Find error number for validation error - ms-access

I have a table where some fields have a validation rule set, and a validation message.
Data entry is done in a form, and when the data validation rule is broken then the validation error message is displayed in a pop-up. All good so far.
However I then want to have the form text box or combobox for the field that is triggering the validation message be highlighted on the form e.g. with a different background colour.
I assumed I would need to do this in the On Error procedure for the form, and specify the error number. But I have no idea how to find the error number? E.g. this method: How to Change Table Validation Error Message in MS Access
Perhaps I am going about this completely the wrong way and instead of specifying the error messages in the table properties I should be setting up it up with VBA?
V grateful if anyone can point me in the right direction with this as I am still a beginner :)

The error number you seek is 7753 - this is returned by the DataErr (1st argument) of the event procedure for the On Error event.
However, I personally don't like using Validation Rules in Access, and prefer to test the validity of input through VBA as part of the data submission (i.e. when the user clicks on a control to submit their data)
For example, this approach is similar to web forms flagging invalid fields when the form is submitted, as opposed to locking a user into a particular field until valid data has been specified.

Related

ms access: 'cannot assign value to this object' message, but assigning value works anyway

I have a strange issue with one of my data entry forms. I have a main form from which I open said data entry form using a button. Once the form is open, I can enter a new record (the DE-form is set to allow additions and data entry is set to YES). The first time AFTER opening the main form, and only the very first time (subsequent tries work as intended), when opening the DE-form from the button and attempting to enter new data into the field "Bezeichnung", I get the following error message:
You can't assign a value to this object.
The weird thing comes now. After clicking OK in the dialogue box, in spite of what the message just indicated, the field contains the character I had just entered and allows me to continue adding data without issue.
After adding the new record and confirming, it shows up on my main form, as well as the related table, as intended. I have tried making a new DE-form from scratch but encountered the same thing. The message only pops up the very first time I attempt to enter new data via the DE-form after opening the main form. Opening the DE-form a second or third time while the main form is still up does not result in the same message. Also, it's the same with any of the fields on the DE-form, not just the first one. After the message pops once, it never shows up again until I close the main form. This is the only DE-form in my project that has this issue, I can#t seem to figure out why. Any help is appreciated.
Database Structure:
Details of my data entry form:
*The DE-form consists of a form with a subform on it (white box in the middle). I have other forms where this is neccesary and in order to keep the design consitent I opted to do the same with this one. Both forms have an invisible textbox bound to stoff_id. The DE-subform has Link Master Field and Link Child Field set to stoff_id
Recordsource DE-form main
SELECT chemikalien_tabelle.stoff_id
FROM chemikalien_tabelle;
Recordsource DE-form sub
SELECT chemikalien_tabelle.stoff_id, chemikalien_tabelle.bezeichnung, chemikalien_tabelle.einsatzgebiet, chemikalien_tabelle.kategorie_id
FROM kategorie_tabelle INNER JOIN chemikalien_tabelle ON kategorie_tabelle.kategorie_id = chemikalien_tabelle.kategorie_id;
I found a solution on another site. Apparently, what is causing the message is an invisible textfield bound to the primary key stoff_id (which is AutoValue) of chemikalien_tabelle on the DE-subform. I usually add the primary key somewhere to my forms since it is likely I will need it. I still don't know why this issue popped up though. The original answer I am refering to did not either Foreign Solution. The post is in German, so check it out at your discretion. Removing the textbox fixes the issue but without it I cannot assign a completely new record. I have a number of other data-entry forms that have the same setup, so I am not sure why this only caused issues in this particular case. Maybe someone else has a an idea?

Complie Error: Method or Data Member not found, but it does exist

Having a strange problem in vba access. I have a text control control called txtUserName on a form and am trying to get the contents which is all but child's play. When I try to run or complie, I get the Method or Data Member not found error. However, when I type me. Intellisense shows txtUserName. I have gone as far as copying and pasting the name from the control's properties and still get the error. What am I missing? I am completely perplexed.
Thanks in advance
Don
In this case, I was just building a SQL string. I did find the problem, there was a bad control reference, however, it was not the one that was highlighted (highlighted was the first value in an insert into string and it was actually the 3rd value)

MS Access 2007 - controlling UI behaviour after attempt to insert duplicate record

