what is the best way to create a cross reference for part numbers

[Guest]

I am trying to create a cross reference for my company that will allow my
customers to type in a competitors part number and cross reference it to
mine. I would also like to eventually like for it to link to a catalog page
on my web site. I am wanting to use Access.

 

[John Vinson]

I am trying to create a cross reference for my company that will allow my
customers to type in a competitors part number and cross reference it to
mine. I would also like to eventually like for it to link to a catalog page
on my web site. I am wanting to use Access.

I'd suggest a one to many relationship from your parts table to a
translation table:

Translation
PartNo
OtherPartNo
Manufacturer


If five of your competitors have (obviously inferior! <g>) parts that
match yours, this table would have five rows. You could use a Combo
Box with your PartNo as the bound column and the OtherPartNo as the
first visible column, so that they can select by any of the other part
numbers (provided they aren't duplicated across manufacturers) and
your database will see your part number.

John W. Vinson[MVP]