separating first and last names when they are in the same cell

[carljordan]

I was given an Access database that includes 87 names. However, all of the
names are entered FN LN, as in John Jones, Mary Smith, Dr. Henry Kissinger,
John Paul Jones, Bill Thomas, Jr., Clara Barton-Jackson, and the like. That
is, some with titles, some with Jr or Sr., some are hyphenated last names.

Is it possible to run a query that will identify the full last name (Jones,
Smith, Kissinger, Jones, Thomas, Jr., Barton-Jackson), add a comma, and put
it in front of the first part of the names?

With only 87, I could probably just go down the list and do it manually, or
even create a new field for the last name. But if it is possible, without
its being more work than it would be worth, I would like to have the method
on hand in case I need it again in the future.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Jeff Boyce]

You might be able to find a customized procedure that does exactly what you
need it to, given the unique situation (i.e., names).

Chances aren't all that good <g>...

If you have honorifics, titles, first names, last names, suffixes,
hyphenated last names, and any combination thereof, you'd need to have code
to correctly identify and handle each possibility. You'll probably end up
spending more time customizing a routine that does part of the job than you
would just to apply USB technology (using someone's brain).

If you want to see if something's out there, try searching via your favorite
on-line search engine for "parsing names".

Good luck!

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP

 

[John W. Vinson]

I was given an Access database that includes 87 names. However, all of the
names are entered FN LN, as in John Jones, Mary Smith, Dr. Henry Kissinger,
John Paul Jones, Bill Thomas, Jr., Clara Barton-Jackson, and the like. That
is, some with titles, some with Jr or Sr., some are hyphenated last names.

You've got three choices: spend many hours writing and testing fancy code to
parse the names; spend many, many dollars on a commercial service to do so...

or spend ten or fifteen minutes manually going through the 87 names and
copying and pasting the names into the correct textbox on your form.

I know which I'd choose...

 

[carljordan]

Thank you for taking the time to answer. I was afraid it would be more than
it was worth, so at least I was not mistaken.

carljordan

 

[carljordan]

Yes, this and the prior answer both answer my question -- in the sense that
it confirms what I thought.

Thanks for the reply, though.

Carljordan.