Updating data by using either a

form or datasheet
You use a form to manually update data. Data entry forms
can provide an easier, faster, and more accurate way to enter
data. Forms can contain any number of controls such as lists,
text boxes, and buttons. In turn, each of the controls on the
form either reads data from or writes data to an underlying
table field.

Datasheets are grids of data that look like Excel worksheets.

You can change data by working directly in Datasheet view.
If you are familiar with Excel, datasheets should be relatively
easy to understand. You can change data in tables, query
result sets, and forms that display datasheets. Typically, you
use datasheets when you need to see many records at once.
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Understanding data entry

symbols
The following table shows some of the record selector
symbols you might see when updating data and what they
mean.

Symbol Meaning
This is the current record; the record has been saved as it
appears. The current record is indicated by a change in color
the record selector.
You are editing this record; changes to the record aren't yet
saved.
This record is locked by another user; you can't edit it.
This is a new record in which you can enter information.
This is the primary key field and contains a value that unique
identifies the record.
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Add a record to a table or form

1. Open the table in Datasheet View or the form in Form
View.
2. On the Home tab, in the Records group, click New, or
click New (blank) record, or press Ctrl+Plus Sign (+).
3. Find the record with an asterisk in the record selector, and
enter your new information.
4. Click or otherwise place the focus on the first field that
you want to use, and then enter your data.
5. To move to the next field in the same row, press TAB, use
the Right or Left arrow keys, or click the cell in the next
field.

In a table, to move to the next cell in a column, use the Up

or Down arrow keys, or click the cell you want.

6. When you view another record or close the table or form,

Access saves the new record that you added. To explicitly
save changes to the current record, press Shift+Enter.

Find a record
You must first find a record before you can edit or delete it.
In a form or datasheet that contains only a small number of
records, you can use the record navigation buttons to
navigate through the records until you find the one you want.
When there are many records, you can use the Find and
Replace dialog box and filter for the record.

Use the record navigation buttons

You can navigate between records by using the navigation
buttons.

Arrow buttons Click to conveniently navigate to the first,

previous, next, or last record.

New (blank) record Click to add a record.

Current Record Type a record number and then press

ENTER to navigate to that record. The record number is
counted sequentially, from the beginning of the form or
datasheet — it does not correspond to any field value.

Filter The filter indicator button shows whether a filter

has been applied. Click to remove or reapply the filter.
Search Enter text in the Search box. The first matching
value is highlighted in real time as you enter each character.

Use the Find and Replace dialog box

The Find and Replace dialog box provides another way to
change small amounts of data in less time and with less
effort. You can use the Find feature in the Find and
Replace dialog box to locate a matching record. When you
find a matching record, that record becomes the current
record, and you can then edit or delete it.

1. Click the field that you want to search.

2. On the Home tab, in the Find group, click Find, or press
CTRL+F.

The Find and Replace dialog box appears.

3. Click the Find tab.

4. In the Find What box, type the value that you want to
match.
5. Optionally, use the Look In list to change the field that
you want to search, or to search the entire underlying
table instead.
6. Optionally, in the Match list, select Any Part of Field.
Selecting this option provides the broadest possible
search.
7. In the Search list, select All, and then click Find Next.

For more information, see Use the Find and Replace dialog
box to change data.

Apply a filter
You can apply a filter to limit the records that are displayed
to those that match your criteria. Applying a filter makes it
easier to find the record that you want to edit or delete.

1. Open the table in Datasheet View or form in Form View.

2. To ensure that the table or form is not already filtered, on
the Home tab, in the Sort & Filter group,
click Advanced, and then click Clear All Filters, or
click Filter in the record navigation bar.
3. Navigate to the record that contains the value that you
want to use as part of the filter, and then click the field.
To filter based on a partial selection, select only the
characters that you want.
4. On the Home tab, in the Sort & Filter group,
click Selection, or right-click the field and apply a filter.
5. To filter other fields based on a selection, repeat steps 3
and 4.

For more information, see Apply a filter to view select

records in an Access database.

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Delete a record
The deletion process is fairly simple, except when the record
is related to other data and resides on the "one" side of a one-
to-many relationship. To maintain data integrity, by default,
Access does not let you to delete related data. For more
information, see Guide to table relationships.

1. Open the table in Datasheet View or form in Form View.

2. Select the record or records that you want to delete.

To select a record, click the record selector next to the

record, if the record selector is available.

To extend or reduce the selection, drag the record selector

(if it is available), or press SHIFT+DOWN ARROW or
SHIFT+UP ARROW.
3. Press DELETE, select Home > Records > Delete, or
press Ctrl+Minus Sign (-).

Tip If you need to delete only some information but not the
entire record, select only the data in each field that you want
to delete and then press DELETE.

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Edit data in a text box or field

Access provides one text control for use with Short Text and
Long Text (also called Memo) fields. Typically, you can tell
if the underlying field is short or long text by the size of the
control, which usually reflects the size needed for the
underlying table field. A Short Text field can store up to 255
characters and a Long Text field can store 64,000 characters.

By design, you cannot edit data from some types of queries.

For example, you cannot edit the data returned by a crosstab
query, and you cannot edit or remove calculated fields —
values that a formula calculates as you use your database, but
that do not reside in a table.

1. Open the table or query in Datasheet View or form

in Form View.
2. Click the field or navigate to the field by using the TAB
or arrow keys, and then press F2.

In Form view, you can click a field's label to select the

field. In Datasheet view, you can select a field by clicking
near the left border of the field when the mouse pointer
becomes a plus (+) sign.

