Customer Names Linked to Orders

[grebl]

Hello - I need some help! I have a table of customer contact information (last name and first name are two different fields) and a table of orders. I've created a relationship to select the CustomerID (random number) from the Customer Table for each order added. I used a Look-Up so that the Customer Name would appear, instead of the random number. However, since the first and last name are separate fields, I had to add both columns. That worked fine, except for that the order record now reads just the Customer First Name in the CustomerID field.

I apologize if that's not very clear. Can anyone offer advice on this? It must be a common scenario. I'd like to link the tables using the CustomerID, but have both the first and last name appear in the new order record.

Thank you!
Leanne

 

[BBQ Kittens]

firstly, you do not need to combine the first and last name in one field, and it is not recommended. if you need to combine them for search reasons or reports, use a query. Without seeing your tables or any structure I can't offer much more advice.

 

[grebl]

Well, I'd prefer to keep the first and last separate. I currently have them separate in the Customer table. What I'm trying to do is have the CustomerID field in the Orders table link to both the first and last name, instead of showing a number. Is there a way to make the primary key split into two fields, to display first and last name?

 

[BBQ Kittens]

if you select multiple rows in the table design and click the primary key button, it will assign the key to more than one field. The customerID field should be in the customer table. In order to link the two tables by customer, you would use a form allowing the selection of that customer ie combo box, which when selected, would store the customerID in the orders table. Therefore a link can be created by the customerID which originates from the customer table.