Tracking question

[MdbBeginner]

Hello Access users,

My names Alex, and i recently took the time to learn access and i realised its pretty cool...a litttle complicated to me but its still pretty sweet. I am currently working on a DB to keep track of Computer Equipment. My question is how would I be able to keep track of a PC or Monitor if it goes to sevral locations? i have uploaded what i have so far...please keep in mind its my first one EVER! so yeah just to clarify AgentNumber= Location
Also any other suggestions would be great. Thanks Alot.

BTW i love the forum!

 

[georgedwilkinson]

I don't have time to open your file right now. The way you track things (like location) over time is by creating a table to track them over time. So if you have a FixedAssets table and you need to track the location of an asset over time, you'll also need a FixedAssetLocations table (with FK from FixedAssets) and possibly a "Locations" table (to enforce RI) with a FK in FixedAssetLocations, with the obvious from and to dates, notes, etc.

Warning, if you have a field that means "Location", you should probably name the field "Location". It makes no sense to call something something it is not.

 

[MdbBeginner]

i understand what your saying but i have no clue what FK means...sorry

 

[MdbBeginner]

oh and thank you...you clarified alot!

 

[georgedwilkinson]

Oh! FK means Foreign Key. If you go into the relationship diagrammer, you can "drag" the Primary Key column of one table onto a column in another table (make sure it's the right type!), thus establishing a Foreign Key and referential integrity. It means you cannot have a value in the table with the FK that isn't first unique in the other table. This reduces the possibility of data anomolies like mis-spelling, etc., reduces the storage space required, and (IMHO) increases the performance of your DB.