Recipe database

[boggle]

Wonder if anyone can help me with what ought to be a simple problem. I'm
playing with the Access template for a recipe database at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/templates/TC010765231033.aspx and want to
change the ingredient quantity field so I can enter alphanumerics. Right now
it only accepts numbers. I assume I need to change the data type so I've
looked at the help file and it says to open the table in design view, click
the Data Type column, and select the new data type. I'm not necessarily sure
I need to change it, but I can't find the Data Type column in the Design
view anyway. TIA for any suggestions to fix this.

 

[John Vinson]

want to
change the ingredient quantity field so I can enter alphanumerics

This would make it completely impossible to scale recipes. What's
one-half of "ABC"?

Could you explain what a non-numeric Quantity is?

John W. Vinson[MVP]

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

This would make it completely impossible to scale recipes. What's
one-half of "ABC"?

Could you explain what a non-numeric Quantity is?

"pinch", "dash", "smidgen"?

 

[fredg]

Wonder if anyone can help me with what ought to be a simple problem. I'm
playing with the Access template for a recipe database at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/templates/TC010765231033.aspx and want to
change the ingredient quantity field so I can enter alphanumerics. Right now
it only accepts numbers. I assume I need to change the data type so I've
looked at the help file and it says to open the table in design view, click
the Data Type column, and select the new data type. I'm not necessarily sure
I need to change it, but I can't find the Data Type column in the Design
view anyway. TIA for any suggestions to fix this.

Add another field to the table (or use a comments field, Text or Memo
datatype).
Then enter the quantity needed in the Quantity field and the word,
i.e. tsp., cup, pinch. etc., in the text field.
This will still allow you to scale the recipe as needed.

 

[John Spencer]

Actually, those are all units of measure (like cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, quart,
pound). So you really should have those values in the second field (unit type).

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Yeah, you're right. I think people are used to thinking of "1 teaspoon", and
don't treat "a pinch" as being "1 pinch".

 

[Ron2006]

That template already handles pinch and tablespoon and teaspoon as
comments.

If you want to add a field that will handle the what of quantity, then
put all of those types of things in a talbe and use a dropdown and
require it for all the entries.

But then need to think of how to handle 1 carrot (maybe put
large or small or medium etc to handle those types of things.)

Ron