Deleting a Relationship

Delete a relationship when you no longer want to relate columns in two related tables. When you redesign tables, it is often necessary to delete relationships and then recreate them after your new design is complete. For example, if you decide to normalize a database and store all address data in one table, you would delete all the relationships to address columns between existing tables, create a new table containing the address columns, and then create relationships from the new address table to every table that requires an address.

To delete a relationship

1. In your database diagram, select the line that represents the relationship that you want to delete from the diagram.
   
   
2. Right-click the relationship line and choose Delete Relationship from Database from the shortcut menu.
   
   
3. A message box prompts you to confirm the deletion. Choose Yes.

   -or-

1. Right-click on any table in a database diagram or right-click within the Table Designer and choose Relationships from the shortcut menu.
   
   
2. Select the relationship from the Selected relationship drop-down list.
   
   
3. Click the Delete button. 

Note   When you delete a relationship, the relationship line is removed from every diagram in which it appears. It is deleted from the database when you save the diagram or when you save either of the tables that it related.

See Also

Creating a Relationship Between Tables | Table Relationships