Work with data entry forms

work with data entry forms

One reason that people like Microsoft Access is that it allows for friendly data-entry forms that are easier to use than row-and-column spreadsheets. Excel offers data-entry forms, too, if you know where to look for them.

To use a data entry form in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Display the worksheet containing the data, and then choose Data > Form. A data-entry form appears, with field names that match the contents of Row 1 in the worksheet. (Remember, I told you it was important to put your field names in row 1.)
2. To enter a new record, click New. The form clears. Type the new entry in the fields of the box, as shown in Figure 6-5.

Figure 6-5: Use a data entry form to simply entry into an Excel database.

You can also use the form dialog box (Data > Form) to do the following:

• Move between existing records with Find Next and Find Prev.
• Filter according to specific criteria with Criteria. To do this, click the Criteria button, and enter values in one or more of the fields that you want to match. Then click Find Next or Find Prev to locate matching records.
• Delete records with the Delete button. Doing this also deletes the row in the worksheet, so there are no blank rows where deleted records used to be.
• Revert changes made to a record with Restore.