Entering a Record
At this point, you have created your table structure and you've fine-tuned it with the settings you want. It's finally time to enter records! So let's open the table and start.
Other Ways to Enter Records
Entering records directly into a table, which you'll learn to do in this lesson, is not always the best way to enter records. If you have many records to enter, it's often more efficient in the long run to take the time to create a form in which to do your data entry. You'll learn to create a form in Lesson 13.
If you read Lessons 1 and 2 (and I hope you did), you know that a record is a row in your table. It contains information about a specific person, place, event, or whatever. You enter a value for each record into each field (column) in your table.
First, you must open the table. Remember, to open a table, you double-click it in the Database window, or click it once and then click Open. Then follow these steps to enter a record.
There's a Number in the First Column!
If you've set up the first field to be automatically entered (for instance, a sequentially numbered field with Autonumber), start with the second field instead.
Click in the first empty cell in the first empty column.
Cell
The intersection of a row and a column. It's where you enter the data for a particular field for a particular record. Sometimes, the word field is used to mean the entry in a field for an individual record, but "field" really refers to the entire column. Cell is the proper name for an individual block.
Type the value for that field.
Press Tab to move to the next field and type its value.
Continue pressing Tab until you get to the last field. When you press Tab in the last field, the insertion point moves to the first field in the next line, where you can start a new record.
Insertion Point
When you click a field, you see a blinking vertical line, called an insertion point, which tells you that is the place where anything your typing will appear.
Continue entering records until you've entered them all.