copying design view layout

[jens peder kristensen]

Hi,

Thank you for your advice, which were inspiring even
though I did not manage to make it work precisely as
suggested.

By copying design to another (temp) database, I got rid of
the data. Then I saved this (empty) database in different
formats(rtf,xls) and got some xxx.ini files, that contains
the "Field Name" and "Data type". This is a start. I still
miss my extensive "descriptions" from the design view.
Maybe I should never have used these "descriptions"
because it seems as if there is no way to get them out
automatically.

Jens Peder

 

[Tim Ferguson]

Maybe I should never have used these "descriptions"
because it seems as if there is no way to get them out
automatically.

The description property was a bit of an odd thing for the original Access
team to put in. It is definitely a part of the GUI rather than the data
model, but even so it play very little part in anything the user can see.
FWIW, it's displayed on the status bar (by default) when the focus is on a
form control that is bound to the field. I'd bet money that most people
would not even be aware if that functionality disappeared. Even the Format
property is more useful! Ordinary users should have no reason to look at
the tabledef design window, and even the developer should have no reason to
go there once the columns are defined and running.

The Real Description Property, of course, is the one that is written up in
the design documentation: that is the longhand version that explains why
it's a Long rather than an Integer, where the data will come from and when
it will be editied, what a Null value means and so on. There is no way that
this sort of detail will fit into one the little box on screen, and of
course you wouldn't want it to. But your successor will need to see it, if
your database is ever to last more than one job-change. You do do
documentation don't you <cough mode="self-conscious" />?!

All the best


Tim F

 

[Jens Peder]

Hi,

Thank you for your lengthy comment, which explains why I
am in trouble. Re: documentation, databases have many
purposes. For the actual problem, the documentation
possible in the "descriptions" was a good and sufficient
solution (we thought ).

Regards

Jens Peder