Specifying Required Fields and Default Values

Some fields contain essential information. For example, social security numbers are required for employees in order to process payroll and other reports . You set fields like these as required fields , which means that Access refuses to accept a record until you enter an acceptable value for that field. You can also set a default value for a field, a value Access uses unless a user enters a different one. If a field usually has the same value, such as a city or state if most contacts are local, you could assign that value as the default in order to speed up data entry.

Create a Required Field

Display the table in Design view, and then click a field that you want to be a required field.

Click the Required box.

Click the list arrow, and then click Yes.

Specify a Default Value

Display the table in Design view, and then click a field for which you want to set a default value.

Click the Default Value box.

Enter the default value for the field in the box.