Name format

[rahoffman]

On a form i have a text box for patient name. i also have input mask for other things like date and ssn#. What i would like is for the people using the database to have to put the name in as lastname,firstname. how can i do this and will i have to do it in the table or on the form?

 

[Pat Hartman]

You should use separate fields for firstname and lastname. There is no input mask that would work for you. You could use the InStr() function to see if the string contained a comma but that's about it.

 

[Fornatian]

this is not question of database design or construction, more an issue of staff training. the best thing to do is split the field into initials, firstname, middlenames and lastname, suffix etc...then you can pick and choose which elements to print or display using a query or form/report fields.

 

[rahoffman]

thank you for the info. right now i have in the lable box for that text box for the user to use that format. it isn't a required feild so its not going to make me lose any sleep.