Bound vs Unbound

T

Tradingspices

I have designed a form based on the fields that I was told were needed but am
having a problem figuring out Bound vs Unbound and where the data goes when
we fill in the form.
As you can tell, I don't have a lot of experience designing. I have lots of
pick lists (from queries) on my form but wasn't seeing where the data was
being recorded once the form was filled out. I started changing all my
Sources to the tables and now its not working period. What have I done?
I know that I should be getting the pick list choices from my Queries. How
do I get my database back to that function? How do I fix it so that once I
fill out the form, the data is captured in a table, where I can run queries
and reports and get out the info I need?
Thank you.
 
L

Larry Daugherty

Hi,

When next you next post please describe what it is you're trying to do and
perhaps include the names of your tables, followed in each case with the
list of fields in that table. Since a good application is based on your
table design, you have to begin the design of your application there. If it
is flawed, nothing else is going to work easily or well.

For more specific answers, you'll have to give us more specific information.

Usually, a form is bound to the highest level table in the relationships
it's addressing. There are lots of exceptions, but that's usually true. If
you're just getting started I would not start with unbound forms.

Study nomenclature and use it properly. Although just about everyone
understands your meaning when you mention "pick-list", what you refer to are
ComboBoxes in Access parlance. How the comboboxes should work is entirely
dependent on what you're trying to achieve.

If you're just getting started designing in Access be aware that there are
many newsgroups that begin with "microsoft.public.access" that continue on
with a period and name a special area of interest such as .gettingstarted
and.tablesdesign, etc. I'd pull a few of them into your newsreader and lurk
in them regularly. This group tends to be a catch-all for things Access so
you have posts with questions and answers all over the lot. Your posts will
almost always be answered but you may have to slog your way through things
that aren't in your immediate area of interest.

Please accept everything written above to be informational, not scolding.

If you have never taken a course or read a book on Access, you should.
While you can do a lot with Access, the learning curve is steep. Most of us
who develop Access professionally are in a continual learning process.

HTH
 
T

tina

I started changing all my Sources to the tables

not sure what you mean. a bound form has only one RecordSource, an unbound
form has no RecordSource.
suggest you do the following: in the database window, click on a table to
select (highlight) it, but don't open it. on the menu bar, click Insert |
AutoForm. Access will build a simple data entry form, bound to the table you
selected. open the form in design view and look at the form's RecordSource
property and the ControlSource property of each control. in form view, add a
few records, then open the table directly - you'll see the data there. that
should give you a basic understanding of how you use bound forms to enter
data in tables.
what i really recommend is that you invest in a basic Access manual, such as
Microsoft Access <version> Bible by Prague and Irwin. it will teach you how
to use the software to build tables, queries, forms, reports. i also urge
you to learn the basics of table normalization/relationships; the biggest
single mistakes that "newbies" make is to ignore this aspect of building a
database until *after* they've already invested a lot of time and
frustration in building a poorly designed database that doesn't work very
well. Database Design for Mere Mortals by Michael Hernandez is one good
manual; you can google "table normalization" for other resources.

hth
 
T

Tradingspices

Thank you both very much for your advice. I have taken Access beginner and
intermediate but I think I need some further programming education. You just
don't learn enough beyond the basics there.
I'll keep trying and see if I can fix what I've created or start over if
necessary.
 
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