Managing Data with Microsoft® Excel

Defining Fields

You must name a field before you can specify any of its other characteristics. There are a few general principles to keep in mind when you choose a field's name.

Using Meaningful Names

A meaningful name is important, even more so than when you're choosing a name for an Excel list. Whether by means of the Access interface or via Excel, much of your work with the table will require you to supply the names of the table's fields.

Whether you're putting a field onto a screen form where a user can supply a value, or adding a field to a query, or making reference to a field in VBA code, your task will be much easier if you've given the field a name such as SocSecNum or FICA_Rate. Your task is that much harder if you've used a name such ...