Week 2 (Creating Tables)

          They say that tables are the main units of data storage in Access. It is composed of records(row) and fields(column). There are a number of ways to create a table in Access:

       1. Wizards - guides the user through creating a table by suggesting names for tables and columns. A                             wizard is a part of a program that guides you through certain steps. Basically, a wizard acts                           as a guide for creating a new document in a software program. Though wizards can                             be helpful, sometimes they can be more of a hassle than a help for experienced users.
       2. Design View - it manually define the columns (fields) and their data types. Allows you to build a                                    table from scratch and set or change every available property for each field.

In our lesson, we used the Design View.

To start, open the MS Access, click the "Blank Database", type a new file name for the database then click on Create. Now click View button and select Design View. The Table Design View will appear. Fill in the Field Name, Data Type and Description. Now that all of the fields have been defined for the table, a Primary Key should be defined. Recall that the Primary Key will be used to uniquely identify a record in the table. A small key will appear next to the field name on the left side. Finally, Save your data. As you click on Save, a dialog box appears where the name of the new table should be specified.
          To add data to the table, simply type in values for each of the fields (columns). Press the Tab key to move between fields within a record. Use the up and down arrow keys to move between records.
          To create relationships between tables, make sure that the tables are both closed or else it will halt creation of any relationships. Click on the Database Tools tab and then click on the Relationships button. Highlight both the tables and click Add button then click on close. To connect the two to form a relationship, drag a key field from one table and drop it on the associated field in another table .