Getting to Know Access 2003, Part 3 - Creating a New Table Without the Wizard
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To create a table without the wizard just double-click the Create Table in Design View icon in the Tables page. The Table Design View is segmented into several panes: a field entry pane (top), a field properties pane (bottom-left), and a description pane (bottom-right). You’ll also notice some new buttons on the Table Design toolbar such as Primary Key, Indexes, and Insert Rows. Take some time to explore these new options. The Create Table in Design View screen looks similar to the following:
To add fields to the table design, click into a blank row and enter a name for the field. Try not to include spaces in your field names as this might cause problems later if you need to export your Access data into another program.
Next, select a data type from the drop-down list. The type you choose depends on what you will be using the field for. Text is the default value, but you don’t have to make every field a text value. Some of your other options include: Number, AutoNumber, Date/Time, OLE Object, and Hyperlink. If you’re not sure what type of data you want to have in a field you may just choose to use the Access Field Builder to help you out. Open the Access Field Builder by highlighting an empty row and clicking the "Field Builder" button in the toolbar. You will be taken step-by-step through the process of creating your field.
When you’ve chosen your field name and data type it’s time to put in a short description of the field. This is optional but useful if other people will be using your database, or if you have a tendency to forget why you named a certain field the way you did (with an abbreviation for example).
Next: Set the Properties for Your Field >>
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