Automatically enter values in fields in a table

[David D.]

How can I get data (from one table) to populate multiple fields of a record
when I choose from a drop down list on a table I am working with?

For instance, I have a table called "CUSTOMERS" with customer data records
(name, address, phone, fax, etc...) & when I am entering data in a table
called "JOBS", I want to select the customer name from a drop down list of
the customers that are in the CUSTOMER table & fill in those fields on the
JOBS table I am working on.

I would appreciate the help, I'm not very experienced with Access. My
version is ACCESS 2003.

 

[John W. Vinson]

How can I get data (from one table) to populate multiple fields of a record
when I choose from a drop down list on a table I am working with?

For instance, I have a table called "CUSTOMERS" with customer data records
(name, address, phone, fax, etc...) & when I am entering data in a table
called "JOBS", I want to select the customer name from a drop down list of
the customers that are in the CUSTOMER table & fill in those fields on the
JOBS table I am working on.

I would appreciate the help, I'm not very experienced with Access. My
version is ACCESS 2003.

Well...

Don't do that.

Relational databases use the "Grandmother's Pantry Principle": "A place - ONE
place! - for everything, everything in its place." You should store the
customer information in the customers table, and *noplace else*. A Job doesn't
have a phone number or a last name, so there should be no Phone or LName field
in the Jobs table. All you need in the Jobs table is the unique CustomerID,
which will be a link back to the Customers table for all the information about
that customer.

If you're working in the Table directly, don't do that either. Microsoft is
tempting you to do so, but it's a very limited programming environment. You're
much better off creating a Form (based on Customers, say) with a Subform
(based on Jobs, using the CustomerID as the master/child link field).

You might want to check out some of these resources, particularly the
tutorials. Access has a steep learning curve but once you get the concepts of
"normalization" and "relationships" down, you'll see that it's very powerful.

Jeff Conrad's resources page:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

The Access Web resources page:
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/index.html

Roger Carlson's tutorials, samples and tips:
http://www.rogersaccesslibrary.com/

A free tutorial written by Crystal:
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

A video how-to series by Crystal:
http://www.YouTube.com/user/LearnAccessByCrystal

MVP Allen Browne's tutorials:
http://allenbrowne.com/links.html#Tutorials