Required Fields? Input Masks?

[Klingrap]

If I am creating a database for only a single user, and I belive this user is
fairly competant with the computer, do I need to use input masks or make
certain fields "required" ?

What are the benefits of doing these things, or are they a waste of time?

 

[Jeff Boyce]

So, your user is 'fairly competent with the computer' ...

Does s/he know how to add a watermark in a Word document?

Does s/he know how to create a pivot table and pivot chart in Excel?

Does s/he know how to create a class module in Access?

Does s/he understand normalization and relational database design?

Knowing how to use a computer doesn't say anything about knowing how to use
applications.

By the way, you don't "have" to do anything ... you could just hand off the
raw tables and tell the user to figure it out. Of course, you will probably
have to fix it when s/he breaks something. Your job may be to create an
application that hides the complexity and lets the user focus only on doing
the job s/he needs to accomplish.

You don't mention what that is, though...

From my point of view (JOPO - just one person's opinion), an Access
database/application is NOT like Word or Excel. Folks know about moving
words around or adding up columns of numbers. Most (normal) folks do NOT
know about relational database design and normalization. Your job as a
developer is to hide all that from them. If they can't understand it, they
won't use it.

Good luck!

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP

 

[Beetle]

Input masks are a matter of opinion I suppose, my opinion being
that they are nothing but a PITA. They only make data entry more
difficult.

As far as required fields go, if the business rules dictate that certain
fields must always have a value, then they should be set to required, or
you should use other methods like validation rules of VBA procedures
to ensure that a record does not get saved without all the necessary
data. Even the most experienced users will still make mistakes and
overlook things occasionally.

 

[tina]

if you're building an application for a private individual's personal use,
you can tailor the UI to their skill level and personal preferences if you
choose. but if you're building an application that will be used in a
business, it's a bad idea to gear the UI to any specific person - because
tomorrow that person may not be there (even in good economic times), and
somebody else may be doing the work.

also, your question is two-pronged. Required fields reflect business rules
that are being enforced by the table structure. Input masks are a tool to be
used (or not) to control the user's interaction with the data - *in forms*,
btw, since users should never see a table.

i can only suggest 1) that you analyze the process your database will
support, to make sure that the tables are properly structured and related,
and meet the business needs for data storage, and 2) that you read as much
as you can, and study as many "sample" or "demo" dbs as you can get ahold
of, to get a feel for how experienced developers design their UIs. it's an
art; everybody brings different ideas, opinions, and experiences to it, so
no single answer is going to be the "final word" on the subject. generally
speaking, you're aiming to meet several goals: protect data integrity, help
the user do it right the first time, make the task easier to do rather than
harder to do.

hth

 

[Noëlla Gabriël]

Hi Klingrap,

The computer skill of the user is not really an issue. Even skilled
programmers can sometimes be sloppy with the paper work and data they have to
fill in. If you want to be sure a certain data field is always filled in,
you can make that field required. If a field always has to be filled in
with the same structure (f.e. xx-xxx-xx) you can ensure this by using input
masks. Don't overdo it, because users tend to find their way around imposed
rules. For example, if they have a required field and don't want to enter
data in it they just enter a space or a simple point...