Performing subtraction on 2 fields to fill another

[Guanamom]

I am so frustrate with Access. This is so simple in Lotus Approach. Any one
help me? I have 2 date fields and I want to calculate the number of days and
have the result appear in a 3rd field. The expression builder is not showing
the tables in my DB, and so I cannot use that method! Why doesn't Mocrosoft
just add a calculated field like Approach has!

 

[Rick Brandt]

I am so frustrate with Access. This is so simple in Lotus Approach. Any
one help me? I have 2 date fields and I want to calculate the number of
days and have the result appear in a 3rd field. The expression builder
is not showing the tables in my DB, and so I cannot use that method! Why
doesn't Mocrosoft just add a calculated field like Approach has!

It is very simple to do this (in a query). The results of such
calculations do not belong in tables.

 

[Guanamom]

Tried that, steve, but it just wont take it. Like I said, the table fields
are not even showing up in the expression builder. Is there something that
has to be turned on?

Diane

 

[John W. Vinson]

I am so frustrate with Access. This is so simple in Lotus Approach. Any one
help me? I have 2 date fields and I want to calculate the number of days and
have the result appear in a 3rd field. The expression builder is not showing
the tables in my DB, and so I cannot use that method! Why doesn't Mocrosoft
just add a calculated field like Approach has!

Access is NOT a flawed implemenation of Approach. It is a different program,
with different conventions! If you insist on treating it as a version of
Approach you will indeed be frustrated; if you meet it on its own terms, you
will find that it does everything that Approach can do - but *differently*.
You may need to "unlearn" some things!

That said: create a Query based on the table. Include the two date fields, and
any other information that you would like to see. In a vacant Field cell type

DaysBetween: DateDiff("d", [firstdatefield], [seconddatefield])

using whatever fieldname you would like.

you can now base a Form or Report on this query and see the result you want.

Note that tables (in Access, if not in Approach) are designed for data storage
- not for calculations, and not for data presentation or interaction either.