Changing a Field s Content

After you enter the records in a table, you will probably find that you need to make some changes; sometimes data is entered incorrectly or the data for a particular record might actually change. Editing a field's content is easy. You can replace the old field content entirely or edit it.

Replacing a Field's Content

If the data in a field must be updated or has been entered incorrectly, the easiest way to replace this data is to enter the new data from scratch. To replace the old content in a field, follow these steps:

1. You can use the Tab key to move to the field you want to edit (the contents of the field will be selected), or select the contents of a field with the mouse. To use your mouse, place the mouse pointer on the upper-left or right edge of the field. The mouse pointer becomes a plus sign (+) as shown in Figure 8.1. Click the field to select its content.

   Figure 8.1. To select a field's entire contents, make sure that the mouse pointer is a plus sign when you click.

   

2. Type the new data, which replaces the old data.

3. You can the use the Tab key or the mouse to move to the next field you need to edit.

Editing a Field's Content with a Mouse

Replacing the entire contents of a field is kind of a heavy-handed way to edit a field if you need to correct the entry of only one or two characters . You can also fine-tune your entries by editing a portion of the data in the field. Follow these steps:

1. Place the mouse pointer over the position in the field where you want to correct data. The mouse pointer should become an I-beam.

2. Click once to place the insertion point at that position in the field (see Figure 8.2). Now you can edit the content of the field.

   Figure 8.2. Place the insertion point into a field to edit its content.

   

3. Press Backspace to remove the character to the left of the insertion point or Delete to remove the character to the right of the insertion point.

4. Enter new text into the field as needed. New entries in the field are inserted, meaning they displace the current entry but do not overwrite it.

Moving Around a Field with a Keyboard

Although the mouse provides a quick way to place the insertion point into a field, you might want to be able to navigate inside a field using the keyboard, especially when you are editing a fairly long field entry. Access provides several keyboard possibilities for moving inside a cell . Table 8.1 lists these keyboard-movement keys.

Table 8.1. Moving Within a Field