Table Relationships

To prevent the duplication of information in a database by repeating fields in more than one table, table relationships can be established to link fields of tables together. Follow the steps below to set up a relational database:

1. Click the Relationships button on the toolbar:


2. From the Show Table window (click the Show Table button on the toolbar to make it appear), double-click on the names of the tables you would like to include in the relationships. When you have finished adding tables, click Close.

Figure 13

3. To link fields in two different tables, click and drag a field from one table to the corresponding field on the other table and release the mouse button. The Edit Relationships window will appear as shown in Figure 14. From this window, select different fields if necessary and select an option from Enforce Referential Integrity if necessary. These options give Access permission to automatically make changes to referential tables if key records in one of the tables are deleted. Check the Enforce Referential Integrity box to ensure that the relationships are valid and that the data is not accidentally deleted when data is added, edited, or deleted. Click Create to create the link.

Figure 14

4. A line now connects the two fields in the Relationships window as shown in Figure 15. Note the symbols "1" (indicating the "One" side) and the infinity symbol (indicating the "Many" side) on the relationship. Close the relationships screen and select Yes to save the changes to the Relationships layout.

Figure 15

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