Access Noob question

[eepok]

Hey all,

I'm an access noob, but decently experienced with Filemaker. I learned quickly that they are two very different animals with such a differing vocabulary, I may be in over my head with even the simplest concepts.

My problem: I am creating a quicky book order database for some professors. I have a value list (drop down menu) that references another table's column of professor names, but would like to create another value list dependent on the professor's name that would list the classes he/she teaches.

Table 1
Columns: Professor, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, etc

Form 1
a) Professor field drop-down menu/value list populated by values in the table 1's professor column
b) (need) A drop-down list that displays which classes the selected professor teaches.

 

[rainman89]

look up cascading combo boxes

 

[pbaldy]

The general concept you're after is called "cascading" combo boxes. However, you have a bit of a design problem with the repeating fields in the table (normalization). The courses taught should be in a separate table where each professor/class combination is a record.

 

[eepok]

booo... that's so many tables. But what has to be done, has to be done, eh?

 

[pbaldy]

I've never used Filemaker; I assume it's not a relational database? You've got a spreadsheet structure there, not a relational database structure. You can get away with it, but you'll be jumping through hoops to do it.

 

[Steve R.]

Do you intend to use the database to also track the number of each title that has to be ordered?

 

[eepok]

Do you intend to use the database to also track the number of each title that has to be ordered?

Yes, but only in the most minor way. My university is holding on to a very old standard of reporting which prof needs how many books for what class (because there's a very old person still in the position -- they don't like new things).

The whole database is being created just so whomever uses it can print out the report without having to type in a bunch of information over and over. The data stored is of no real importance, just so long as the report takes less time to produce than now -- which it will. Chimpanzees etching Chinese into diamonds would be quicker.