- Open the table in Design view.
- To insert the field within the table, click in the row below where you want to add the field, and then click Insert Rows
on the toolbar.
To add the field to the end of the table, click in the first blank row.
- Click in the Field Name column and type a unique name for the field.
- In the Data Type column, keep the default (Text); or click in the Data Type column, click the arrow, and select the data type you want.
- In the Description column, type a description of the information this field will contain. This description is displayed on the status bar when adding data to the field and is included in the Object Definition of the table. The description is optional.
Add a field (column) to a table in Datasheet view
- Open the table in Datasheet view.
- Click in the column to the right of where you want to insert a new column, and then on the Insert menu, click Column.
- Double-click the new column's name, and then type a unique name for the column.
If you want to customize a field's definition further
— for example, to change its data type, or define a validation rule, use table Design view.
Note To add a field to a linked table in another Microsoft Access database, you must open its source database. If the linked table is from another application, you must open the source file with that application to add a field.