Hello,

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I can feel myself wandering off
into the deep end of the pool, so to speak, so bear with me if these
questions are a bit simplistic.

First, a tactical question: should I add a "SortBy" number field, or should
I just let Access create a primary key for me using AutoNum? Or, should I
add the SortBy number field, populate it manually, and make *it* the PK?

Next, a philosophical one: totally agree w/ the use of forms and a combo
box. But, I guess I'm confused -- shouldn't the combo box be looking up
values stored in a table? I define a relationship between tables using the
Lookup Wizard, then modify it (i.e. enforce referential integrity) using the
Edit Relationships box. Am I totally off base here? Again, stepping off
into the the deep end...

Thanks,

D Bris


"John Vinson" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 00:34:23 GMT, "Debris"
wrote:

Hello,

Hope I'm using my database design terms correctly, and that this make
sense.

In a secondary table, I'm using the Lookup Wizard to look up a values in a
primary table. In the primary table, there is only one field, and that
field is the primary key (i.e, I'm not using AutoNum to create a numerical
primary key, I'm using the text itself as the key).

I entered my records in the primary table a specific order, but Access
keeps
rearranging them in alphabetical order, and I don't want that. The Remove
Filter/Sort command doesn't seem to do the trick.

A Table is displayed sorted in primary key order. It's actually STORED
in whatever order Access finds convenient. If you want the records in
a particular order, you must - no choice! - add another field to the
table as a sort key, and base your combo box on a query sorting by
this field.

Note that the Lookup Wizard is really limited and many developers
recommend against ever using it. See
http://www.mvps.org/access/lookupfields.htm for a critique. You can
use a Form with a combo box; table datasheets are *not* ideal for data
entry or editing.


John W. Vinson[MVP]