User manual

Chapter 3
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Creating databases 53
7. Determine the match fields for each table, and circle each one in your plan.
For more information, see “About match fields for relationships” on page 98.
For example, in the Clients table you might want to assign each client a unique, identifying number. You
wouldn’t enter a client identification number into the table unless you had a new client to add, so the
existence of a client number determines the existence of a record.
8. For each table, decide which fields will store data, and which ones will be used from other (related)
tables.
Each table has only one subject, and all fields in a table describe only that subject.
For example, the fields in one record of the Clients table together store all the information about one client.
Based on a table’s subject, you can see where it makes sense to store the data and where to use data from
a related table. Other than match fields, all fields should appear only once in your database. Cross out
occurrences of fields that don’t pertain to the table’s subject.
Client ID
Street
Postal Code
Client Name
City
Tour ID
Clients table
Routes table
Tour Name
Tours table
Phone
Route ID
Destination
Origin
Tour ID
Route ID
Destination
Tour Name
Origin
Client ID
Street
Postal Code
Client Name
City
Tour ID
Clients table
Routes table
Tour Name
Tours table
Phone
Route ID
Destination
Origin
Tour ID
Route ID
Destination
Tour Name
Origin