At design time, the easiest way to bind database fields to list columns is with the Retrieve Fields command. However, if the list is not bound at design time, this command has no effect. Fortunately, you can still set column properties manually using the list's property pages, but you must first create blank columns using the Insert or Append commands of visual editing mode.
To associate a database field with a list column, choose Properties from the visual editing menu (or context menu) to display the Property Pages dialog box, and then click the Columns tab to display the Columns property page. Expand a numbered column node in the property tree on the left, and then select the DataField property.
Type a value for this property in the edit control labeled Selection or String. Or, if the list is bound at design time, you can choose a value from the adjacent list of available fields. You can also enter a value for the Caption property, which specifies the text to be displayed in the column header.
When you are done specifying column properties, click the OK button.