Force Users to Enter Data (1 Viewer)

I have a conundrum...

My database is tracking Job/Project information. The users must assign the Job Contacts which can be both internal and external (ie: Contracts is a Client Contact, while Engineer is an Internal position)..

tblContactTypes which defines each of the 10 types of job contacts.
fldTypeID: fldTitle fldClient fldInternal
1 Contracts True False
2 Engineer False True
3 Other True True

The Job Specific data is stored in tblJob_Contacts
fldJobID (PrimaryKey)
fldTypeID (from tblContactTypes)
fldEEID for Internal Contacts (from tblEE)
fldContactID for External Contacts (from tblClientContacts)

My question is this...How can I force the user to enter the Contact information for Contact Types 1,2,3, and 4 while leaving the remaining contacts types as optional?

I would like a form with combo boxes for the first four Contact Types which must be assigned for every job and then a continuous subform where the user can assign the remaining contact types if needed.

Initially, I planned to store the first four Contact Types as separate fields in the main table (tblJob) - however, distribution lists are needed and it makes more sense for all the contact information to be stored in the same table.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!
Lisa

My first observation is what appears to me to be a conflict in the data structure. Your JobContacts table has a link to an external and an internal contact, presumably only one of which would be used for one record, but then in the type field you also define whether the Contact is internal or external. So it is possible, in your design, for your data to be in conflict with itself. That is a flaw. You should provide a design in which there is only one possible way to establish the facts about the object.

Moving on to your question:

How can I force the user to enter the Contact information

Click to expand...

Create a Wizard. Make a single form that only serves to collect the diverse information that might be required to create a single instance of an object. Maybe you need a JobWizard form, that requires and validates data entry, but you've already sort of hit on this idea when you say . . .

I would like a form with combo boxes for the first four Contact Types which must be assigned for every job and then a continuous subform where the user can assign the remaining contact types if needed.

Click to expand...

Does that make sense? Does that help?

I think I solved the issue.

The entry form contains 4 text boxes for the 4 contacts which MUST be entered into the table. The user cannot leave the form until these four contacts are added. The OnChange event adds the records to tblJob_Contacts. Internal Contact ID are added to one field, and External Contact IDs are added to a separate field but the TypeID is consistent for each record. If the record already exists, a change will update the existing record.

Internal Contacts ID are from the tblEE and the External Contact ID are from tblClientContacts - each linked to its on field in tblJob_Contacts.


User can then use a continuous subform to enter remaining (optional) contact types.

I do wish that contact types were exclusively internal or external, however my client insists there are exceptions to every "rule".