In my quest to acheive a more efficient (dare I say normalized?) database, I
am about to create my new database tables, based on what I've presented in
previous posts here. I'm going to use similar table & record names as the
current set-up, but I plan to add the "tbl" to each table name, and some
other abbreviation to each fieldname, so that I don't get confused working
between the two different databases.

Should I create the new database in the same filepath as the old one?
Something tells me I should not....am I correct?

After I create the tables, is there an easy way to transfer the data? I
don't necessarily want to transfer all of the data immediately, just about 50
or so records until I am assured that my new set-up works. Just to clarify
what I mean by "easy," the old-school me first thought I have to literally
type in all the records manually, one at a time .... but then I had a second
thought; please tell me there's a better way.

Also, is there an efficient way to store phone numbers with extensions? I
have used a phone number input mask for the phone number field, but what do I
do with the extension? Not every record will have a work phone number, let
alone an extension, so is it worth even adding fields for that? And if I do
add fields for extensions, what do I do for a record that has none? Leave it
empty? Enter something so that the field is not blank, like "n/a"?

I can justify my learning database design "on-the-job" because #1, I am
learning something new to add to my resume, and #2, it should eventually
benefit the employers, but I just feel that plain ol' typing is not worth my
time (not like it was 25 years ago, lol).

In peace, and thank you all again for the ongoing support,

Max