How to get combo box selection to fill related fields with data - ms-access

I have a table [inventory] with inventory items, and a bunch of columns with different information for those. Mainly, part#, description, price. I am trying to create both a purchase order form [POForm] and, and a inventory transactions form [TransactionsForm], but that one thing I've been stuck on is getting a combo box look up I use to select the part# from [inventory], to also fill my fields for description, and price for that item in my form. I need the fields that are filled to be able to have formula's run off of them, and the information to be saved into the table for that form [TransactionsTable], [POTable].
I've tried making my part# combo box include the fields for the description and price, and using =[part#].[column](x) in the other fields as a lookup, and it looks right visually, but that is apparently just a visual of that data, but technically the field is still blank, because those other fields remain empty in the table for that form, and I am not able to run a formula off the price.

As per my understanding and please correct me if I am wrong. you have a form that shows your inventory data Part# Description & price. This form has a combo box that allows you to select a particular part # to view its related record data description and price.
Now you want to click a command button after selecting a particular part # to update your transaction form and POtable.
1.you have to create a query,
2.insert the inventory table in it
3.select append from the query type in the ms access ribbon
4.a window will appear, choose the transaction table as the destination table to append to.
5.double click on the fields that you want to retrieve its data from the inventory table
6.then in the table below in the query itself in the "append to" row you will find drop-down menu including all the fields from the transaction table. choose the corresponding fields. note if the fields have the same name in both tables access will do it automatically.
7.in the criteria row type the following [Forms]![Inventory Form Name]![the name of the field in the form]. do that for each field in the happen query.
8.save the query and name it
9.go-to design view in your inventory form and create a command button, in the click on event creat macro of the following: openquery-->type the append query name
10.save and close macro builder
11.open your form, select part#, click on the button
12.access will ask you to confirm appending process. click ok/yes
13.check your transaction table to confirm that the append process was successfully performed
14.Tip if you do not want the confirmation msg of append to appear, in the click on event go to the macro builder and choose in the ribbon show all actions then in the first line of the macro builder insert setwarnings - NO
the same is to be applied for the POtable.
Anyways, I hope you find this clear and helpful but I have only one concern you do not have to append part description and price in transaction and PO tables as you already have this data in your database in the inventory table. Generally speaking no need to include the same information in multiple tables otherwise you are not benefitting from the idea of a relational database.
I hope I addressed your inquiry.

Related

Access 2016 drop-down list appearing in Reports and Queries

In Access 2016 I have a table called 'Orders'.
I also have a Form (also called 'Orders') that we use to enter order information. On the form, one field in particular ('Company') is a drop-down list. The control source is a second table called 'Companies'. And the Row Source is a SQL Query:
SELECT [Companies].[ID], [Companies].[CompanyName] FROM Companies ORDER BY [CompanyName];
So, when the user is entering an order into the Form, he/she can select the company name from this drop-down list and it in turn updates the Orders table. All basic stuff, and it works fine.
Next, I created a query (also called 'Orders') and it is based off of the Orders table.
When I run the query in Access and view it as a Datasheet, I was surprised to notice that the Company field (IN THE QUERY datasheet) is a drop-down list. Not only that, it even lets me change the value - right here in the query! If I view the SQL for this query, I can see that it is a SELECT query. In my mind, a SELECT query is read only. So my questions are - What's a drop-down list doing in a Query, and WHY does Access let me edit the values directly in the query? Isn't this supposed to be read only?
Next question:
After verifying that all of the data I need is in the Orders query, I then created a report (called 'All Orders') and the control source for this report is the Orders query. (not the table).
When I view the Report in Design view, there's the drop-down list again. Why? I am just looking to add the Company name that the user selected when they completed the form. I realize that the form Control for entering that data (on the FORM) is a drop-down list. But here I am building a report and I just want the VALUE to appear here. Not the drop down control? (I know that when I print the report or view it on the screen, the drop-down boxes go away and all I see is the actual text). But my question is - WHY is Access showing me a drop-down list control on a report? and in a select query? The query and the report are no place for editing data. I just want the value that was selected.
That's because you've defined the lookup list in the table. If you do so, it propagates to queries and new reports and forms, and will be the default way to view the data everywhere you've placed it.
Open your table in design view, and change the display control for your field back to text box. Note that any forms and reports will need to be edited or recreated, for queries the change should propagate.

