Forms are the medium between the database administrator (presumably you) and a third party. The purpose of the form is to supply an easily understandable means for another person to input records into your database. Forms are always tied to tables and can include as many of the tables fields as you need.

Creating a Form

To create a form, you first need to select the table you wish to build a form for in your Navigation Pane. You then need to click on your Create tab and select either Form, Design Form or more forms and then Form Wizard. There are a few small differences depending on how you choose to create your form.

Creating a form with the Form button

If you create a form using the Form button, Access will automatically create a form for you using each of the fields in your table. This method of creation is best if you are looking for a simple form that uses every field. While it is still possible to edit the form by switching to Design view, it is not the most efficient method.

Creating a form with the Form Design button

Creating a form with the Form Design button works the same as creating it with the Form button but it starts you in the Design view instead. The differences between the views will be explained in a little bit.

Using a wizard to create your Form

This is likely the most efficient method of creating a form for someone who wants an aesthetically pleasing appearance but doesn't want to spend the time creating their own custom design. To use a wizard you need to select the table you're basing your form off of. With the table selected, choose More forms from the create tab within the Forms group. This will open a menu. Choose Form Wizard.

The first screen you see will ask you which fields you want to include. You should include any fields that you need people to input. If you want them to know their ID number or some other auto-generated number, you should also include these fields. When you are finished, click next. You will be asked which layout you would prefer for your form. These include Columnar, Tabular, Datasheet, and Justified. Columnar creates a form with one record per page, Tabular creates a form where each record is visible on the same page, Datasheet essentially just recreates the table and Justified creates a layout you might normally see on a paper form.

With your layout selected, you need to choose your style. This is just a rough visual style that will be applied to your form. With your style picked, you need to name your form and choose to start entering data right away or to edit the design of the form in design view.

Adding Records Using a Form

You can navigate between records by using the left and right arrows at the bottom of the Access window. If you want to start a new record, hit the right arrow with a star.