How to create a field using existing information

H

hrbsh97

Good Morning Experts!

I have an existing personnel database .. I have an existing field for First
Name, Last Name .. but now I need to create a new field .. guess I'll call it
Name .. it needs to have the Last Name, First Name in both fields .. is there
a way to use my information in the existing field I have without retyping all
this information? ..

Many thanks!!
 
K

Klatuu

You don't really need that field at all. It actually violates database
normalization rules. The correct way to do it is to use a query to return
the contcatenated name. Use a calculated field in your query but do not use
the name Name. It is an Access reserved word and can cause problems. Note
that Name is a property of every Access object. Example:

Query Builder
FullName: [First Name] & " " & [Last Name]

SQL
SELECT [First Name] & " " & [Last Name] AS FullName
 
H

hrbsh97

I don't know that this will work for what I am doing .. I am using connecting
my database to a program called Alpha Cards to print my photo ID's .. in my
Alpha Cards software it asks for a field to "point to" for the employee's
name (so it knows where to find the photo) .. I need ONE field .. how do I do
that?

Klatuu said:
You don't really need that field at all. It actually violates database
normalization rules. The correct way to do it is to use a query to return
the contcatenated name. Use a calculated field in your query but do not use
the name Name. It is an Access reserved word and can cause problems. Note
that Name is a property of every Access object. Example:

Query Builder
FullName: [First Name] & " " & [Last Name]

SQL
SELECT [First Name] & " " & [Last Name] AS FullName


--
Dave Hargis, Microsoft Access MVP


hrbsh97 said:
Good Morning Experts!

I have an existing personnel database .. I have an existing field for First
Name, Last Name .. but now I need to create a new field .. guess I'll call it
Name .. it needs to have the Last Name, First Name in both fields .. is there
a way to use my information in the existing field I have without retyping all
this information? ..

Many thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
K

Klatuu

Add the field to your table in design view
Create an Update query for the table. In the field row put the name of the
new field (remember NOT to name it name)
In the Update To row
[First Name] & " " & [Last Name]
--
Dave Hargis, Microsoft Access MVP


hrbsh97 said:
I don't know that this will work for what I am doing .. I am using connecting
my database to a program called Alpha Cards to print my photo ID's .. in my
Alpha Cards software it asks for a field to "point to" for the employee's
name (so it knows where to find the photo) .. I need ONE field .. how do I do
that?

Klatuu said:
You don't really need that field at all. It actually violates database
normalization rules. The correct way to do it is to use a query to return
the contcatenated name. Use a calculated field in your query but do not use
the name Name. It is an Access reserved word and can cause problems. Note
that Name is a property of every Access object. Example:

Query Builder
FullName: [First Name] & " " & [Last Name]

SQL
SELECT [First Name] & " " & [Last Name] AS FullName


--
Dave Hargis, Microsoft Access MVP


hrbsh97 said:
Good Morning Experts!

I have an existing personnel database .. I have an existing field for First
Name, Last Name .. but now I need to create a new field .. guess I'll call it
Name .. it needs to have the Last Name, First Name in both fields .. is there
a way to use my information in the existing field I have without retyping all
this information? ..

Many thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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