Lookup tables

A

Arvin Meyer [MVP]

Wind54Surfer said:
What exactly is a lokup table and when to use it.
Click to expand...

A lookup table (as opposed to a lookup field) is a table that holds values
which are the descriptive values for a field in another table. A typical
example is the Categories table in the Northwind sample database that comes
with Access. If you look in the Products table, in that same database, you
will see a lookup field (Category). It is better to show the CategoryID (the
actual value) than the text from another table. Tables are, for the most
part, not to be used for, for directly viewing or entering data. Access is
one of the very few DBMS that even makes it possible for a user to view a
table. A query can be used to join the data, and any form (or report) even a
datasheet form can be used to display it. This web page should explain why
to use lookup tables, but not lookup fields:

http://www.mvps.org/access/lookupfields.htm
--
Arvin Meyer, MCP, MVP
Microsoft Access
Free Access downloads:
http://www.datastrat.com
http://www.mvps.org/access
 
G

Garret

I am confused as to what the difference is between a lookup table and a
lookup field. I thought a lookup table is a table where another table
that has the lookup field draws its values from. In my database, I
have a field called [TypeofGage] in the [Gages] table. That field is a
lookup field which gets its values from the table called [GageTypes] in
the primary field called [GageType]. What is wrong with this, and what
is the alternate way to do the same thing?
 
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