On completion of this tutorial, you will be able to:

• Modify the layout and formatting of a datasheet
• Sort records by a single field or by more than one field
• Apply and remove filters
• Use Filter by Selection or Filter by Form

Modify Table Layout Attributes

Often, a column will not be wide enough to display all the data in the field. On the other hand, you may want to make certain columns narrower, in order to fit more fields on-screen. You can also change the order in which fields are displayed, hide columns and change the font used.

To change the width of a column using the mouse

• Open the table in datasheet view
• Point to the border of the column you want to adjust

The mouse pointer changes to show the resize pointer .

• Click-and-drag to resize the column

To specify a column width in characters

• Point to the column header

The mouse pointer changes to a downward-pointing arrow .

• Click once to select the column
• From the Format menu, select Column Width...

The Column Width dialogue box is displayed.

• In the Column Width: box, enter the number of characters to display

OR

• Click the Best Fit button to display as much of the existing data as possible
• Click OK

To move a column

• Click the column header to select the column
• Click-and-drag the column field name to the left or right

A black line indicates where the field will be dropped.

• When the field is in the correct position, release the mouse button

To hide a column

Hiding a column does not delete the column permanently. It simply hides it from view. This is useful if you want to fit more columns on-screen or on the page (if you print the datasheet).

• Click the column header to select the column
• From the Format menu, select Hide Columns

To unhide a column

• From the Format menu, select Unhide Columns...

The Unhide Columns dialogue box is displayed.

• Click the unchecked boxes to display the columns again (You can also hide a column from here by unchecking a box)
• Click Close

To change the font of the datasheet

By default, the font used for the datasheet is Arial, which is an easy to read font found on all Windows PCs. However, you can use a different font on the datasheet or change the font size. You cannot change the appearance of individual columns however.

• From the Format menu, select Font...

The Font dialogue box is displayed.

• Set the font attributes required
• Click OK