Do note that you can right click on any table in the ER diagram, and you are
instantly jumped right into the design mode for that table. So, you can use
the ER screen to jump right into table design modes.
So, if you do start laying out tables, you might still get away using the
built in diagramming tools
ms-access had ER diagramming tools way ahead of the rest of the general IT
industry. Even heavy industry Products like Oracle, or ms-sql server only
got the nice kind of diagramming tools like ms-access MANY MANY years later.
And, it was even more years later that these corporate data systems allowed
things like referential integrity etc. to be setup via a graphic approach
(those data engines did not even support many types of RI, and in fact
you had to resort to using triggers).
And, these "larger" systems as a general rule
did not throw in any diagramming tools that
can be used independent of the table creating process.
And, we are talking about a $200 desktop program here!
There are number of diagramming tools in the marketplace, but for most
access projects the diagram tools are suffice
I would just build the tables and use the tools as you go along.
To be honest, I do use Viso in some cases, but only as a general layout
tool.
(you could use Excel, or word in fact to do this if you wanted..as they
do some neat diagramming tools built in).
However, the INSTANT you get to making field definitions, then I am all in
ms-access. It does not make sense to do this process two times. And, really,
why not just start out using ms-access, as then you don't do the work
twice).
You can see an example of how I used Viso here:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/PickSql/Appendex1.html
but then went right on to ms-access here:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/PickSql/Appendex2.html
(and, just in case you want to read the story of the above migration
project..you can read it here:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/fog0000000003.html
So, while the built in tools are not super, they are free, and they allow
you do setup relations and do table designs in a graphical environment, and
that is pretty darn nice....
