Databases can be useful. You can use them to inventory your record collection, store information about clients or customers, keep track of your Magic the Gathering cards, and everything in between. If you need to store a lot of information (and be able to search it easily), a database can certainly make things a little easier for you.
If you use (or need to use) the LibreOffice office suite, it includes a built-in database tool that can create powerful databases to meet those needs. Although it may not be as simple as creating a new document or spreadsheet, it’s not as difficult as you might think.
Let me show you how.
Create your first database
What you will need: To create your first database, you will need the full LibreOffice suite installed and a user with administrator privileges. Because you must also have Java installed (to use the table wizard), you must log in as a user who can install the program. I’ll walk you through Ubuntu Budgie, but I’ll help you get started on both MacOS and Windows as well. The only difference between the three is how Java is installed.
The first thing to do is install Java. If you are using MacOS, Download the Java .dmg installer Install it as you would any application. If your operating system of choice is Windows, Download the Windows .msi installer, double-click it, and follow the instructions. For a Linux distribution built on Ubuntu, you can install the necessary package using the command:
sudo apt-get install default-jre -y
also: How to set the following style in LibreOffice and why you should
Open LibreOffice. If you open a Writer document, you can click New > Database.
Create a new database from the LibreOffice Writer File menu.
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On the first screen of the wizard, leave everything as is and click Next.
The built-in database is good enough for small and medium sized datasets.
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In the resulting wizard screen, make sure you click the check box for Create tables using the Table Wizard. This will open a wizard that will guide you through creating the necessary tables for your database. Once you’re done, click Finish and you’ll be asked to name your database.
You’ll need to use the Table Wizard, which greatly simplifies the process of creating your tables.
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You can choose from a wide range of fields (or a combination of fields). For example, select Personal from the Category, and then, from the Table Forms drop-down menu, you select CD Collection. Once you’re done, you can select the fields you want to add by clicking on a field and then clicking on the arrow pointing to the right to add it. Continue adding fields until you are satisfied with the selection. Once you have added your fields, click Next. In the next two screens, you can customize types and formats and set a primary key. Since this is your first database, you can click Next through these two databases.
After you select the fields you want to add, scroll the single arrows pointing to the right to add them to the right column.
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On the final screen of the wizard, name your table, select Create a model based on this table, and then click Finish.
Make sure you click Create a model based on this table before you click Finish.
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The Database Model Builder will open with a new wizard. This allows you to create a form that allows you to easily enter data into the database. The form builder is easy to use. First, you need to select the fields you want to add to the form (all of which you added while creating the database). Next, you can set up a subform (which you probably won’t need). On the next screen, you can arrange the controls for your form. You will then choose whether the form will be used to enter new data only or if it will be used to enter new data and display all previously entered data. You can then add a style to the form and give the form a name. Once that is taken care of, your form is ready to use to enter data into your database.
The form creation tool is fairly straightforward.
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And that’s all there is to creating a new database using the free, open source LibreOffice office suite. Once you get the hang of using this tool, you’ll find it incredibly useful for tracking personal or business information (without having to save that data to a third-party cloud service).
