473,320 Members | 1,814 Online
Bytes | Software Development & Data Engineering Community
Post Job

Home Posts Topics Members FAQ

Join Bytes to post your question to a community of 473,320 software developers and data experts.

Design Check: Creating a Yes or No Drop down box

Hi,
I am an access newbie and wanted to get a design check to see if I
have done the right thing or if there is a better way.

I don't like the Yes/No field option in a table. I want to have the
actual Yes or No data in a text box. To accomplish this, I created a
new table with one field. There are just two records in the table,
Yes and No. I build a Drop Down box control on a form, linked it to
this new table, and everything works just fine. I can see the Yes or
No options and when I select one or the other, the data is properly
entered in my main database table.

So, this works...but is it good database design?

I heard that lookupfields are bad (Access MVPs -- your site is
great!). I didn't accidentally create a lookupfield, did I? I should
be able to sort by this Yes/No field just fine, right?

Thanks!
Zack
Nov 12 '05 #1
2 12205
Zack wrote:
Hi,
I am an access newbie and wanted to get a design check to see if I
have done the right thing or if there is a better way.

I don't like the Yes/No field option in a table. I want to have the
actual Yes or No data in a text box. To accomplish this, I created a
new table with one field. There are just two records in the table,
Yes and No. I build a Drop Down box control on a form, linked it to
this new table, and everything works just fine. I can see the Yes or
No options and when I select one or the other, the data is properly
entered in my main database table.

So, this works...but is it good database design?

I heard that lookupfields are bad (Access MVPs -- your site is
great!). I didn't accidentally create a lookupfield, did I? I should
be able to sort by this Yes/No field just fine, right?


No, this is not the dreaded Lookup field (unless you've chosen to link
these tables with the Lookup wizard). Yes, you can sort.

The table with a Yes and a No record is a little overdone; for a
combobox, you can select "Value List" as rowsourcetype, and have
"Yes;No" as rowsource.

As long as Yes and No will be the only possibilities for the field, you
can safely choose a Yes/No field. Any time you use output from that
table, you can format it the way you like.

The only real disadvantage I can come up with for your approach is that
it is language specific. A table with a so-called boolean field will
still mean yes/no (or true/false) in other countries. "Yes" certainly
conveyes hardly meaning to a Hungarian, for instance.
--
Bas Cost Budde
http://www.heuveltop.nl/BasCB

Nov 12 '05 #2
Thanks Bas Cost Budde!

Now that I have seen a better way, my approach was indeed overdone. I
did what you said and it works perfectly. Thank you very much!

Zack


Bas Cost Budde <ba*@heuveltop.org> wrote in message news:<bv**********@news2.solcon.nl>...
Zack wrote:
Hi,
I am an access newbie and wanted to get a design check to see if I
have done the right thing or if there is a better way.

I don't like the Yes/No field option in a table. I want to have the
actual Yes or No data in a text box. To accomplish this, I created a
new table with one field. There are just two records in the table,
Yes and No. I build a Drop Down box control on a form, linked it to
this new table, and everything works just fine. I can see the Yes or
No options and when I select one or the other, the data is properly
entered in my main database table.

So, this works...but is it good database design?

I heard that lookupfields are bad (Access MVPs -- your site is
great!). I didn't accidentally create a lookupfield, did I? I should
be able to sort by this Yes/No field just fine, right?


No, this is not the dreaded Lookup field (unless you've chosen to link
these tables with the Lookup wizard). Yes, you can sort.

The table with a Yes and a No record is a little overdone; for a
combobox, you can select "Value List" as rowsourcetype, and have
"Yes;No" as rowsource.

As long as Yes and No will be the only possibilities for the field, you
can safely choose a Yes/No field. Any time you use output from that
table, you can format it the way you like.

The only real disadvantage I can come up with for your approach is that
it is language specific. A table with a so-called boolean field will
still mean yes/no (or true/false) in other countries. "Yes" certainly
conveyes hardly meaning to a Hungarian, for instance.

Nov 12 '05 #3

This thread has been closed and replies have been disabled. Please start a new discussion.

Similar topics

33
by: Joe | last post by:
I'm designing a company website. I'm relatively new to CSS and I'm having trouble creating what seems to me a very simple design: - body background: fixed full page image - banner: fixed, 100...
9
by: Harry | last post by:
I am accumulating over 80 pages per day into an archive that I will need to be able to present sequentially to viewers. Using html to viewing a page, then click on back to return to my archive...
0
by: Jason | last post by:
What interface do I need to implement in order to get a component with a public property to show up in the data binding drop down boxes at design time in VS.net? I've tried to look just about...
17
by: tshad | last post by:
Many (if not most) have said that code-behind is best if working in teams - which does seem logical. How do you deal with the flow of the work? I have someone who is good at designing, but...
0
by: postings | last post by:
Hi The code below compiles and works. It's a control derived from a drop down list that displays countries for the user to select. My issue is that is I look in the drop down list in Design view...
3
by: Adam | last post by:
I'm having some trouble getting a Page to work the way I want it to in Access 2003. I'm trying to do some simple internal tracking at my office for a specific item that we sell. Each item has a...
0
by: YellowFin Announcements | last post by:
Introduction Usability and relevance have been identified as the major factors preventing mass adoption of Business Intelligence applications. What we have today are traditional BI tools that...
12
by: nyathancha | last post by:
Hi, I have a question regarding best practices in database design. In a relational database, is it wise/necessary to sometimes create tables that are not related to other tables through a...
20
by: Lit | last post by:
Hello, I need to create an Internet based, asp.net webform where a user can select multiple cities in a state. as you know the number of cities in a state can be very large. What is the...
0
by: ryjfgjl | last post by:
ExcelToDatabase: batch import excel into database automatically...
0
isladogs
by: isladogs | last post by:
The next Access Europe meeting will be on Wednesday 6 Mar 2024 starting at 18:00 UK time (6PM UTC) and finishing at about 19:15 (7.15PM). In this month's session, we are pleased to welcome back...
0
by: Vimpel783 | last post by:
Hello! Guys, I found this code on the Internet, but I need to modify it a little. It works well, the problem is this: Data is sent from only one cell, in this case B5, but it is necessary that data...
0
by: ArrayDB | last post by:
The error message I've encountered is; ERROR:root:Error generating model response: exception: access violation writing 0x0000000000005140, which seems to be indicative of an access violation...
0
by: CloudSolutions | last post by:
Introduction: For many beginners and individual users, requiring a credit card and email registration may pose a barrier when starting to use cloud servers. However, some cloud server providers now...
0
by: Defcon1945 | last post by:
I'm trying to learn Python using Pycharm but import shutil doesn't work
0
by: af34tf | last post by:
Hi Guys, I have a domain whose name is BytesLimited.com, and I want to sell it. Does anyone know about platforms that allow me to list my domain in auction for free. Thank you
0
by: Faith0G | last post by:
I am starting a new it consulting business and it's been a while since I setup a new website. Is wordpress still the best web based software for hosting a 5 page website? The webpages will be...
0
isladogs
by: isladogs | last post by:
The next Access Europe User Group meeting will be on Wednesday 3 Apr 2024 starting at 18:00 UK time (6PM UTC+1) and finishing by 19:30 (7.30PM). In this session, we are pleased to welcome former...

By using Bytes.com and it's services, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

To disable or enable advertisements and analytics tracking please visit the manage ads & tracking page.