Preventing Multiple Records or Using ComboBox

[Rick217]

Hello everyone.
It has been many years since I played with this stuff and I probably wouldn't be now, if not for an emergency.
I know there is probably an example here that all ready explains what I need, but honestly, I am not real familiar with the terms and wouldn't know where to begin looking for it.

I am old and don't intend to make a career out of this, I just need to fix a database. We had a bookkeeper at our small business who, for years, maintained our mailing list. It was her own design, though she knew nothing about it and learned as she went along. We never interfered because she did her job flawlessly in her own little, confussing round-a-bout way.
She is gone now and we have to make heads or tails of this. We decided the quickest and easiest way was to blow the old db away, use as much of the basic fields that we could sacrifice and start over. It's just a simple mailing list, but it contains over 9000 records.

Her method of entering records was from the table view. Yep, starting a new line at the bottom of the table and then entering the 94 fields of information that applied to the new record.
I have created a form today that does this now and simplifies this process.
Her method of preventing multiple records, was to scroll down the table and see if she had already entered the record previously. This is my question.

My first approach to resolving this issue in my new form, was to create a ComboBox on the form to do a lookup using Last and FirstName. Due to the fact that this ComboBox will need additional fine tuning that I don't understand, when I use it, it does auto-complete the last name "Anderson" as I type it and it highlights the first "Anderson" record in the db, but It doesn't do any sorts in this same ComboBox to bring the rest of the "Anderson" records to the top so I can then check for a matching FirstName. I'm sure this requires changes in the property of the ComboBox that I don't understand.
Or, maybe I shouldn't even be using the ComboBox.

Actually, I would bet there is a way that I can alter my table so that it would not allow me to put in a duplicate record and therefore, eliminating the need to even look anything up.

Any ideas or direction with this would be greatly appreciated. Since I am only the person creating this and not the person(s) that will actually be using it, I should find a method for this that will be simple for anyone adding records.
Hopefully, in a day or so, I can be done with this and get back to my real job here as a mechanic, not a programmer.

Thanks again in advance.

 

[P_Henry]

Dear RIck,

From what I understand, you need a screen to browse the available record with filters on top. If the record that you are trying to add is not available, then you want to add it?

A filter on last name can be built with an unbound combo-box where the source of data needs to be a query with the last name. So when you select Anderson, all available Andersons will be displayed on one screen. You could have the essential fields alone to be displayed on this screen - like the First name, Last name, Address, phone number etc.
If the name has to be added, then you need to display your screen using which you can add the details.

Hope this helps.

 

[WayneRyan]

Rick,

A little sample ...

Wayne

 

[Rick217]

Thanks folks,
I guess I will just have to sit down and see how that Sample works that you provided. It does what I need, just a little more than what I wanted to do. I think I can probably find what I'm looking for in it though.
All I really wanted was a ComboBox that allows me to start typing a last name and it will query the "LastName" field and match what I am typing AND at the same time it will show the FirstName also as it sorts it's findings A-Z in my little cboBox. The end result would be a lookup that does nothing more than show me a list of all people that match the last name I typed in.
Wayne, your form does this, but it uses multiple box's, I was hoping to keep it all in 1 cbobox. It's just to check for people, doesn't have to alter the data.
Thanks though. I Just need to see how your lastname lookup works and then find a way to have it also show me the first names associated with my search.

Thanks again.