Use an Access 2010 form based on 1 table to enter data in a linked table

First of all, I am a total NOOB! I am trying to make an Access DB for handling orders through an entire process. As such, I have created tables based on each of the individual processes. The order data, which holds only the basic information is in tblCurrentOrders. Each of the other processes is linked to tblCurrentOrders by the OrderNumber field. The first step of the process is due date information is entered in the tblPlanner table. Obviously, until data is entered in tblPlanner, no OrderNumber exists (this will hold true for the other tables, too, if I ever get that far).
I want to create a form based tblCurrentOrders that shows only the records without corresponding entries in tblPlanner (new orders) and then I want to be able to enter the tblPlanner info in a subform. I have tried making a form based on tblCurrentOrders with a subform based on tblPlanner, but I can't figure out how to only display new orders. I also tried basing the form on a query that only showed new orders, but I don't know how to make the subform based on tblPlanner to work.
Please Help!!
Well, the easiest way to link the tables would be to create your OrderNumber in the tblPlanner when you start a new order. Then add a flag and timestamp as to whether it's "released" yet.
EDIT
Since you provide a little bit more detail, I'll edit my response to more closely align for your desired approach.
Creating a "New Order" is a multi-step process. So it's usually best to create a Command Button on a form that calls VBA code. This will allow you to control each step and make sure it's correct.
Step A: First you want to:
1) Create a Control Form (if you haven't already) that allows you to put Command Buttons which will launch different VBA code or open different display Forms.
2) On the Control Form, create a List Box that allows you to select an existing OrderNumber.
3) On the Control Form, create a Command Button to open an Order Form which uses the selected List Box OrderNumber. When that Order Form opens, it will populate with the tblCurrentOrders data for that OrderNumber and also populate the subform with tblPlanner data. (As long as you have them linked properly.)
4) On the Control Form, create a Command Button to open the Order Form with a set of records which are "New Orders" only. See the more detailed process below in Step C.
5) On the Control Form, create a Command Button to Launch VBA code that will create a "New Order". This is a multi step process detailed below in Step B.
6) Create any other buttons or controls that allow you to monitor or advance your "Order" along the way to completion. (This is a ton of work to get all the pieces in place.)
Step B: When you press the Command Button to create a "New Order" you want to create VBA code that will:
1) Create a new record in the tblCurrentOrders table.
2) Create a Unique OrderNumber on the new Record. It's usually best if you control the generation of this number and don't just let it be a system generated sequence number. But whatever you desire is ok as long as it's Unique.
3) Set your ReleasedFlag to false on the new tblCurrentOrders record.
4) Make sure your ReleasedTimeStamp is null. (Or whatever value you want it to be.)
5) You may want a CreatedTimeStamp which you can populate with a date of Now().
6) Populate any other "Initalization" fields that need to be filled. (Like Backorder status, Return flags, Shorted Flags, etc. etc. etc.)
7) Create a new record in the tblPlanner table.
8) Copy the Unique OrderNumber that you created for the tblCurrentOrders record into the OrderNumber field on the new tblPlanner record. This creates a link for you to use with your subqueries and subforms.
9) Now you can open the Order Form with this new OrderNumber.
Step C: When you press the Command Button to open a set of records which are "New Orders" only:
The Command Button needs to launch a query to find "...tblCurrentOrders that shows only the records without corresponding entries in tblPlanner (new orders)":
You just need to select tblCurrentOrders that have a ReleasedFlag set to false.
`SELECT * FROM tblCurrentOrders WHERE ReleasedFlag = false`
So when you say: "...and then I want to be able to enter the tblPlanner info in a subform"... you can create a subform linking to tblPlanner based on the tblCurrentOrders OrderNumber field.
This is all reliant on you observing that when you say "...records without corresponding entries in tblPlanner..." That you really mean: records without released entries in tblPlanner. And that means: in order for a record to exist in tblCurrentOrders, it has to have a corresponding blank (or starter) record created in tblPlanner. Thus now you can display blank tblPlanner records that are linked to unreleased tblCurrentOrders records.
Then once your data entry people are done monkeying around with the New Order, they can "Release" the order (usually by clicking on a Release Command Button). At that point, you can set your ReleasedTimeStamp to Now() and set your ReleasedFlag to True in the tblCurrentOrders. It's officially no longer a "new order" and is now a live order in your system.
You are at the tip of the iceberg for creating a home grown order entry system. The complexities for building a good one are immense. Best of luck figuring it all out. Just remember to use time stamps and ID fields so you can go back and un-do what may have been done by accident.
Hope this all helps. :)

