al***********@yahoo.com wrote:
Thank you very much Strasser for your detail explanation. I did
incorporate your above mention logic in my form design, but my
problem/issue still exists. It still does not show all the expense
types for all the employee (like a spreadsheet). I do not want user
to click the datasheet row and fill in the information. For e.g., if
user selects Jack Thomas as employee, the subform should populate with all
expense types (regardless of whether tblactivity contains the related
records). The form should like this:
Jack Thomas <<< combo box
SubForm:
FOOD $10
AIRLINE $35
FARE $48
....
Once the user enters the Amount in above subform, it should get saved
in tblActivity. Please note it should list all the expense items as
textboxes and user should not have to select rows and then select
expense type.
I hope this make sense. I come up with the solution for the problem,
but I don't think my solution is appropriate. I would like to know
your solution.
Again, THANK YOU for helping me!
Strasser
It's a pleasure, only I haven't helped you YET!
I THINK we are talking about the same thing, but you tell me if this
would suit your needs:
Where I am headed would feel like the following to the user:
The user would have to know 3 things to record an expense "type" and
the amount of the expense for an employee: 1) Name of employee 2)what
"type" of expense is to be recorded 3)how much is the amount of the
expense.
If the user knows these three things, he/she can record the expense.
What does the user do?
1) User selects Jack Thomas as employee
Main form displays Jack Thomas in the main form.
2) Assuming there has been no previous activity for Jack, there would
be a single empty row in the subform, indicating no activity yet
recorded.
3) In the empty row of the subform, there would be three visible
columns(with column headings): 1) a narrow column which would only be
used during the actual data entry process [after data entry this narrow
column would appear blank, even though it was NOT blank]; 2) a column
with the heading "Expense type"; 3) a column with the heading "Expense
amount".
4) The user would be directed to click in the blank, narrow column of
the row of the subform.
5) Upon clicking the narrow column in the empty subform row, a combo
box window would open, displaying all the choices of expense "types"
previously recorded in the database.
This combo box "window" would only open briefly, for the user to make a
choice of expense type. It would not be open when the main form opened
showing Jack's name.
The combo box "window" would only open when the user clicked in the
narrow column.
As soon as the user selected a choice OR clicked in any place in the
main form or subform, the combo box "window" would close and be
invisible.
So, drop down "list" of expense types, from which user would
select an expense type would only be visible to the user when the user
wanted it to be visible.
User would know "to see a choice of expense "types", he/she
should click in the narrow column and "pop", all the available expense
types would be visible, from which the user would select one expense
type. As soon as the expense type was chosen, the combo box window
would close.
Up to 30 choices of expense "types" could be displayed on one
screen (I've done this with schools, where there were over 220 choices
displayed, one under the the other, in which case the user must either
scroll down or, more commonly, just start entering the school name, in
which case the combo box jumps to that part of the drop down list).
Is this design you desire, where the expense "type" options are
displayed in a column, one under the other, when you write "(like a
spreadsheet)" and "the subform should populate with all expense types,
regardless of whether tblactivity contains the related records"?
So, the column of expense types displayed in the drop down list of the
combo box would display:
a) all the possible expense types
b) the subform design would allow a NEW expense type to be
entered, though not via this combo box.
c)the column of expense types would be DYNAMIC
(that is, if a NEW type of expense was added, the next
time the combo box was displayed, the new expense type would appear in
the drop down list of expense types, inserted in alphabetical order)
6) On viewing the drop down list of expense "types", the user would
click on one.
Two things would happen immediately:
a) the drop down list window would close
b) the expense "type" would "pop" into the subform row, under
the column heading "Expense type"
The user would see the expense type appear and realize they now had
a) the correct employee
b) the correct "type" of expense
7) The last step for the user would be to enter a dollar amount for the
expense in the same row and under the column heading of Expense Amount
(or whatever I called it at the start of this session).
8) The user could then either close the main form/subform or, if there
were more expenses to record for this employee, go to the next empty
row and repeat the process:
a) display the drop down combo box list of expense types.
b) select the expense type
c) enter the new expense amount
So, how does that suit your needs?
Strasser
PS: is anyone other than AlwaysHous...@ yahoo following this thread?
Please make your presence know by "replying" to this discussion.
Otherwise, since the topic is growing old, perhaps AlwaysHous and I
should finalize the discussion off the group discussion site.
I'm very happy to continue it here even if just one other person is
following along.
Thanks, Strasser
