Add fields in “Datasheet View”

Adding fields to our table in the “Datasheet view” can be done in different ways. The quickest way is to use the “Quick Start” fields.
Select the contextual tab “Fields” (1) and click the “More Fields” (2) button in the “Ribbon”. In the drop-down menu we find the different field types, and under the “Quick Start” category, we find a number of composite fields. For example, when you select the “Name” link under the “Quick Start”, a “Last Name” field and a “First Name” field are added.

If you have multiple fields to add, select the empty field to right (1) of the new fields, then click the “More Fields” (2) button in the “Ribbon” again and choose the type of field you want to add.

If you choose from the “Quick Start” category again, then all the related fields are added. For example, if you choose “Address”, automatic fields “Address” – “City” – “State/Province” – “Zip / Postal code” and “Country/ Region” are added automatically, saving time. If you want to remove a field, select the field (1) and click the “Delete” button (2).

If you want to add only one field, click the downward pointing arrow next to the title of the empty field, and choose the type of field you want to insert. The text of the title is automatically selected (2), so you only need to enter title name you want to use, for this field. To add an additional field, click the “Tab” key on your keyboard.

If you want to change the “Data type” of a particular field, select the field (1) and click the “Data Type” button in the “Ribbon” (2).

Another way to add fields is to click the “Text”, “Number”, “Currency” etc. buttons in the “Ribbon”.

If you want to add a field or set of fields between two existing fields, select the field to the right of field (s) to be added and click the field type button that you want to add.
Once you have added all the fields that you want to add, click the “Save” button (1) in the “Quick Access” toolbar. Enter a name for the table in the dialog that appears, and click the “OK” button. You can add and delete fields at any time, even after saving.
Fields that were added by means of a button, automatically receive their “data type” assigned. This can always be changed.

Calculated Field

New in “Access” 2010 is that, we can insert a field that performs a calculation based on data from other fields.
For example:

I have a field showing the total amount to be entered and a field in which the amount already paid will be entered. In the next section, I want to calculate the outstanding amount .

In earlier versions of “Access”, we had to build a “Query” or a “Form” to perform this calculation. In “Access” 2010, we can execute it directly in the table.

Click the downward pointing arrow next to the new field and select “Calculated Field” in the drop-down menu.

Click “Currency” in the submenu.

In the “Expression Builder”, the various fields from the table are mentioned in the “Expression Categories”. Double-click the “Total Amount” (1), type a minus sign (-) (2), and double-click the “Already Paid” (3). The expression is displayed in the preview (4). Click the OK button.

When you enter values in the “Total Amount” and “Already paid” fields, the operation is automatically performed and calculated in the “Outstanding” field.

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