Form design

D

Demian F

I apologize for my ignorance, but I'm hoping for a little direction. I'm
building a tracking database with several very basic fields - mostly text and
list boxes. I would like to have one of the fields act in the following way:

The data is data sensitive, so whenever a selection is made from the list
box, I'd like to have a date selector pop up. From what I've gathered, I
think that this may require a subform attached to the list box,although I'm
not sure.

In addition, this particular field will be continuously updated, eventually
having multiple entries per record for this field. How can I set up this
form to generate a new entry for this field once the available one is used?

Once again, sorry about the very basic questions, as I'm sure they are. I
don't really know which terms to search for in order to figure out how to do
this myself.

Thanks!

Demian
 
J

Jeff Boyce

Demian

You are asking "how do I do this in a form" questions, but what you are
describing need to be "how do I do this in a table" questions.

Since you will have "multiple entries per record", you have a one-to-many
relationship between your tables. You do have two tables, right? Or maybe
even three?

Post a description of your underlying data structure/relationships. That's
where it all starts ... forms come AFTER the data is right. (This is a "pay
now or pay later" situation<g>.)

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP
 
D

Demian F

Okay. The basic setup is this:

I created a table for the data entry with 7 fields. Then I decided to make
the entry more user-friendly due to the volume of line entries. I created a
form (that's where it's listed) using the wizard. I took the fields from the
table, changed the setup so some of the field entry was list box, and began
using that exclusively for entry. The table is updated as I enter, but none
of the controls are functional outide of the form.

Once again, I realize that this is probably very basic for this board, but
I'm trying to teach myself how to use this program. I have some tutorials,
but haven't been able to identify exactly what it is I want to do, ie. the
correct terminology, so I can look for help.
 
J

Jeff Boyce

Demian

It sounds like you have approached this with some history/experience using
Excel. I'm afraid I have some bad news ... Access is not a spreadsheet. To
get the best use of Access' features and functions, you need to start with
your data, not your forms.

First, describe the entities (the things about which you want to store
data -- people, places, concepts, ...). Then describe how each of these
entities relates, one to the others.

I don't have a clear picture of your "domain" yet (the subject area you are
working in). General descriptions lead to general suggestions. Specific
descriptions...

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP
 
C

Carolinec

It might be a subdatasheet you are looking for eg when you are in the table
view - Insert - 'subdatasheet' and this lets your relate records in another
table to your table in an easy to understand view. This might set you on the
way to what you are looking for. Sorry if this isn't any help - keep
plugging away.
 
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