required field

[timbits35 via AccessMonster.com]

Hi,

I have read through many pages of how to handle required fields and still
have a question. The majority of answers state that the best way to handle
this is by using the form's Before Update property. Which is fine and I have
tried and it works. But I want the error message to come up before the user
leaves the field, not have to wait until the form is saved. So I tried using
the On Exit property and it works too. But then I read comments that maybe
the user will not enter the field in the first place. So how do I force the
user to enter each field which I choose to be required? If I open the form
and set the focus to the first required field and use the code below is it ok?
Should I stick with validiting the control property using On Exit, Before
Update, On Lost Focus...which is the best?

If IsNull(Me.[lname]) Then
MsgBox "You must enter the name"
Me!lname.SetFocus
Cancel = True
End If

Thank you,
Liane

 

[Allen Browne]

The best way requires no code at all.

Open the table in design view.
Select the field.
In the lower pane of table design, set Required to Yes.

Now if you try to save a record without a value in this field (even if you
never visited it), Access won't let you.

If you wanted a custom message, set these properties for the field in table
design:
Required No
Validation Rule Is Not Null
Validation Text "You did what???"