Using the Format Property

Use the format property to ensure that data is entered in a consistent format. You can choose from predefined formats or design your own.

To select a predefined format or enter a custom text format:

1. With the table open in Design view, click the field that you want to modify.
2. Click in the Format box in the Field Properties pane.
3. Click the Format drop-down arrow to display the list of predefined formats.
4. Select the format you want.
5. If the field you are modifying is a text or memo field, there are no predefined formats. Type the custom format you want.
6. Don't forget to save the changes to the table design before switching to Datasheet view.

Check your Windows Regional Settings for number, currency, time and date formats. Go to Windows Start button > Settings > Control Panel > Regional Settings.

You can include autotext in your custom text formats. For example, if you are entering apartment numbers, you could use the format "Apt. "@-@. Entering the value B1 will display Apt. B-1. Placing quotation marks around "Apt. " tells Access that this is a text string that should be included automatically in each data entry. Notice that we included the space inside the quotation marks to ensure that a space will display between "Apt." and the apartment number. Using this text format will save a lot of data entry time.

For additional information about designing custom formats or using predefined formats, go to Access Help. Click the format property box, then press the F1 key on your keyboard to access Help.