Access 2010

Creating forms

Video: Creating Forms in Access 2010

Watch the video (3:44).

Access makes it easy to create a form from any table in your database. Any form you create from a table will let you view the data that's already in that table and add new data. Once you've created a form, you can also modify it by adding additional fields and design controls such as combo boxes.

To create a form:

1. In the Navigation Pane, select the table you would like to use to create a form. You do not need to open the table.
2. Select the Create tab on the Ribbon, and locate the Forms group. Click the Form command.
   Using the Form command to create a form from the Customers table
3. Your form will be created and opened in Layout View.
   The new form
4. To save the form, click the Save command on the Quick Access Toolbar. When prompted, type a name for the form, then click OK.
   Naming and saving the form

About subforms

If you created a form from a table whose records are linked to another table, your form probably includes a subform. A subform is a datasheet form that displays linked records in a table-like format. For instance, the subform included in the Customers form we just created displays linked customer orders.

We probably don't need to include this subform, since we really just want to use the Customers form to enter and review contact information. If you find that you don't need a subform, you can easily delete it. Simply click it and press the Delete key.

An unnecessary subform in our Customers form

However, subforms aren't always useless. Depending on the content and source of your form, you might find that the subform contains useful information, as in the example below. In our Orders form, the subform contains the name, quantity, and price of each item contained in that order, which is all useful information.

Our Orders form, which includes a useful subform