Entering and Editing Records in MS Access

A record is a complete set of information about one item or person. In a table, each record is represented by a row.

Example: A Students table may contain the following records:

Each row represents one student record, while each column represents a field.

Follow these steps to enter records into a table:

1. Open your Microsoft Access database.
2. Open the required table from the Navigation Pane.
3. Make sure the table is in Datasheet View.
4. Click the new record row, usually marked with an asterisk (*).
5. Enter data into each field.
6. Press Tab to move to the next field.
7. Move to another record or close the table to save your changes.

To modify information in an existing record:

1. Open the table in Datasheet View.
2. Find the record you want to change.
3. Click the field containing the incorrect information.
4. Select or replace the existing value.
5. Enter the corrected information.
6. Move to another record to save the change.

Example

Suppose Rahul's course is incorrectly entered as Tally Prime. Click the Course field in Rahul's record and change it to ADCA.

1. Open the table in Datasheet View.
2. Select the record using its row selector.
3. Right-click the selected row and choose Delete Record, or use the Delete command on the ribbon.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Microsoft Access provides record navigation controls at the bottom of Datasheet View and Form View.

• First Record: Moves to the first record.
• Previous Record: Moves one record backward.
• Next Record: Moves one record forward.
• Last Record: Moves to the last existing record.
• New Record: Opens a blank row for entering data.

You can also use the search box in the navigation controls to find a record containing specific text.

A form provides a user-friendly way to enter, view, and edit table data. Instead of displaying all records in rows and columns, a form can display one record at a time.

Steps to create a basic form

1. Select the table in the Navigation Pane.
2. Open the Create tab.
3. Click Form.
4. Access creates a form based on the selected table.
5. Use the form's navigation controls to move between records or add a new one.

Forms are especially useful when a table contains many fields or when users need a simpler data-entry screen.

Create a table named Students with these fields:

• StudentID — AutoNumber (Primary Key)
• StudentName — Short Text
• Course — Short Text
• Fees — Currency

Tasks

1. Enter five student records.
2. Change the course of one student.
3. Correct the fees of another student.
4. Delete one test record.
5. Create a form for the Students table.
6. Use the form to add one more student.

Goal: Practice entering, editing, and deleting records safely.

1. What is a record in MS Access?
2. Which view is commonly used to enter data directly into a table?
3. How can you edit an existing record?
4. What should you check before deleting a record?
5. What is the purpose of a form?
6. Where are record navigation controls usually displayed?