Entering Data into the Database, Creating Database Table

Microsoft Access is a database application that is a part of the Microsoft Office applications suite. Entering data into Microsoft Access isn’t difficult. Essentially, there are two ways to do that: through a datasheet view or by entering a new record on an Access form.

Datasheet View

Step 1

Double-click the table you’d like to enter data to. Table names are at the bottom of the “Create” choices.

Step 2

Wait for a table with horizontal rows and vertical columns to appear. A row is a record in your table. The left triangle on the far left indicates that the record is selected.

Step 3

Enter a new record by filing out fields right of the asterisk (the rows at the bottom). If you’d like to change the content of a cell, double-click it.

Press Ctrl+S (save the database), and your changes to the table will be saved.

Using a Form

Step 1

Click on the Forms button that is on the left of the dialog box..

Step 2

Double-click the form that corresponds with the table (it should have a similar name).

Step 3

After a new window appears, locate a button to the left of the number of records (located at the bottom of the dialog box). It looks like >*

Creating Database Table

Creating a table

A simple database, such as a contact list, might use only a single table. Many databases, however, use several tables. When you create a new database, you create a new file on your computer that acts as a container for all of the objects in your database, including your tables.

You can create a table by creating a new database, by inserting a table into an existing database, or by importing or linking to a table from another data source — such as a Microsoft Excel workbook, a Microsoft Word document, a text file, or another database. When you create a new, blank database, a new, empty table is automatically inserted for you. You can then enter data in the table to start defining your fields.

Create a new table in a new database

1. Click File > New, and then select Blank desktop database.
2. In the File Name box, type a file name for the new database.
3. To browse to a different location and save the database, click the folder icon.
4. Click Create.

The new database opens, and a new table named Table1 is created and opens in Datasheet view.

Create a new table in an existing database

1. Click File > Open, and click the database if it is listed under Recent. If not, select one of the browse options to locate the database.
2. In the Open dialog box, select the database that you want to open, and then click Open.
3. On the Create tab, in the Tables group, click Table.

A new table is inserted in the database and the table opens in Datasheet view.

Importing or linking to create a table

You can create a table by importing or linking to data that is stored elsewhere. You can import or link to data in an Excel worksheet, a SharePoint list, an XML file, another Access database, a Microsoft Outlook folder, and more.

When you import data, you create a copy of the data in a new table in the current database. Subsequent changes to the source data will have no effect on the imported data, and changes to the imported data do not affect the source data. After you connect to a data source and import its data, you can then use the imported data without connecting to the source. You can change the design of an imported table.

When you link to data, you create a linked table in the current database that represents a live link to the existing information that is stored elsewhere. When you change data in a linked table, you are changing it in the source. Whenever data changes in the source, that change is shown in the linked table. You must be able to connect to the data source whenever you use a linked table. You cannot change the design of a linked table.