Please Help with ACCESS field lists

[Perry]

I sure would appreciate some advice. I'm altering a report in Design View, but the fields I want to add are not on the field list. I have this problem in two different databases. Why doesn't the field list contain all the current fields to choose from? How do I gain access to the fields I want to use?

In one of the databases, the fields are down right old! I can't seem to find the refresh button for this.

I haven't been doing this long, so be kind. Thanks ever so much for your help. :)

[CaptainD]

Look at the properties for the report and find the table or query that it is based on (Under "Record Source"). Then alter the query to add the fields you want. If they're in the query or table they'll show in the field list.

Or, you can create a new query to get the data you're looking for and set the records source to that query

[Perry]

Look at the properties for the report and find the table or query that it is based on (Under "Record Source"). Then alter the query to add the fields you want. If they're in the query or table they'll show in the field list.

Or, you can create a new query to get the data you're looking for and set the records source to that query

Thanks so much for your reply. Unfortunately, all the fields in the table do not show up in the field list when I'm in the query. I don't understand it. Any other ideas?

Happy Easter!

[CaptainD]

Then you're probably using "Linked" tables that are on a SQL server and were altered after the original link was created.

If so, go to "Tools" - "Link table manager" and rebuild the links, that should bring in the new fields.

[guggesn]

I only joined to help out Perry - I, too have run into this madness, and at first I was driven to doing all my work over again via a wizard. But this time, it only took 3 hours to work it out.

When a field doesn't appear in the Field List

Check that title bar of the Field List that appears when you highlight your control. It could be a query, and not a table, and if the query is missing that newly added or modified table field (column), it won't appear in the Field List for that Form.

In my case, I thought the Field List was pulling from the Table of the same name as the Form, but in fact this form was formed from a query made up of controls from several tables, and it was not querying my newly added field to the control source because it didn't know about it.

I added the new field/column to the query, and presto! the field from that table appeared in the Field List for that form control.

How did I finally understand what was wrong? When I selected my control, and clicked on Field List, the Title Bar said Open Issues. The table I thought I was listing fields from is called Issues, not Open Issues. So then I went into my database (a freebie, someone's elses) and looked for something called Open Issues and found a query by that name. And this query was not pulling from my field called Resolution in the Issues table. So I added it.

I know all the Xperts are groaning, but when you're figuring this out by yourself, it's not intuitive.