Naming Conventions

Database Object Naming Conventions

The Leszynski/Reddick Guidelines for Microsoft Access is the most commonly used naming convention for Access objects. These Guidelines as published in SmartAccess, suggest that all objects should have a descriptive tag, placed at the start of the object name.

Note: It is suggested that the choice of naming convention is not as important as making sure that you do implement 'A' naming stragegy. Which one is purely a personal preference.

Tags for Defining Data Types

Data Type	Tag
Binary	bin
Byte	byt
Autonumber	lng
Currency	cur
Date/Time	dtm
Double	dbl
Integer	int
Long	lng
Memo	mem
Ole	ole
Single	sng
Text	str
Yes/No	ysn

Tags for Database Container Objects

Objects	Tag	Example
Form	frm	frmCustomer
Form (Dialog)	fdlg	fdlgLogin
Form (Menu)	fmnu	fmnuUtility
Form (Message)	fmsg	fmsgWait
Form (Subform)	fsub	fsubOrder
Macro	mcr	mcrUpdateInventory
Macro (Menu)	mmnu	mmunEntryFormFile
Module	bas	basBilling
Query (Append)	qapp	qappNewProduct
Query (Crosstab)	qxtb	qxtbRegionSales
Query (DDL)	qddl	qddlIInit
Query (Delete)	qdel	qdelOldAccount
Query (Form Filter)	qflt	qfltSalesToday
Query (Make-Table)	qmak	qmakShipTo
Query (Select)	qry/qsel	qryOverAchiever
Query (SQL Pass-Through)	qspt	qsptOrder
Query (Totals)	qtot	qtotResult
Query (Union)	quni	quniMerged
Query (Update)	qupd	qupdDiscount
Query (Lookup)	qlkp	qlkpStatus
Report	rpt	rptInsuranceValue
Report (Subreport)	rsub	rsubOrder
Table	tbl	tblCustomer
Table (Lookup)	tlkp	tlkpShipper

Tags For Control Objects

Object	Tag	Example
Chart	cht	chtSales
Check Box	chk	chkReadOnly
Combo Box	cbo	cboIndustry
Command Button	cmd	cmdCancel
Frame	fra	fraPhoto
Label	lbl	lblHelpMessage
Line	lin	linVertical
ListBox	lst	lstPolicyCode
Option Button	opt	optFrench
Option Group	grp	grpLanguage
Page Break	brk	brkPage1
Rectangle (Shape)	shp	shpNamePanel
Subform/Report	sub	subContact
Textbox	txt	txtLoginName
Toggle Button	tgl	tglForm

Alternatives to the Leszynski naming convention can be found in: Naming Conventions - Hungarian Notation