Chapter 2: Creating Access Tables
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The Click to Add column is intended to permit users to quickly add tables to an Access data-
base. All that you have to do is begin entering data in the new column. You assign the field a name
by right-clicking the field’s heading, selecting Rename Column, and entering a name for the field.
In other words, building an Access table can be very much like creating a spreadsheet in Microsoft
Excel.
Note
This approach was usually referred to as “creating a table in Datasheet view” in previous versions of Microsoft
Access.
Once you’ve added the new column, the tools in the Fields ribbon tab (shown in Figure 2.14)
allow you to set the specific data type for the field, and its formatting, validation rules, and other
properties.
FIGURE 2.14
Field design tools are located in the Fields ribbon tab.
There are good reasons not to use the Datasheet view method of building tables. Relational data-
base systems such as Access are constructed by breaking data into constituent entities, and then
building a table for each entity. The tables in an Access database should carefully and accurately
reflect the entities they describe. Seemingly small issues, such as deciding which data type to assign
to a field, have a dramatic impact on the utility, performance, and integrity of the database and its
data.
Every table added to an Access database, and the fields added to tables, should have a purpose in
the overall database design. Even when adding tables using the Table button, it’s far too easy to
add tables that don’t conform to the rules described in Chapter 3, and that don’t fit well into the
database’s design.
The second method of adding new tables is to click the Table Design button in the Tables group
on the Create tab. Access opens a new table in Design view, allowing you to add fields to the
table’s design. Figure 2.15 shows a new table’s design after a few fields have been added. Table
Design view provides a somewhat more deliberate approach to building Access tables.
The Table Designer is quite easy to understand, and each column is clearly labeled. At the far left is
the Field Name column, where you input the names of fields you add to the table. You assign a
data type to each field in the table, and (optionally) provide a description for the field.