Osel - Help with Access

Access with not allow you to give a query the same name as a table. This is because tables and queries can be used in the same way when building new queries and there is no way to specify whether the object referred to is a query or a table.

The same does not go for forms and reports which can have the same name. This is because, whenever one of these objects is referred to, there is also a way to specify what type of object is being referred to. This also allows you to use the same name for a form or report that has been used for a table or query.

However there is a lot to be said for ensuring your object names are unique. So we use naming conventions.

It's OK to call a table 'Customer'. I tend to use singular rather than plurals for names but just so long as you are consistent then you will find remembering or guessing object names is easier.

But for forms it is best to prefix with 'frm' so the form name that displays the data from Customer would be 'frmCustomer'. Likewise you can use 'rpt' for reports or 'qry' for queries.

There are a few other good practices that you should also learn early in the project.

You should avoid using reserved words to name objects.

Complications can occur if you use words like 'Date', 'Index' or any other word for which Access holds a special meaning, as column names.

They cause havoc in SQL (Structured Query Language) that is used to construct your queries.

It's hard to remember them all so A good rule to ensure this never happens is to construct all of your column names using at least two words and separating them with an underscore '_'.

If you avoid using spaces in your column names (and indeed all object names) then you will reap the long term benefits.

If you do leave spaces in your object names then you will need to use square brackets to let Access or SQL know that the separate words constitute one object.

So if you name a column 'Start_Date' you won't need to continually refer to it as '[Start Date]'