Populating Fields Automatically

[dsmit13]

Table field values. I would like to populate table2 fields with table1
field values when a chosen field is entered. e.g. I enter a serial number in
table 2 and several other fields in table 2 are auto populated with table 1
data for that same serial number.

 

[Jeff Boyce]

You may have a misconception about how Access works, and how you need to use
it.

If you already KNOW the value of "several other fields", based on, say, a
serial number, there is NO reason to re-record those values in a second
table.

If you are trying to figure out how to do this so you can generate a report
that includes those other values, take another look at Access queries. You
can join a serial number in one table to that same serial number in another
table that holds the descriptions, then use the query as the source of your
report.

Please provide more descriptive explanation of the business need/problem you
are trying to solve using the approach you described.

Good luck

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP

 

[John W. Vinson]

Table field values. I would like to populate table2 fields with table1
field values when a chosen field is entered. e.g. I enter a serial number in
table 2 and several other fields in table 2 are auto populated with table 1
data for that same serial number.

Why?

Relational databases use the "Grandmother's Pantry Principle": "A place - ONE
place! - for everything, everything in its place". Storing this information
redundantly in Table1 and Table2 wastes space, and more importantly risks data
anomalies; suppose you have a (let's imagine) ProductName field in Table1, and
autopopulate it into Table2. You then discover an embarrassing typo in the
ProductName. You now have to not only fix it in Table1 but also track down all
the places it's been copied!

Please explain why you feel that you need to do this, rather than just using a
Query joining the two tables on the serialnumber to display the other fields.