Jobs’ table into a new table called ‘Recent Jobs’ Of course, we could do this manually by creating a new table … Take lesson

There is no easy way to do this in LibreOffice Base. We have to use a roundabout solution. First create a duplicated record by adding a record to the Mechanics table, repeating the first name and grade under a different … Take lesson

A parameter is a value for a certain field, often used as a query selection, that can be changed each time the query is run. Start by creating a new query in design mode and adding the ‘Jobs’ table. Select … Take lesson

We have already used the asterisk wildcard * in queries to display all fields. The other most common wildcard is ‘?’ which was covered in module 1 and replaces exactly one character. For instance if we run a query to … Take lesson

For this example we are going to create a new table called ‘Job Hours’ Create and save it with the data shown (NB. Set decimal places to 2 for the Normal and Overtime Hours) Create a new query and add … Take lesson

Create, modify, delete bound controls: text box We are going to use the form ‘Jobs Entry’ that we created in an earlier lesson. Right click on Jobs Entry form and select ‘Edit’ to open design view. Hold CTRL and right … Take lesson

Create, modify, delete bound controls: list box A list box is similar to a combo box, but you cannot enter values manually. They are a good option if you want to tightly control which values can be entered for a … Take lesson

Create, modify, delete bound controls: option group Open the car and owner detail form in design mode. We are going to create options for the title field to save time typing them out. The options are going to be Mr, … Take lesson

Create, delete a linked subform. A subform allows you to display associated data from a different table within a form. Create a new form using the wizard. On the first step, add all of the fields from the table ‘Jobs’, … Take lesson

In Libreoffice Base, there is no automatic option to do this in a report. We must first create a query that we will then use to run a report. Create a new query in design view. Add the table Job … Take lesson

Create a report in wizard mode, select the table Car and owner details and add the first 5 fields only. Click Next twice. Add grouping levels for Surname and First Name. Click Next twice. Choose ‘Columnar, two columns’ layout. Click … Take lesson

Select the Surname group section on the left hand side (in blue) In the properties section on the right hand side, where it says ‘Force New Page’ select ‘Before Section’. This will insert a page break before each new section. … Take lesson

For this tutorial, we are going to create a text file in LibreOffice Writer. Open LibreOffice Writer. Enter the text shown. The first line designates field names, separated by commas. Each new line represents a new record with fields in … Take lesson

Open two separate database files. To import data, you can simply drag and drop between the windows. For example, to copy the Names table from the lower database in the example shown, left click and hold on ‘Names’ in the … Take lesson