How to edit an existing record and not create a new one when using subforms in Access?

I have an access database that holds medical information. It holds quite a bit of information so i have grouped like fields together into individual tables and linked them using a common primary key. I have created a tab style form with subforms on each tab.
Some of these subforms contain fields from only one table, however there are a few subforms where i have included fields from more than one table.
For example, i have a table that holds blood transfusion data and a table that holds patient characteristics. Some Fields from the blood transfusion table and patient characteristics table are in the same subform, but I also have fields from both these tables in other subforms.
When i try to insert data into the sub-forms with fields from multiple tables i get the following errors..
update or cancelupdate without addnew or edit
and
The changes you requested to the table were not successful because
they would create duplicate values in the index, primary key or
relationship. Change the data in the field or fields that contain
duplicate data, remove the index, or redefine the index to permit
duplicate entries and try again.
From researching the problem i gather this is because access is trying to create a new record for both tables, but if a record has already been created with that primary key (from inserting data into a previous subform) it won't edit the existing record.
Does anyone know how to get access to edit the existing record in this instance instead of trying to add a new record? I have basic skills in VBA but this is a bit past my level of experience.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I used have a whole long response about split forms instead but I was having a horrible time getting it to work. So here is my new and improved answer for using subforms.
Here is a link with sub form info if you want to brush up for your purposes https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-a-form-that-contains-a-subform-a-one-to-many-form-ddf3822f-8aba-49cb-831a-1e74d6f5f06b
Step 1
Make sure your main form is bound to the right table.
For my purposes I used a single combo box on my main form to search with. Make sure all the field parameters on your combo box are correct. This includes making sure the Row Source is correct and that you DO NOT have a control source entered.
Step 2
Don't press enter after making a selection in the combo box. To prevent people from hitting enter I created a dummy button at the bottom that says "Save and Refresh" but all it does it create a message window that pops up with "Save Successful". I find hitting enter creates the first error you keep getting. I'm not sure how to address this in a more sophisticated way yet.
Anything else that comes up I will add later.

