Learn Access Now! Chapter 1 Previous Section in Chapter 2 Next Section in Chapter 2 Chapter 3
(This is section 6 of 7 in this chapter)
Earlier in this chapter, you learned how to enter and edit information in a table. When you are adding or changing a record, a pencil appears to the left side of the record. This pencil indicates that the record is being edited and that your changes have not been written to disk yet. When you use one of the navigation keys to move to another record, Access automatically saves your changes to disk. There is no need to explicitly save your data; in fact, there is no command you can use to save it.
Access automatically saves data in this way to protect your information. If you should lose power to your computer while the pencil icon appears on the screen, you would only lose the information in the current record. Access has already saved all your previous changes to disk.
Note: The exact point at which your information is physically written to disk will vary from system to system. Typically, information is first written to a disk buffer in the memory of your computer. When the buffer is full or when your program ends, the information is written to the disk. Although this arrangement speeds up overall computer performance, it does present a risk. Information within the disk buffer (yet to be written to the disk) will be lost if you should lose power to your computer. The only way around this is to make sure you have a backup power source and to keep stray fingers away from the power switch.
Learn Access Now! Chapter 1 Previous Section in Chapter 2 Next Section in Chapter 2 Chapter 3