Access 2003

Lesson 8: Viewing and Adding Table Records

Page 1

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

• Add a table record in Datasheet View

• Resize table columns
• Adjust row heights

Page 2

Enter/Add a Table Record in Datasheet View

Each record in a table is represented by a row. Field names are represented as columns in
the table. To add a new record, navigate to the last row in the table -- it is a blank row --
or click the new record button in the Status Area. Then, input the requested information
into each field in the new record. In this lesson, you will add a new record to the Contact
Table.

To Enter/Add a Table Record in Datasheet View:

• If not already displayed, open the Contacts table in the Contact Management
database.
• Click on the New Record button to display a blank row for data entry.
• Moving left to right across the screen, type the requested information into each
field of the record. If the field label reads, First Name, type the first name of the
individual being entered into the table.
• Press the Tab key to move from one field to the next, or left-click with your
mouse in the next field.

• Complete entries in the remaining form fields: Last Name, Company, Address,
City, State/Province, Postal Code, Country, Title, Work Phone, Work
Extension, Mobile Phone, Fax Number, Contact Type, Email Name, Referred
By, and Notes pertaining to the contact.
• Press the Tab key at the last column to start another record, or click the New
Record button again.

Saving Your Work: Information in a table is saved automatically when the mouse, an
arrow key, the Tab key, or the Enter key is used to move the cursor out of that row and
into a different record.
 You can manually save data being entered for a record as you work your way across
the different fields in the record -- there are many fields in the record. Choose Records
Save on the standard toolbar to save data without moving the cursor out of the record's
row.

Page 3

Resizing table columns

Adjusting a column width in Access is similar to Microsoft Excel. By default, each

column in Access is 15.6667 characters wide. Each individual column can be enlarged to
363 characters wide.

When entering records, you may need to resize columns to view the information as it is
being typed. The width of an address column, for example, might be smaller than the
actual address. You can adjust the column width of any field so it is wide enough to view
the complete field entry.

In Access, you can adjust column width manually, use AutoFit, or use the menu bar.

Manually adjust a column width:

• Place your mouse pointer to the right side of the gray column header.
• The mouse pointer changes to the adjustment tool (double-headed arrow).

• Drag the Adjustment tool left or right to the desired width and release the mouse
button.
Page 4

Resizing table columns (continued)

Adjusting the Column Width Using the Menu Bar:

• Click anywhere in the column where the column width is to be changed.

• Choose Format Column Width on the standard toolbar.
• Type a new specification in the Column Width field.
• Click the OK button to accept the change.

AutoFit the column width:

• Place your mouse pointer to the right side of the column header.
• The mouse pointer changes to the adjustment tool (double-headed arrow).
• Double-click the column header border.
• Access "AutoFits" the column, making the entire column slightly larger than the
largest entry contained in it.

To access AutoFit from the menu bar, choose Format Column Width, and then
check the Best Fit checkbox.

Page 5

Adjusting row height

Each row in Access defaults to a height of 12.75 but can be enlarged to 1638. Changing
the height of a row is similar to adjusting a column width with two exceptions: 1) a row
height change applies to all the rows in a table, and 2) auto-fit is not available at the row
level.

To Adjust the Row Height:

 • Choose Format Row Height on the standard toolbar.

• Type a new specification in the Row Height field.

• Click the OK button to accept the change.

Saving Your Work: If you changed the table layout, you will be prompted to save the
changes when you exit Microsoft Access.

Page 6

Challenge!

• Open the Expenses database you created with the database wizard in lesson 6.
• Open the Employees table in Datasheet View and input the following records in
the proper fields:
 o Joe Smith, 44 Highhouse Road, Cary, NC 27513, United States, 111-11-
1111 (Social Security Number), 40 (Employee Number), Salesperson
(Title), 919-555-1212 (Work Phone), and 100 (Extension).
o Jane Allen, 123 Atlantic Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27516, United States, 222-
22-2222 (Social Security Number), 56 (Employee Number), Director of
Sales (Title), 919-555-1234 (Work Phone), and 200 (Extension).
o Pete Moss, 567 Helix Court, Raleigh, NC 27606, United States, 333-33-
3333 (Social Security Number), 75 (Employee Number), Clerk (Title),
919-555-5678 (Work Phone), and 300 (Extension).
• Resize the Social Security Number column using the menu bar method.
• Resize the Employee Number column using the manual adjust method.
• Resize the State/Province column using the auto-fit method.
• Save and close the document