Table Design

[Paul Cooper via AccessMonster.com]

I'm designing an access 2003 DB for a small Newspaper. It will monitor the
deadlines of the newspaper. Each record is a day. There are 5 people that
could access the record at the same time. Each person editing a different
field. Each user is forced to only edit their fields. Is it better to have
1 table, or 1 for each user, and then use a relationship to connect them
together. I would prefer 1 table for simplicity, but that might not be the
best design.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Jeff Boyce]

Paul

You've not really given us much to go on. "Each record is a day". What
facts are you recording about "a day"?

"5 people that could access the record... editing a different field". That
may be, given your current data design. But without some idea of what you
are recording...

I'd offer a blanket suggestion against using one table per person -- as soon
as you start embedding data (i.e., which person) in your table names, you
are in trouble as far as making efficient use of Access goes. For example,
what would you do if someone new was hired? Someone was fired?

 

[Paul Cooper via AccessMonster.com]

Records = Days, Table1=Actual Times, Table2= Deadline Times. There are
about 25 times. I compare the actual times against the deadline times. To
show if we made our deadlines.

I have 5 users with different times to input. (They are in different
departments.) So, Each user is editing a different field on the same
record. Sometimes at the same time. I am going to split the database when
everything is done, but I need to know whether it would be better to break
the Actual Table times into 5 separate tables, one for each department (or
user). The data is based upon the department and not the individual. The
amount of tables would never need to change.

It is easier to analyze 1 table then 5. That is why I would like to stick
to one table. I just think it may not be feasible.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Jeff Boyce]

Paul

I read and re-read your description but I'm still having trouble visualizing
your data.

Are you saying that your table(s) have "repeating fields" ('... about 25
times')? If so, you have a spreadsheet, not a relational database.

I'd suggest posting some actual data, in the structure you have/are
proposing, to help folks (or maybe just me!) get our heads around what data
you are working with.

I'd also suggest that you step back from what you have and consider
normalization rules -- your data structure may be causing you to find
work-arounds in Access. If you have a well-normalized table structure,
Access has strong tools. Otherwise, ... workarounds!