3. Place the cursor where you want to enter information.

4. Enter or update the text that you want to insert. If you
make a typing mistake, press BACKSPACE.
5. If a field has an input mask, enter the data according to
the format.
6. To be more productive, learn the following shortcut keys:
 To insert a new line in a text field, press Ctrl+Enter.

 To insert the default value for a field, press

Ctrl+Alt+Spacebar.
 To insert the current date in a field, press

CTRL+SEMICOLON.
 To insert the current time, press

CTRL+SHIFT+COLON ().
 To check spelling, press F7.

 To reuse similar values of a previous record, move to

the corresponding field in the previous record, and then

press CTRL+' (apostrophe).
 To explicitly save your changes, press Shift+Enter.
 For more information, see Keyboard shortcuts for Access.

7. To save the data, on the Home tab, in the Records group,

click Save Record, or press Shift+Enter.

You don't have to explicitly save your changes. Access

commits them to the table when you move the cursor to a
new field in the same row, when you move the pointer to
another row, or when you close the form or datasheet.

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Add a date by using the Date

Picker
There are several ways to add a date to your table, and using
the Date Picker control is a quick option.

1. Click the field that you want to add a date to. A calendar
icon appears.

The Date Picker control is not available if an input mask

is applied to the Date/Time field.
2. Click the calendar icon. A calendar control appears.
3. Do one of the following:
 To enter the current date, click Today.

 To select a day in the current month, click the date.

 To select a different month and day, use the forward or

back buttons.

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Enter text in a control with

input masks
A field may have an input mask applied. An input mask is a
set of literal and placeholder characters that force you to
enter data in a specific format. For more information about
input masks, see Control data entry formats with input
masks.
 To enter data. follow the input mask:

The default phone number input mask definition and

resulting format

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Apply rich text formatting to

data in a Long Text field
If a Long Text field (also called Memo field) supports rich-
text formatting, you can apply different fonts, sizes, styles,
and colors to your text.

1. Open the form in Form View, or the table in Datasheet

View.
2. Select the Long Text field. Typically, you can look for a
field named "Comments," Notes," or "Description."
3. On the Home tab, in the Text Formatting group, use the
buttons and menus to format the text.
 You can apply different fonts and sizes, make text bold or
italic, change colors, and so on.

If you want more space in which to edit, open the Zoom

Box.

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Enter data by using a list

Lists help maintain data integrity and are easy to use. You
can use lists in forms, and in tables and queries. Access has
three types of lists — value lists, lookup fields and
multivalued lists. Value lists display a set of items that you
enter manually. Lookup lists use a query to retrieve their data
from one or more table result sets open in datasheet view.
Multivalued lists solve a common business requirement, a
many-to-many relationship. For example, you might to want
to track customer support issues and assign multiple people
the same issue in one field.
There are three types of list controls:

Combo box

List box

Multiselect Combo box

Enter an item from a combo box

1. Open the form in Form View, or the table or query
in Datasheet View.
2. Click the down arrow next to the list, and then select the
item you want.
3. To commit your choice to your database, move the cursor
to another field, or press Shift+ Enter.
Enter an item from a list box
1. Open the form in Form View.
2. Scroll down the list of items in the list box and select the
item you want.
3. To commit your choice to your database, move the cursor
to another field, or press Shift+ Enter.

Enter items from a multivalued list in a

Multi select Combo box
1. Open the form in Form View, or the table or query
in Datasheet View.
2. Click the down arrow next to the list.
3. Select up to 100 check boxes, and then click OK.

Edit the items in a list

To edit items in a list, the list must be enabled for editing.
For more information, see Design considerations for
updating data.

1. Open the form, table, or query result set that contains the
list.
2. Do one of the following:
 Right-click the list that you want to edit, and then

click Edit List Items.

 Click the list and then click the button to open the Edit

List Items dialog box or form.

3. The screen that you see depends on the type of list that
you want to edit. Do one of the following.
 If you are editing a value list or multivalued field, use

the Edit List Items dialog box to edit the list data,
keeping each item on a separate line, and then
click OK after you finish.

To select a default value for new records, click the

drop-down arrow in the Default Value box, and then
click the value you want.

 If you are editing a lookup field, a data entry form

appears. Use that form to edit the list data.
4. Click OK.
 Enter zero-length strings
Access allows you to distinguish between two kinds of blank
values: Null values and zero-length strings. Null values
indicate an unknown value, and zero-length strings indicate
fields that contain a space. For example, suppose you have
table of customer data, and that table contains a fax number
field. You can leave the field blank if you are unsure of a
customer's fax number. In that case, leaving the field blank
enters a null value, which means you don't know what the
value is. If you later determine that the customer doesn't have
a fax machine, you can enter a zero-length string in the field
to indicate that you know there is no value.

1. Open a table or query in Datasheet View or a form

in Form View.
2. Select the field you want, and then type two double
quotation marks with no space between them ("").
3. Move the cursor to another record to commit your
changes to the database or press Shift+Enter. By default,
the quotation marks disappear.

Undo changes
If you type data incorrectly, you can often undo your
changes. Do one or more of the following:

 To undo your last changes, select Undo on the Quick

Access Toolbar, or press ESC.
 To undo all changes to the record, press ESC again.
 To undo changes after you save changes or move to
another record, select Undo on the Quick Access
Toolbar.

Important As soon as you begin editing another record,

apply or remove a filter, or switch to another window or
document tab, your changes become permanent.