Operation Manual

Creating database tables
In a database, a table stores information for a group of things we call fields. For example, a table
might hold an address book, a stock list, a phone book or a price list. A database must have at
least one table and may have several.
To work with tables, click the Tables icon in the Database list, or press Alt+a. The three tasks that
you can perform on a table are in the Tasks list (see Figure 199).
Using the Wizard to create a table
Wizards are designed to do the basic work. Sometimes this is not sufficient for what we want; in
those cases we can use a wizard as a starting point and then build upon what it produces.
The Table Wizard in Base contains two categories of suggested tables: business and personal.
Each category contains sample tables from which to choose. Each table has a list of available
fields. We can delete some of these fields and add other fields.
A field in a table is one bit of information. For example, a price list table might have one field for
item name, one for the description, and a third for the price.
Since none of the fields we need for our Automobile database are contained in any of the sample
wizard tables, we will create a simple table using the wizard that has nothing to do with our
database. This section is merely an exercise in explaining how the Wizard works.
The Wizard permits the fields of the table to come from more than one suggested table. We will
create a table with fields from three different suggested tables in the Wizard.
Caution
Every table requires a Primary key field. (What this field does will be explained later.)
We will use this field to number our entries and want that number to automatically
increase as we add each entry.
Click Use Wizard to Create Table. This opens the Table Wizard (Figure 200).
Step 1: Select fields.
We will use the CD-Collection Sample table in the Personal category to select the fields we need.
1) Category: Select Personal. The Sample Tables drop down list changes to a list of personal
sample tables.
2) Sample tables: Select CD-Collection. The Available fields box changes to a list of available
fields for this table.
3) Selected fields: Using the > button, move the following fields from the Available fields
window to the Selected fields window in this order: CollectionID, AlbumTitle, Artist,
DatePurchased, Format, Notes, and NumberofTracks.
4) Selected Fields from another sample table. Click Business as the Category. Select
Employees from the drop down list of sample tables. Use the > button to move the Photo
field from the Available fields window to the Selected fields window. It will be at the bottom
of the list directly below the NumberofTracks field.
5) If you make a mistake in selecting fields, click on the field name in the Selected fields list
and use the < button to move it from the Selected fields list back to the Available fields list.
6) If you make a mistake in the order of the selected fields, click on the field name that is in
the wrong order and use the Up or Down arrow on the right side of the Selected fields list
to move the field name to the correct position.
7) Click Next.
Chapter 8 Getting Started with Base | 219