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2 novice design questions
I have been asked to refurbish a database used at my work. I'm quite new to
Access, but seem to be getting the hang of it. I have 2 general questions about database design. 1) The data base currently has a form called frmPrintMenu, containing 9 buttons. Each button prints a different report. (rptTeachingStaff, rptCustodialStaff, etc.) This works fine, but the user has to open the PrintMenu form everytime she wants to print a report. I'm just wondering if it would be better to decentralize these print buttons, placing them on each of the data input forms. (frmTeachers, frmCustodians, ...) Generally, is there an accepted standard or any preference for this sort of thing? 2) Each button on frmPrintMenu opens an intermediate form with a combobox. Once a selection is made and cmdPrint is clicked, the intermediate form closes and the requested report prints. This works, but it seems like a bad design to me because each of the 9 buttons on frmPrintMenu opens a DIFFERENT form. What I'd like to learn how to do is to always open the same form, tell it how to populate its combobox, then, when its cmdPrint is clicked, print the desired report. Can anyone out there offer me some guidance? Sarah |
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2 novice design questions
comments inline.
"Sarah" wrote in message ... I have been asked to refurbish a database used at my work. I'm quite new to Access, but seem to be getting the hang of it. I have 2 general questions about database design. 1) The data base currently has a form called frmPrintMenu, containing 9 buttons. Each button prints a different report. (rptTeachingStaff, rptCustodialStaff, etc.) This works fine, but the user has to open the PrintMenu form everytime she wants to print a report. I'm just wondering if it would be better to decentralize these print buttons, placing them on each of the data input forms. (frmTeachers, frmCustodians, ...) Generally, is there an accepted standard or any preference for this sort of thing? no. the correct design here would be whatever best fits the workflow, and makes the user's job as easy as possible. suggest you talk to your user(s) and make your decisions based on their feedback and your own skill level. basically that means that if they ask for something you don't know how to do, you have to weigh their needs against the time it will take you to learn how to do what needs to be done to meet those needs. always a judgment call. 2) Each button on frmPrintMenu opens an intermediate form with a combobox. Once a selection is made and cmdPrint is clicked, the intermediate form closes and the requested report prints. This works, but it seems like a bad design to me because each of the 9 buttons on frmPrintMenu opens a DIFFERENT form. What I'd like to learn how to do is to always open the same form, tell it how to populate its combobox, then, when its cmdPrint is clicked, print the desired report. Can anyone out there offer me some guidance? before you make any changes to this setup, you'll need to investigate how the various forms interact with the reports. otherwise you're almost certain to "break" something. suggest you look at each report's RecordSource property first; you're likely to find a query or a SQL statement. in either case, you're also likely to find criteria on one or more fields that refer to a specific formname and controlname. if that's not the case, look at the code behind each button on those "intermediate" forms you mentioned; you're likely to find that the OpenReport's WhereConditon argument has been used to restrict records in the report. once you understand how the various forms are being used to control the reports, you'll pretty much understand how to change the setup safely. hth Sarah |
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2 novice design questions
#2
On my website (www.rogersaccesslibrary.com), is a small Access database sample called "ChooseReportFromList.mdb" which shows several variations on how to do this. There is also one called ChooseReportFromList2.mdb which shows a more advanced Report launch form. -- --Roger Carlson MS Access MVP Access Database Samples: www.rogersaccesslibrary.com Want answers to your Access questions in your Email? Free subscription: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/...UBED1=ACCESS-L "Sarah" wrote in message ... I have been asked to refurbish a database used at my work. I'm quite new to Access, but seem to be getting the hang of it. I have 2 general questions about database design. 1) The data base currently has a form called frmPrintMenu, containing 9 buttons. Each button prints a different report. (rptTeachingStaff, rptCustodialStaff, etc.) This works fine, but the user has to open the PrintMenu form everytime she wants to print a report. I'm just wondering if it would be better to decentralize these print buttons, placing them on each of the data input forms. (frmTeachers, frmCustodians, ...) Generally, is there an accepted standard or any preference for this sort of thing? 2) Each button on frmPrintMenu opens an intermediate form with a combobox. Once a selection is made and cmdPrint is clicked, the intermediate form closes and the requested report prints. This works, but it seems like a bad design to me because each of the 9 buttons on frmPrintMenu opens a DIFFERENT form. What I'd like to learn how to do is to always open the same form, tell it how to populate its combobox, then, when its cmdPrint is clicked, print the desired report. Can anyone out there offer me some guidance? Sarah |
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