Yes, though its not 'autopopulating' a field in the sense that its assigning
a value to a field, its showing the value from the memo field in the reason
codes table by means of a control bound to that field.
As regards a mail merge that's not a problem; as the source for the merge
you'd use a query which joins the tables and returns the memo field, along
with what other columns you need for the merge, restricting the query to the
current record by referencing a control on the main form bound the primary
key as a parameter. Alternatively you could insert the relevant values from
the form into bookmarks in a Word document. You'll find examples of various
Access to word automation operations, including merging and filling bookmarks,
at:
http://community.netscape.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=23781.1&nav=messages&webtag=ws-msdevapps
But first consider whether you need to use Word at all. You may well be able
to achieve what you want more easily by means of an Access report.
When moving from Excel to Access its important to understand how a relational
database differs from a workbook. They are very different animals.
Essentially a relational database is a model of a part of the real world and
is made up of tables which represent 'entity types', the columns of the
tables representing the 'attributes' of each entity type. Relationships
between the tables pull them all together into a 'logical model'. Tables are
related by a foreign key column in one referencing the primary key column of
another, e.g. an Orders table might have a CustomerID foreign key column
which references the primary key CustomerID column of a Customers table. A
table can also model a relationship, as would be the case with the
commercial_reasons table in my first reply. A table modelling a relationship
in this way is still modelling an entity type as a relationship type is
really just a special kind of entity type.
Following the principle that when you have three hours to cut down a tree
spend two of them sharpening the axe, some time becoming familiar with
principles of the relational model and studying how other databases are put
together, such as the sample Northwind database which comes with Access, will
save a lot of headaches later on. If you Google Access +Tutorial you should
find plenty of guidance to choose from, or there are many good books on
Access available. Despite the ubiquity of online resources I'm still a fan
of the printed page.
Ken Sheridan
Stafford, England
Will this allow the processor to enter for ex #1 in the reason code field on
the form and it will auto populate the reason in the field?
After the form is completed a mail merge has to be done to show not show the
number of the reason code but just the description.
Currently they use excel type in the reason code # and the description
autopopulates. I would like to put this in access so I don't have 20
seperate sheets each month with 20-30 tabs in each. I need to track all
entries and currently we have to cut and paste every 30 days into a master
file.
Your problems stem from the fundamental flaws in the design of your
commercial table. What you are trying to achieve here is a many-to-many
[quoted text clipped - 58 lines]
desriptions are more than 255 characters.
thank you in advance for any assistance