Regardless of how you created your table, it is a good idea to examine and set field properties. While some properties are available in Datasheet view, some properties can only be set in Design view. To switch to Design view, right-click the table in the Navigation Pane and then click Design View. To see a field’s properties, click the field in the design grid. The properties are displayed below the design grid, under Field Properties.

To see a description of each field property, click the property and read the description in the box next to the property list under Field Properties. You can get more detailed information by clicking the Help button.

Field Properties sets boundaries on what/how data is entered into table fields. There are five types of field properties:

• Field Size: sets the maximum number of characters that can be entered into a text field.
• Format: sets how the data is to be displayed in the table field.
• Input Mask: sets the rules as to how data can be entered so that data is entered correctly.
• Default Value: sets the default value that will appear in the table field each time a new record is entered.
• Required: sets whether a value is required to be entered into this table field.