Lookup wizard

R

Rocky

I am designing a patient database. The main table has several fields which
use the lookup wizard for the correct answer. I typed in lists of the
correct values for those fields. I was reading in an Access text however,
and the author seems to indicate that typing in a list of choices creates
another table from which the choices are made. Is this accurate? And are
there some caveats about creating lookup lists which need to be observed?
 
R

Rick B

You can either store the options as a list in the control, OR pull them from
a table.
 
J

John Vinson

I am designing a patient database. The main table has several fields which
use the lookup wizard for the correct answer. I typed in lists of the
correct values for those fields. I was reading in an Access text however,
and the author seems to indicate that typing in a list of choices creates
another table from which the choices are made. Is this accurate? And are
there some caveats about creating lookup lists which need to be observed?
Click to expand...

See http://www.mvps.org/access/lookupfields.htm for a critique of the
Lookup Wizard.

Short answer: the Lookup Wizard makes it easier to enter data in table
datasheets - but one should never enter data in table datasheets
anyway, only in Forms. It makes it a tiny bit easier to create Forms
with combo boxes on them, but the price is redundant relationships,
redundant indexes, concealing the actual content of your tables from
view, causing confusion, on and on...

The Lookup Wizard in fact does create a new table, but you can do that
yourself, and easily put combo boxes on your Forms to select from the
lists.

Just one caveat: patient information databases in the US are subject
to the very stringent HIPAA patient-privacy and security laws. If
you're not well up on database security and the legalities involved,
you could be setting yourself up for a very unpleasant lawsuit.

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
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