Access 2010: The Missing Manual

Design View

When you create a new database, Access starts you off with a single table and shows that table in Datasheet view. (As you learned last chapter, Datasheet view is the grid-like view where you can create a table and enter data.) To switch to Design view, right-click the tab name (like “Dolls”), and then choose Design View. (Or you can use the Home→Views→View command or the View buttons at the bottom of the Access window. Figure 2-2 shows all your options. All of these commands do the same thing, so pick whichever approach seems most convenient.)

Note

If you’ve opened an old Access 2003 database, you won’t see any tabs. Instead, you’ll get a bunch of overlapping windows. You can remedy this problem and get your tabs back by following the instructions on Opening a Database Created in an Older Version of Access. Or, if you want to keep the overlapping windows, just use the view buttons or the ribbon to change views (instead of the right-click-the-tab-title approach described above).

If you switch to Design view on a brand-new table that you haven’t saved yet, Access asks you for a table name. Access then saves the table before switching you to Design view.

Figure 2-2. Right-click the tab name to see this menu. You can switch to Design view (choose Design View) and back again (choose Datasheet View). Alternatively, you can use the tiny view buttons in the window’s bottom-right corner ...