Random ranking of a list

[Brian]

I have a table (T_Items) of 32 items. I would like to
randomly select 8 items eash week for a month and by the
end of the month have selected all the items without
repeating. How can this be accomplished with a query, or
perhaps code is best. Thanks. Brian

 

[John Vinson]

I have a table (T_Items) of 32 items. I would like to
randomly select 8 items eash week for a month and by the
end of the month have selected all the items without
repeating. How can this be accomplished with a query, or
perhaps code is best. Thanks. Brian

You can use the Top Values property of a query, with help
from a little VBA. Put this little function into a Module:

Public Function RndNum(vIgnore As Variant) As Double
Static bRnd As Boolean
If Not bRnd Then
'Initialize the random number generator once only
bRnd = True
Randomize
End If
RndNum = Rnd()
End Function

Then add a calculated field to your Query by typing

Shuffle: RndNum([fieldname])

in a vacant Field cell, where [fieldname] is any field in
your table - this forces Access to give a different random
number for each record.

Sort the query by Shuffle, and set its Top Values property
to the number of records you want to see.