MS-Access / Getting Started

Creating a Table in Design View

You could continue to use Application Parts and Data Type Parts to build some of the other tables in the Contact Tracking database to mimic those in Conrad Systems Contacts. However, you'll find it very useful to learn the mechanics of building a table from scratch, so now is a good time to explore Design view and learn how to build tables without using Application Parts or Data Type Parts. Application Parts offer only a few choices for sample tables, and there is no way to pick and choose which fields to include or exclude. By working in Design view, you'll see many additional features that you can use to customize the way your tables (and any queries, forms, or reports built on these tables) work when creating a table from scratch.

To begin creating a new table in Design view, click the Create tab on the ribbon and then click the Table Design button in the Tables group. Access 2010 displays a blank Table window in Design view.

In Design view, the upper part of the Table window displays columns in which you can enter the field names, the data type for each field, and a description of each field. After you select a data type for a field, Access 2010 allows you to set field properties in the lower-left section of the Table window. In the lower-right section of the Table window is a box in which Access displays information about fields or properties. The contents of this box change as you move from one location to another within the Table window.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Designing Client Tables
  2. Creating a New Database
  3. Creating a New Empty Database
  4. Creating Your First Simple Table by Entering Data
  5. Creating a Table Using Application Parts
  6. Creating a Table Using Data Type Parts
  7. Creating a Table in Design View
  8. Understanding Field Data Types
  9. Setting Field Properties
  10. Nulls and Zero-Length Strings
  11. Defining Simple Field Validation Rules
  12. Defining Input Masks
  13. Defining a Primary Key
  14. Defining a Table Validation Rule
  15. Understanding Other Table Properties
  16. Defining Relationships
  17. Defining Your First Relationship
  18. Creating a Relationship on Multiple Fields
  19. Adding Indexes
  20. Multiple-Field Indexes
  21. Setting Table Design Options
  22. Creating a Default Template for New Databases
  23. Printing a Table Definition
  24. Database Limitations