Re: Question on how relationships work

In article <1143435969.351666.62520@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
parora2000@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Thank you John. I agree 100% with you that unique ID numbers -
assigned to every record in every table - are an essential ingredient
to good database design. My point, however, was to make this invisible
to the end-user - so I guess you could say it was a question about how
best to create an interface where ID numbers wouldn't be a worry for
the end-user to have to type in unless absolutely necessary to
differentiate between two very similar records.

Like you, I too use auto-entered, locked serial numbers, but prefer to
keep them in the background, as little involved with the user as
possible.

I gave you an answer in your other thread, suggesting that you use a
drop-down list, with the Person ID number being the first field, and the
calculated NameLastFirstSuffix as the second field and the only field
visible to the user. The user does not even see the first field that is
the reference for the list, and the second field is sorted alphbetically.

You seem determined to avoid this approach as being too cumbersome.

It is not too cumbersome. I have a list of more than 2,000 people. I can
very easily find a name in the drop-down list. I just type the first few
letters of the name, and the list immediately jumps to that point, from
which it is very quick and easy to find the person.

But maybe you should be going from the Person to the task. The same
approach works, but now with a portal of tasks in the laryout of the
person. The TaskID field in the would be the first field for the
drop-down list of tasks, with the task name being the second and only
visible field. MIght be easier going that way.

You can also have a dynamic list taken from a field by way of a
relationship, which can reduce the number of entries in the list to just
those that are pertinent to the selection.

You can also script the whole thing, as Remi Noel suggested in his
response in the other thread where you asked the same question.

Bill Collins
.

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