Relationships vs. Object Dependency

[ESheehan]

[Using Access 2007]

Are object dependencies and relationship creation two separate concepts? I
have a one-to-many relationship in my database where I have a "Subject ID"
field (and which is the primary key) in my main table. In subsequent tables,
the ID field is a lookup field back to that main table and the Subject ID
field. I think that creates a relationship or do I have to do anything
further?

 

[Allen Browne]

Yes: they are different things.

A relationship is a connection between fields in 2 tables. Check the box for
Referential Integrity, and Access ensures that you don't enter a value in
the related table that does not exist in the main table.

Dependency is a wider concept, not limited to tables. If a query uses a
table, it has a dependency on it. If a report uses that query, it has a
dependency on it.

Access 2003 and 2007 can show you what objects depend on what other objects,
but only if you have Name AutoCorrect turned on. In my experience, that's a
disaster:
http://allenbrowne.com/bug-03.html

Therefore I tend to use something like this to track where a field is
actually used:
http://allenbrowne.com/ser-73.html