F

field

A single item of data in a database. In a spreadsheet database, the value in a single cell.

Field List

A list of the fields in the source for a form or report. You can drag these fields and drop them on the Design View.

field size

The number of characters (text fields) or bytes (number fields) that a field is allowed.

file size

How much space a file takes up on the storage media. Usually measured in kilobytes (KB) or megbytes(MB).

filter

When a filter is applied, only records which match the criteria in the filter will be seen.

Filter By Form 

A method for creating a filter which shows a single row datasheet. What you enter in the cells acts as criteria. Applying the filter hides records that do not match the criteria.

Filter By Selection

A quick method for creating a simple filter. The current field value is the criteria for the filter so only records that share that value will show in the datasheet.

flat file database

A database which puts all the data into a single table

footer

Form Footer: An area that shows on every form
Report Footer: An area that shows at the end of the report, after the last record
Page Footer: An area that shows at the bottom of each page of a report

foreign key

A field in a table in a relational database which matches the primary key in a related table.

form

A display of the fields in a record, usually showing all of the fields in one window. When more space is needed, a form should be designed to avoid horizontal scrolling by using subforms, tabbed pages, or vertical scrolling.

Form Header/Footer

Sections of a form. The Form Header appears at the top of the form. If the forms are displayed as continuous forms, the header appears only once, before any form. The Form Footer appears below the form in Single Form view and after all records in Continuous Forms view. When printed, the Form Header appears before the Page Header. The Form Footer appears before the Page Footer.

First and last pages of printed form records

Form Wizard

A sequence of dialogs which help you create a basic form quickly.

formula

An expression that calculates something, usually based on the values in fields.
Example:
   =[Price]+[Shipping]

Format Painter

Clicking the Format Painter button changes the pointer to the Format Painter shape. The formatting of the current control is copied. When you click on another control, the copied formatting is applies. Only certain aspects of the formatting is copied.

Format function

The Format function is used to change the default formatting of an expression. It is often used to manage the display of dates and times.

Syntax: Format(expression, format)
where expression identifies what you want to format and format is either the name of a standard format or defines how you want the value formatted.
Examples:
   Format([Birthdate], "Short Date") returns a value like 4/5/1967.
   Format(MyTime, "h:m:s")  returns a value like 18:13:05.
   Format(6547.4, "##,##0.00") returns  a value with a comma separator and 2 decimal places like 6547.40.
   Format("Final Value", ">") returns FINAL VALUE.

Format Property

A property of a field which defines how to display the values in that field. You can use pre-defined formats or create one of your own using formatting symbols.

function

A mathematical expression used in calculations, like SUM or COUNT or AVERAGE, or a logical expression, such as IIF.