Multitable searching

[David W. Fenton]

Seven tables is a bad idea! Consider using seven identical forms
except for LocationID. Make the LocationID field on the forms
hidden and on each form set the default value for LocationID
appropriate for the location where the form is being used. With
this setup, anytime someone enters data on their form, Access will
automatically assign the appropriate LocationID for the location
where the data is being entered.

This advice is correct. Something I often do when I'm using a single
form to display subsets of data from a single table that needs to be
distinguished by the user is to use different colors on the form for
the different subsets. It might be hard to find 7 memorable colors,
but I've found that users intuitively grasp the color distinction --
they don't even think about it, they just associate it with the
particular data they are seeing, and that in turn helps them to
avoid editing the wrong data.

 

[John... Visio MVP]

I guess we should take a step back.
Does each user work on information about one and only one location?
If so, that is the easiest scenerio. You can create a user profile table and
place the location id in there and use the user's user id as the key.

You may already have a user profile table to store other information about
the user. Full name, department name, printer preference, security or
authorization level or ?

Once they have signed into the PC, there is no need to seperately sign into
Access. Access can determine the login userid.

John.. Visio MVP

 

[David W. Fenton]

This advice is correct.

Oops. I missed the 7 identical forms.

Having two or more identical objects in an Access application is a
nightmare for long-term maintenance and an indication of a design
flaw. Information on the location should be applied dynamically when
the forms is opened, according to information supplied by the user
before the form is opened. If they don't supply the information, the
form shouldn't load -- that will prevent them from skipping any of
it.

 

[Keith Wilby]

I'll keep you in mind.

Please also keep this in mind:

http://home.tiscali.nl/arracom/whoissteve.html

 

[CorporateQAinTX]

Man, I just went through the link you posted. Jeez, does this guy have an ego
or what?!? I'm glad I learned quickly, but isn't there some way for the group
administrators to get together and block this guy somehow?

Anyway, I saw the post and had to check it out.

 

[CorporateQAinTX]

Sorry for the long delay between posts. I've been out of town for the last 2
weeks. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday (if that's your
regional holiday of course).

It is possible for more than one person to access this dbase at the same
time. Unlikely, but possible. Most of them have to log into the PC, but not
all of them have specific logins. Some of them are generic for the computer
to have access to the network. I haven't created a user list table yet. I had
tinkered with the idea, but ended up stumbling across the ULS available in
Access. What I wanted to do was to give each location a general login and
give the Quality Managers an admin log-in. Of course, my position would be
the only one to have complete control. The data entry form is already in use
at a beta site and seems to be working great. I'm just trying to get this
part complete before the end of the year, so I can initiate it at all of our
locations. Is it possible to access the security file to determine who is
logged in and what their corresponding location id would be? Once I can find
a way to set that up, I believe I can get the forms to pull that for the data
entry part. And also be able to determine which location is trying to pull
data for a report.

Thanks for all your help so far. I appreciate the knowledge being shared.

 

[John W. Vinson]

Man, I just went through the link you posted. Jeez, does this guy have an ego
or what?!? I'm glad I learned quickly, but isn't there some way for the group
administrators to get together and block this guy somehow?

If there were group administrators, that would be reasonable; but this is an
open, peer-to-peer support group without moderators.