Validating Between Tables

[dmo]

I have two tables in Access 2010:
Tbl1 - Abbreviations: with fields (1) "Abbreviation" and (2) "Definition"
Tbl2 - Piping: with multiple fields one of which is "Unit"

In Design View of Tbl2, I'd like to set the "Validation Rule" for the "Unit" field so that it is restricted to values in field 1 of the Abbreviations Table (i.e. one of the listed abbreviations").

I tried variations of "[Tables]![Abbreviations]![Abbreviation]" in the "Validation Rule" portion of the Design View for Tbl2 (Piping) but, couldn't get this to work. Any thoughts?

 

[Pat Hartman]

You don't do this with a validation rule. You do it by creating a relationship in the relationship window and checking the enforce RI box. On your forms, you will probably want to use combos that select the data from tbl2 as the RowSource for the user to choose from.