Office 2007 Bible

Creating a New Table

Creating database tables is as much art as it is science. A good working knowledge of the user’s requirements is a primary requirement for any new database project. Let’s take a look at the steps required to create basic Access tables. In the following sections, you’ll study the process of adding tables to an Access database, including the relatively complex subject of choosing the proper data type to assign to each field in a table.

It is always a good idea to plan tables on paper first, before sitting down at Access and using the Access tools to add tables to the database. Many tables, especially small ones, really don’t require a lot of fore-thought before adding them to the database. After all, not much planning is required to design a table holding lookup information such as the names of cities and states. However, more complex entities such as customers and products usually require considerable thought and effort to properly implement.

Although you can create the table interactively without any forethought, carefully planning a database system is a good idea. You can make any changes later, but doing so wastes time; generally, the result is a system that is harder to maintain than one that is well planned from the beginning. Before you get started, you should understand the table design process.

In the following sections, we’ll be exploring the new, blank table added by Access as the new database was created. It’s important to understand the steps required ...