Creating a simple UI using MS Access, hoping to do minimal actual coding (actually helping a friend who is not a coder).
Simplified requirement: Single table, primary key is phone number, lots of other non-mandatory fields. Display a form allowing just the phone number to be entered, if a record with that key exists display the full record, if a record with that key does not exist bring up an form allowing the other fields to be entered for this phone number and hence create a new record.
Q1: Any simple way to achieve this kind of function? Example?
We've got some of this going with a standard form, can execute code if insertion fails, but a standard dialogue box is displayed warning about the duplciate key violation.
Q2: How can we trap that attempted insertion, avoid having the dialogue come up?
You will have to get your hands dirty and write some code to get this outcome. A starting point would be something like this presto code. Post back if you get stuck on any of the parts.
If fCheckIfRecordExists(lYourKey)=True then
Docmd.OpenForm “frmEditExistingRecord”
Else
Docmd.OpenForm “frmEnterNewRecord”
End if
Public function fCheckIfRecordExists (lYourKey as Long) as Boolean
‘Code to check if a record exists, simple method is to use dLookup or a count SQL statement with the criteria as the key you are trying to find
End function
EDIT:
First things first make a form with 1 text box called txtPhone_number and a command button called cmdSearch.
Next put this bit of code in the module behind the form
Public Function fDoes_record_exist(strPhone_number As String) As Boolean
If DCount("Phone_number", "tblYour_table", "Phone_number=" & strPhone_number) > 0 Then
fDoes_record_exist = True
Else
fDoes_record_exist = False
End If
End Function
Next you need to put some code behind the click event of the command button. This code can be expanded on to check for a valid phone number later if you want
If fDoes_record_exist(Me.txtPhone_number) = True Then
DoCmd.OpenForm "frmShow_existing_record"
Else
DoCmd.OpenForm "frmEnter_new_record"
End If
That should set you on your way nicely but post back if you run into problems
Here is an overview of the process with Access logic:
You need an unboud control labelled Phone in the form header, where user will be able to enter the phone number to search. You need to use the After_Update event of that control to trigger your search. There will be a second Phone control, bound this time, in the Detail section of the form for effective data entry/update.
Use the Form_Error event to intercept the error message when user tries to save a duplicate key, in order to display a nice message, and eventually Cancel his changes.
The advice from Kevin Ross to use VB Code is clearly one approach, and I think is appropropriate if we anticipate less trivial requirements in future. However I'm in a situation where I'm helping someone with zero coding background and hence if possible I'd prefer to let them use simple Macros rather than full-scale VB.
As it happens the functionality I require can be implemented with just Macros, and it depends on the suggestion from iDevelop.
The outline of the solution I used:
Create an InitialEntry form with no association to any particular table, it has:
a data entry field for the telephone number
a read-only text box where I can display a message
a button labelled Add
a button labelled Show
I write three macros:
A macro AlreadyExists that displays a message saying "We already that one"
A macro NewEntry that opens a data entry form for my table, in Add mode, and which copies the phone number from InitialEntry!TelephoneNumber
A macro TestForExisting this uses a condition
DCount("*","MyTable","[PhoneNumber] = [FormPhoneNumber] " ) > 0
to control whether to execute AlreadyExists, and a similar test to control whether to call NewEntry.
While this is not as efficient as VB, it does seem to be understandable by a non-coder, so at least we can implement our application.

"No current record" after Cancel in combo_BeforeUpdate

I'm trying to prevent circular (or even cascading) references in my data, and it seems it's only working part of the time.
In Access 2007, I have the following table:
create table mfr (
mfr_id Autonumber,
mfr_nm Text(255),
mfr_is_alias_for_id Long Integer
)
I'm importing a bunch of data from Excel, and the mfr_nm is one of the columns from the worksheet. I can't control how data gets entered into Excel, so I want a way of capturing alternate spellings as being "really" same thing. So far, so good (I think...).
Now I've built a form off of this table. I've got a ComboBox for the alias--again, so far, so good. However, when I add this code to the BeforeUpdate event, things get "interesting" (error handling omitted):
If Not IsNull(cboMfrAlias) Then
If Not IsNull(DLookup("mfr_is_alias_for_id", "mfr", "mfr_id=" & cboMfrAlias)) Then
MsgBox """Alias for"" must not also be an alias.", vbExclamation
Cancel = True
End If
End If
This works exactly as I expect it to when the form is in Form View, but if I'm in Datasheet View my MsgBox is immediately followed by an Access-generated "No current record" error that is not caught by error handling within the BeforeUpdate sub.
Can I catch this error? Where?
Your dropdown list should filter out entries that are aliases. In other words, don't display a choice the user can't make.
You'd do this by simply eliminating from the dropdown the choices where mfr_is_alias_for_id Is Not Null.
I've implemented this in various guises and it works fine.
I'm addressing the "No Current Record" error part of your question, from so long ago. After checking google for an answer, I found this link which was helpful. However, instead of using NZ() to transform the troublesome binary field in an aggregate query, I used troublesomefield: IIF([troublesomefield] IS NULL,NULL,[troublesomefield]) and this worked to banish the error. So my solution is only a small variation on the original answer I found, but it gets around the error and let you keep nulls if you want to...

MS Access 2003/2007 - Passing data through a variable on unbound forms vs. a hidden text box

Ok so I hope the title of the question matches what I about to ask, but here is what I am trying to get at:
So I have an access database that uses a number of unbound forms, and the purpose of the forms are to collect data and save to various tables with VBA click events using SQL statements (INSERT or UPDATE based on whether the ID of the record is present on the form in a hidden text box). When entering a new record (via INSERT), I get the row number with
MyRow = db.openrecordset("SELECT ##Identity")(0) 'thanks David
So you maybe getting the picture. If I have another form that relates to the first form in terms of the record, I just open a recordset and pass that value to another hidden text box.
So my question is, is there a better way to do this regarding passing that value (or just using that value) using a variable instead of this awkward method. So I realize a lot of folks are going to go with the obvious answer of, "Why not just make your forms bound instead of all this code"...and I am sure that is a valid answer, however I inherited this database which was already put together like this, and re-structuring it would be a daunting task.
Any and all advice, or learning resources are greatly appreciated, as they always are!
I use unbound controls on forms for all these kinds of values. The current solution of using an unbound form is sounder than using global or form level variables. If I recall the details correctly while debugging code and you hit the stop button you lose all global or form level variables. Or if the user hits an unhandled error.
Have you looked at OpenArgs?
DoCmd.OpenForm "Form1", , , , , , "Hello"