Design Question - Need suggestions for Creating Related Records

[Susan Bricker]

Greetings. As a relative newcomer to Access, I am having trouble
deciding on how to design the form flow for updating and creating
related records. I'm looking for a variety of suggestions so that I can
decide what's best for the user and what's best for screen flow.

Here's the structure: I have what's called "an Event". Each Event can
have multiple "Trials". Each "Trial" can multiple "Classes".

(This is the structure for a dog obedience competition)

Tables:
tblEvents - PK = eventID
tblTrials - PK = trialID, FK = eventID
tblTrialClass - PK = trialclassID, FK = trialID

Currently, for "display" or "browse": I have the following form
structure:

frmEvents - single form format with a subform called sfrmTrialInfo, no
navigation control - entry to this frmEvents is from an unbound pop-up
form that uses a combobox to select the Event for viewing.

sfrmTrialInfo - single form format with a subform called sfrmTrailClass,
has navigation control so that the user can display all trials for this
event

sfrmTrailClass - continuous form format with navigation control so that
user can display all classes for this trial.

My dilemma is what is the best method for letting the user create a NEW
Event-Trials-Class structure. Right now I have a button on that pop-up
that is used to create a NEW Event. It brings up a blank frmEvent form
with the blank imbedded subforms. This is still in the design stage.

I want to have control over the data (as the user is typing ... don't
let the user move forward until all requisite data is entered), but I,
also, want to make the process relatively pain-free for the user.

Do you have any suggestions on a design?

Thanks, in advance, for your input.

Regards,
SueB

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[Susan Bricker]

Did I cross some sort of line, here, with this post? I am concerned
because I have received no replies and I thought that I would have seen
many different opinions to my question. If this is in the wrong list,
please let me know which list would be more appropriate.
Regards,
SueB

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[Parts Manager]

"Susan Bricker" <sl*****@verizon.net> wrote

Did I cross some sort of line, here, with this post? I am concerned
because I have received no replies and I thought that I would have seen
many different opinions to my question. If this is in the wrong list,
please let me know which list would be more appropriate.

------
Original Posting
From: "Susan Bricker" <sl*****@verizon.net>
Subject: Design Question - Need suggestions for Creating Related Records
Date: Monday, April 25, 2005 7:50 AM
-------

I show about 11:50 AM PST right now.

Sue, maybe because it has only been a couple of hours since your post?

Not everyone is on 24/7. :-)

I would say give it time for people to read and respond before thinking ill
of your post.

Tim

[Susan Bricker]

Tim,

You mean EVERYONE is not on EST? : ) I'll try my best to have some
patience. Thanks for replying to the post.

Sue

Regards,
SueB

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[pietlinden]

just my opinion, but you could do something like disabling controls
until the user has filled in the ones you want. (kind of a nuisance if
they know what they're doing, but then you do have control that way).
So you could check the current control in the AfterUpdate event or so
(Check ADH, I'm sure it has all this!) and then enable the next
control. Also, you could use a boolean flag to disable the closing of
the form (again, see ADH - Developer's Handbook). If you're reasonably
comfortable with coding you shouldn't have too much trouble with it.
and the solutions in there you can just copy/paste into your database.

[Susan Bricker]

Thanks for the input. Your suggestions sound pretty good. I'll check
out the ADH. Thanks.

Regards,
SueB

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[rkc]

Susan Bricker wrote:

Greetings. As a relative newcomer to Access, I am having trouble
deciding on how to design the form flow for updating and creating
related records. I'm looking for a variety of suggestions so that I can
decide what's best for the user and what's best for screen flow.

Here's the structure: I have what's called "an Event". Each Event can
have multiple "Trials". Each "Trial" can multiple "Classes".

(This is the structure for a dog obedience competition)

Tables:
tblEvents - PK = eventID
tblTrials - PK = trialID, FK = eventID
tblTrialClass - PK = trialclassID, FK = trialID

Currently, for "display" or "browse": I have the following form
structure:

frmEvents - single form format with a subform called sfrmTrialInfo, no
navigation control - entry to this frmEvents is from an unbound pop-up
form that uses a combobox to select the Event for viewing.

sfrmTrialInfo - single form format with a subform called sfrmTrailClass,
has navigation control so that the user can display all trials for this
event

sfrmTrailClass - continuous form format with navigation control so that
user can display all classes for this trial.

My dilemma is what is the best method for letting the user create a NEW
Event-Trials-Class structure. Right now I have a button on that pop-up
that is used to create a NEW Event. It brings up a blank frmEvent form
with the blank imbedded subforms. This is still in the design stage.

I want to have control over the data (as the user is typing ... don't
let the user move forward until all requisite data is entered), but I,
also, want to make the process relatively pain-free for the user.

Since your application probably isn't going to be used for the rapid
entry of dozens of records at a time I see no problem with opening an
individual form to create an Event and another to add a Trial to the
Event. The Class information would of course be entered on the Trial
entry form since there is only one piece of information about a class.

The only fool proof way of forcing the entry of data into a field before
a record is saved is to set the required property of the field to yes
in the table design. Methods of trying to do it via the GUI have been
discussed hundreds of times here. Google Groups is your best bet for
reading all about that until your eyes bleed.

[Susan Bricker]

rkc,

Thanks for the input. You've been great help. I'll head over to Google
right away. Bleeding eyes??? ... What an image. : )

Regards,
SueB

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