Suggestion and auto-complete in form with one-to-many relationship in Access

I am trying to make a form for a very typical scenario: a customer makes an order. The customer might be new or returning. I have created an Access database with two tables: Job and Customer (linked by the primary key 'customer no'). The form I wish to create looks like this:
The customer table data is highlighted.
When the customer's name is beginning to be typed in, I want to see an updating list suggesting possible customer matches. If the customer happens to be returning, I can click on one of the drop-down options and have all other customer fields auto-complete.
What is the best way to create such a form?
I tried to achieve this using a comboBox and some code. However, if I use this method, the comboBox does not allow me to enter a customer name which isn't already in the customer's table. So I can't enter new customer details.
Ideally, this auto-complete/suggestion should work for all customer fields, such as phone number (in case the phone number is the only know customer info).
You could use a combobox which has LimitToList set to false, allowing entry of data not already defined in the combobox's rowsource; With this approach you would define a not-in-list event handler for the combobox to open a popup form for adding a new customer, ideally pre-initialised with the customer name just entered, and when data is saved in that form, control returns to this form, requeries the combobox (as it's contained data is now out of date), re-locks the customer just added, and fires it's after update event to display all the relevant customer-related fields appearing on this form.
However whether this is appropriate or not depends to some extent on the quantity of data that you have. If you've more than say 10000 customers in the database, I'd recommend instead having an elipsis (...) button beside customer name which opens a popup search screen, and provides whatever search options seem best (name, number, city, etc) for the entity being searched, a textbox, and find + add buttons; With huge data quantities you might also want to provide a means to prevent searching for matches (especially by multiple users across a busy network) where there is less than say 4 characters in the textbox, to improve performance.
You'd then use the text_changed event on the textbox to retrieve the data in the database which starts with the text currently existing in the textbox, and display this in a datasheet; The user can then either click Find or double-click the datasheet to select a customer which you then return to the calling form, probably by either a call to a public sub, or setting a tag value on that form - or click Add to add a new customer and invoke logic similar to the above.

Access form, search for a record from another table and insert into field in current form

I have a table that stores invoices and a form based off of that table that looks like an invoice so that you can search previous invoices. Currently I am creating the invoices in excel and then exporting the data as a new record into the Invoice table. I was wondering if there was a way I could create the invoices from my Invoice form. I have a table of all of the products and prices we carry that would used for the invoice.
Is there a way to put a search button on the invoice form that would search for a record or "product" in the product table and insert it into the fields of a new invoice?
I have looked a some code to connect to the products table and insert it into fields in the invoice form, but how do I search as well?
Any thought or ideas? Any help would be much appreciated!!
Handling this through VBA and control events is typically the best choice:
Use an unbound text box in your form as your search input field. This will allow the user to input some text into a box and hit enter, or click some related "GO" button if you choose to perform some sort of search.
Set the `OnChange` property of this text box control to the name of the macro or method you designed to handle this event (or click event property if you've instead set up a button to a) check the textbox value; and b) handle it; typically allowing for both the user pressing enter or clicking the button to perform this action). You may also simply call an `inputbox` from some button click event to pop up a prompt to allow the user to enter the product value to search for.
Within your handling script, use DLookup() to use that user-supplied value against your products table to get some meaningful product value back which you can then place anywhere on your form.
Also, although I'm not familiar with your particular setup, it seems as though you should ditch your excel file and go with a direct user interfacing MS Access input form. You may find it always easier to deal with user input directly rather than indirectly through oustide files. That way, you have better control over user input validation and user feedback vs fearing whatever the Excel client feels like putting in those spreadsheets.
Not sure this is the right design. Do you only invoice one product at a time?
Also, it doesn't sound as if you are thinking in terms of primary keys.
Nor does it sound as if you thinking "relationally".
Let me clarify. In most invoicing systems, there is usually an Invoices table, then an InvoiceItems table. The relationship between the invoice items and the invoice would be one invoice to (potentially but not necessarily) many items.
Then you have your Products table. The relationship between the Products and InvoiceItems is one product to many InvoiceItems. Ie, you can sell a given product to many different customers.
So we have:
Invoices --> InvoiceItems
Products --> InvoiceItems
Now you need to implement this in your forms.
Matching your tables and their relationships, you create an InvoiceForm and you create an InvoiceItemsSubForm. The InvoiceItemsSubForm, to hold many items, is a continuous form.
In the InvoiceItemsSubForm, you will have a field that takes the Primary Key of the Product (along with other fields such as date, number of products purchased, etc).
To search for your products, you can have a combo box that has the ProductId and ProductName fields. This combo box serves two purposes: it allows you to search for your products, and it allows you to input the product you want in your InvoiceItem record.
If I have misunderstood your question, my apologies. If I haven't misunderstood your question, you have a lot to learn...