Random, but not

[Acme]

Hi,

Writing to see if anyone has experienced this problem besides me.

I have a form open event that updates a table field with a random number, then posts that number to a field on the form.

What I noticed was that Access is generating the same random numbers in the same order each time I compact the database. So, every time the user logs in, the system will begin generating the same random numbers in the same order all over again, which seems not-random to me.

I am wondering if Access has some sort of algo for the rand function that I am not aware of, or if anyone else has noticed this besides me and dealt with it.

lRand = Round(Int((899999999 - 100000000 + 1) * Rnd + 1000000000), 0)

 

[CJ_London]

it will do if you start with the same 'seed' - see this link for a more detailed explanation

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/f7s023d2(v=vs.90).aspx

you could try basing your seed on the now() function

e.g. rnd(now())

However technically this could still produce the same number at some point so it won't be guaranteed to be unique

 

[Acme]

@CJ_London,

Thanks for the tip. I was able to solve by inserting the Randomize command above the variable formula. Thanks again,