access 2000 table or form design?

[Sharon M]

I don't know if I can do this in table design or if this
is a function of a form design.

I have for example:
Name Date Var1 Var2 Var3

There are 10 names that are used to create new records
each date.

What I want is to be able to open it up and automatically
have 10 records showing with the name and current date
filled in and ready for me to enter Var1 Var2 Var3 without
having to enter the name and date each time.

Thanks for any help
Sharon

 

[Tim Ferguson]

What I want is to be able to open it up and automatically
have 10 records showing with the name and current date
filled in and ready for me to enter Var1 Var2 Var3 without
having to enter the name and date each time.

I'm always very suspicious of this, "I want to create the records whether
there is any data to put in them or not..."

The simplest way to do this, though, would be a little VBA procedure that
would create the records and then open a form based on a filter that picked
just them out. I imagine you are thinking of a grid-like form, so use a
form either in continous-forms mode, or in datasheet mode.

But I still think it's better to analyse the user experience: to work out
where the data are coming from, and how best to capture them when there
really are data there.

Hope that helps


Tim F

 

[Sharon M]

From what I can gather, there is a daily check sheet that
has the 10 names and there is a to be a number from 1 to 5
placed in each variable for each name. These sheets are
later entered either straight into a table or could be
entered into a form. Neither has been created yet.

Example:

name date var1 var2 var3
james 1/1/2003 1 1 1
john 1/1/2003 1 2 1


Sharon M

 

[tina]

yes, that makes sense. and as Tim says, you can do it
pretty easily using VBA.
first, use a form. rule of thumb: your user(s) should
never have direct access to tables, only indirect access
thru forms and reports.
suggest you have a minimum of two tables. a table listing
the names (employees, i'm assuming) such as

tblEmployees
EmpID (primary key)
EmpFirst
EmpLast
etc.

tblX (??? - whatever is being tracked: attendance?
production?)
XEmpID (foreign key from tblEmployees)
XDate
(make a combination primary key from these two fields,
assuming that each name needs to be entered only once for
each date)
XVar1
XVar2
XVar3

fyi, when you automatically create records for a user,
it's a good idea to create a way to manage those records.
for instance:
1. what happens if a daily sheet isn't entered one day -
does the user need an option to generate a backdated set
of names/dates records for entry of the variables?
2. what if required number entries haven't been made on a
sheet, such as var2 has been omitted for a specific name.
require the data before the record can be updated? or
create a tracking report that lists all incomplete records
in the table?
etc, etc.

keep in mind that you not only have to build the db to
support the process the way it's supposed to work, but
also to support the process when it doesn't work right -
and anytime you're supporting a process that involves
people, that ALWAYS happens sooner or later.

hth

 

[Sharon]

Thanks for all the information. This is obviously way above my level.
When the user requested it, I thought I could handle it, since I am
able to create something from scratch. I am not familiar at all with
VBA and only the very basics in Access.
Sharon