Validation Rules BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

What are validation rules? In Access, we can implement rules that require the user to enter only valid data in a field. Validation rules keep the user from entering data that does not follow the “rules.” BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

Validation Rules can include: Making a field required – data must be included in that field (in other words, the field cannot be left bank). Require the data entered to be within a specified range $0 to $500. May include a default value (i.e., GA for a state field) Making lower case letters upper case letters May give the user a list of acceptable choices to choose from when entering data (i.e., LPN, RN, CNA). BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

To make a field required . . . In design view, click on the field name. In the lower half of the screen – Field Properties – Next to “Required”, click the drop down arrow and choose “yes.” The field is now required – the user may not skip entering data in the specified field. Be sure to save, before changing views. BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

Requiring data to be within a specified range . . . In the design view, select the field in the upper portion of the window. In the lower part of the screen – field properties section, click adjacent to “Validation Rule.” We want the value to be at least 0 and at most 500. Type in the rule area: >=0 And <=500 This rule will allow the minimal entry to be greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 500. BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

Specified range . . . If a user accidentally entered a value outside of the acceptable range, we want the program to give them a message. In the field properties section, in the “Validation Text” field, type the text: “Must be at least 0 and at most 500” BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

For the field to have a default value . . . While in design view, select the field that you want a default value entered. In the field properties section next to “Default Value” type = and the default value that you want entered. (i.e., =GA – The field would automatically have the abbreviation for GA entered into it. The user could enter another value if desired, but it would have a value by default. BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

For a list of acceptable responses . . . To provide a list of acceptable responses, select the field in the upper section of the screen. In the field properties section next to valudation Rule, type =CNA or =LPN or = RN For validation text, you might type: Must be CNA, LPN or RN Access will automatically enter quotation marks as appropriate and capitalize the words Or. BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

Finally, to specify a format . . . To specify the way data looks in a field, you can format a field. To make a field always appear as all capital letters, select the field in design view. In the field properties next to Format type a > symbol. The > symbol will convert all text typed to upper case letters. What do you think the < symbol will do? BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

One more tip . . . If you want a field to only have 4 characters in it, you can set the field size to 4. Doing so will keep a user from trying to enter more than 4 characters in the field. In Design View, select the field in the upper section. In the Field Properties section next to Field Size, type the desire number of characters. BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.

Why use Validation Rules? Makes sure the data is valid. Helps make sure data is formatted correctly. If more than one user, it keeps entering data consistent. BCS-CA2-4 Students will use database software to create, edit & publish industry appropriate files.