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Lesson 7Adding and Deleting fields
Objective Edit the table design by adding and deleting fields.

Adding | Deleting fields in MS Access

Even though you have carefully designed your tables you may find that you need to add or remove a field. You also may find that you need to change the order of fields in the datasheet, this is covered in the next lesson. You can add and remove fields in both the datasheet and Design views.
In Microsoft Access, you can add a field to a table using two distinct methods, depending on whether you're in Datasheet View or Design View.

  1. ✅ Adding a Field in Datasheet View

    This view is spreadsheet-like and intended for data entry.

    ➤ Method:

    • Click on the “Click to Add” column header at the rightmost edge of the table.
    • From the drop-down, select the data type you want (e.g., Short Text, Number, Date/Time).
    • Type a field name to replace the default name (e.g., “Field1”).

    🔄 Example:

    You click “Click to Add” → choose “Date/Time” → enter Birthdate.

  2. ✅ Adding a Field in Design View

    This view shows a table schema with three columns: Field Name, Data Type, and Description.

    ➤ Method:

    • Scroll down to the first blank row in the Field Name column.
    • Enter the new field name (e.g., HireDate).
    • Choose the data type from the drop-down in the next column (e.g., Date/Time).
    • Optionally, add a description for documentation.
🛠 Additional Options:
* In the lower pane, configure field properties (e.g., format, default value, validation rules).
🧩 Summary Table
View Type Method of Adding Field
Datasheet View Use “Click to Add” column and type name
Design View Add a new row in the schema grid with field details

Adding a Field to a Table

  1. We are going to begin with the Datasheet view. To add a field in Datasheet view, display the table and right-click the column header where you want to add the new column (the new column will be inserted before the selected column). Right-click the Address column and choose Insert Column in order to add a column to the left of it. Right-click the Address column and choose Insert Column in order to add a column to the left of it.
  2. Access adds a new, blank column to the table. The new field has the name Field1. Rename the field with the name “Company” using the same method you learned when you created a new table in Datasheet view--just double-click the name, type Company, and press Enter. Now your table has a new field, ready to be filled with data.
  3. Now your table has a new field, ready to be filled with data. Click the View button on the toolbar to display the Design view and learn how to add a field there.
  4. To add a field in the Design view, right-click anywhere on the address row and select Insert Rows from the shortcut menu. This will add a row above the address row.
  5. Access adds a new row to the table design. Use this field to hold the Web site for each client in the Clients table. This field will be a hyperlink field so that you can click on the Web site address and display the Web site in your Web browser (assuming you have a Web browser and are connected to the Internet). Name the field Web Site and then click in the Data Type field to assign it the data type Hyperlink.
  6. Click on the down arrow to select Hyperlink.
  7. Now you are done making changes in Design view. To view your changes in the Datasheet view, click the Datasheet view button on the toolbar.
  8. After making changes in Design view, you need to save the changes before you can view the datasheet. Select the Yes button on the Save dialog box.
  9. When you view the datasheet you will see a blank column before the Address column where you can enter Web site addresses. This is the end of the simulation. Click the Exit button to return to the lesson.

Deleting Access Table Field

Removing a field from a datasheet is very similar process to adding a field--the only difference is that you right click the field you want to delete and select Delete Rows (in Design view) or Delete Column (in Datasheet view) from the shortcut menu. When you delete a field, you also delete all the data in the field. Learn how to create hyperlinks in a table.

Adding Deleting Fields - Exercise

Try this exercise to see if you can add two fields to the Consulting database.
Adding Deleting Fields - Exercise

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