Formatting Formatting options differ depending on the data type selected. A format alters how the data looks, but it does not change the data as it is stored in the table. Text Formats
There are 2 custom text formats available. By entering a ”>”, all entries appear in all upper case, by entering a ”<”, all entries appear in all lower case. This cannot be overridden. There is not a format available that allows the first character to be upper case with all others in lower case. Number and Currency Formats
All number formats known from Excel also work in Access. This means that if you need a format not defined by the standard options, it can be created in Access using Excel formatting options. Standard options include: Format | Appearance | General | However the number was entered | Currency | Preceded by a $, thousands separators and 2 digits to the right of the decimal | Fixed | Thousands separators and 2 digits to the right of the decimal | Standard | No thousands separators but 2 digits to the right of the decimal | Percent | Converts value to a percentage with 2 digits to the right of the decimal | Scientific | Shows value in scientific notation |
With number formats, you can also alter the number of digits to the right of the decimal place using the Decimal Places property. If this property is set to Auto, it is determined by the format. Otherwise, you can choose Standard format with 4 digits to the right of the decimal point by combining format and decimal place properties. Date and Time Formats
With date and time entries, you may enter the value as mm/dd/yy or mm-dd-yy. Time can be entered in hh:mm, with an optional AM/PM switch. Format options include: Format | Appearance | General Date | 2/1/97 4:37 PM | Long Date | Saturday, February 1, 1997 | Medium Date | 1-Feb-97 | Short Date | 2/1/97 | Long Time | 4:37:24 PM | Medium Time | 04:37 PM | Short Time | 16:37 |
Data Types Table Data Type | Usage and Features | Text | Default data type. Allows entry of letters and numbers into the field. Default size of a text field is 50 characters; this can be altered to any size between 1 and 255 characters. This data type is also used for numeric fields that will not be used in calculations, such as phone numbers. | Memo | Allows entry of lengthy text. This field can contain up to 64,000 characters per record and field size is not user definable. | Number | Allows entry of numbers only. Any data entered into a number field may be used in calculations. | Date/Time | Allows entry of dates or time. Access accepts dates from 1/1/100 to 12/31/9999. It will show a date as 12/31/96 but can be formatted to display in other ways. Access accepts valid times. Date and Time fields are stored internally as numbers, allowing them to be used in calculations. | Currency | Allows entry of numbers to be displayed as currency. Access allows 15 digits to the left of the decimal (999 trillion) and 4 digits to the right of the decimal. | AutoNumber | A unique sequential number assigned by Access whenever a new record is added to a table. AutoNumber fields can't be updated. Access allows only one AutoNumber field per table. | Yes/No | Allows a field to accept only one of two possible values. A value must be selected in all records. This field is often used when programming an Access application. | OLE Object | An object (such as an Excel spreadsheet, Word document, graphics, sounds, or other binary data) linked to or embedded in a Microsoft Access table. | Lookup Wizard | Creates a field that allows you to choose a value from another table or from a list of values using a combo box. Choosing this option starts the Lookup Wizard to define the data type. |
Number Field Size The Number data type also has a field size setting. This property does not accept a numeric value; rather it is a subclass of the number data type. The options are:
Field Size |
Range | Decimal Precision | Byte | 0 to 255 | None | Integer | -32,768 to 32,767 | None | Long Integer | -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 | None | Single | -3.402823E38 to 3.402823E38 | 7 | Double | -1.7976931 3486232E308 to 1.7976931 3486232E308 | 15 | Replication ID | Globally unique identifier (GUID) | N/A |
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