Adding a column into Design View

Question

In Design View, there are only 3 columns: Field Name, Data Type, and Description.

I want to add a column between Data Type and Description named: Field Size.

I am doing an assignment and it seems that this is possible.

I know I can change the field size by using properties, but is it possible to have the Field Size in the Design View graph instead? So I can just type it in really fast instead of going through each Field Name and setting it through the "properties"?

Answer 1

Not really possible for your situation.  There are ways to dynamically create the fields using SQL and VBA but it would be more work than it is to just enter them like they need to be done.

Answer 2

No,  The field size is determined by the number type in the properties.  E.g  Integer is a field size of 2 bytes, Double is 8 bytes, etc.  Only the Text (and Decimal) data type allows you to specify the number of bytes the field can use.  Other datatypes, such as Memo, have no field size and are only limited by the max size of the database file (2 GB).

OTOH, you gain nothing by limiting a Text field to less than 255 bytes because the field only takes up as much space as needed (up to 255) to hold it text string.  So you should leave Text fields at size 255, unless you have a specific data requirement from a business rule for a smaller limit on the number of characters (e.g. soc sec # must be 9 characters)

Answer 3

The Field Size is not set in the field list at the top of the design view window for tables, but in the Field Properties pane at the bottom.

You cannot customize the design view window. It's hard-coded into Access.

You could build your own design view window as a form...