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Creating Tables in Access

© Rachael Smithey

Creating Tables in Access

Access 2000 is a convenient database application for storing, accessing and retrieving information. Access stores its database information in tables. Depending on your needs, Access offers three options for creating tables:

• Create table in Design view
• Create table by using wizard
• Create table by entering data

Create table in Design view
The most common way to create a table is to use Design view. Design view allows you to define all the fields of your table before entering data. In the top pane of Design view you can enter the following information:

• Field Name - Descriptive name for field such as Name, Address, Serial No., etc. Maximum length of Field Name is 64 characters and it can include spaces
• Data Type - Type of value to be entered including Text, Memo (up to 64,000 characters), Number, Date/Time, Currency, AutoNumber (a unique number automatically assigned), Yes/No, OLE Object (sound, picture, Word or Excel document, etc.), Hyperlink (link to a web site)
• Description - Brief description of the field contents. Using the Description is optional

In the bottom pane of Design view you can enter the following information about the field:

• Field Properties - Field Size (to set the number of characters needed in a field), Format (including Text and Memo, Number, Currency, Date, Yes/No, and Default Value)

You will also need to designate a Primary Key field to serve as a unique identifier for each record. For example, in a student record database you can designate the student ID number as the Primary Key as each student has a unique number. If your database does not contain unique identifiers and you are therefore unable to identify a Primary Key field, Access will create an ID field and automatically populate it with unique AutoNumbers. You can choose to suppress the display of this field if you wish.

You can create an index to allow Access to sort records more rapidly. Choose a field that is commonly searched and changed the Indexed property to Yes (Duplicates OK) or Yes (No Duplicates).

Field Validation Rules allow you to specify requirements for the data entered into the worksheet. Click the <...> button at the end of the Validation Rule box to write the rule. For example, use the validation rule ??? to allow only three-character data strings.

Input Masks set the specific format of a field and cause the format to be displayed on the datasheet before the data is entered. For example, you can use an Input Mask to force the entry of telephone number data separated with dashes as xxx-xxx-xxxx. Wizard