How to Make an ERD in Access

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An entity relationship diagram (ERD) helps database designers review and verify links between tables in a database. An ERD shows a visual representation of primary and foreign keys, which are the columns used to link tables. Microsoft Access includes a diagram utility that lets you create and view an ERD for your Access database. You can also use this diagram to reverse engineer any database.

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Step 1

Open the Microsoft Access database software and open the database in which you want to create the diagram.

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Step 2

Click the "File" menu item and select "New." Click "Software and Database," and then select "Database Model Diagram." A new window opens with a blank diagram.

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Step 3

Click the "Database" menu item and click "Reverse Engineer." Access goes through each table and creates a model diagram of your tables and the tables' relationships to each other.

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