Here are some general tips for designing and maintaining databases from one of our experts:

1. When developing forms and reports, focus on functionality first. Once things are working correctly, then you can make them look pretty.
2. When designing tables to hold contact information, try to break information down into its parts.
   Separate name into FN, MI, LN, and Address into Add1, Add2, City, State, Zip, Country.
   It’s easy to put things together afterwards if necessary, not so easy to break them apart.
3. Always back up files (the whole .mdb file, or specific forms, reports, etc.) before making changes to them.
4. On the database menu, Tools>Startup has useful options like setting a form to open automatically, and hiding the database window on open.