common form fields

[soulice]

I have a db with 7 forms. On each form there are 20 - 40 fields on each. The first 20 are the same on each form. I have a few questions... 1) best way to have data entered on first form carry over...autosave? 2) is there a more OOP way of creating a single form that is reused on each form so there is on commonality and code reuse?

[pbaldy]

Form layout is based on table layout, and it sounds like yours might be flawed. Why would they share 20 fields? Can you give us an idea of your table structure?

[soulice]

I have taken over the project and it is a single table. 7 forms are used to manage x number of fields each, but their are 20 fields that show on each form. May need to add an "IsDirty" check between tab navigation with forms are opened. THe users open x number of forms, then edit data as they navigate through the tabs, not always saving while on a form.

[pbaldy]

Sounds like the database is not normalized. Have you considered a single form with a tab control to organized the fields? From the sound of it, you'd have the 20 fields above the tab control so they always showed, and the rest on tabs.

[soulice]

Was justs pencil sketching that possibility. Add a "save" button to each tabbed area to entice saving work before changing tabs. Can you check for Dirty on tab click? EDIT: Since it would be one form, I can check for Dirty when someone tries to close it vs on each tab.

[pbaldy]

Since it's one form, the data would all save at once, not just the data on that tab. If it's a bound form, you don't have to bother checking; it will automatically try and save if the user closes the form. If you're trying to avoid that, the before update event is the place to abort the save.

[soulice]

I will give that a whirl. I am not an Access wiz (C# dude) so not sure what a "bound" form is.

[pbaldy]

A bound form is one that has a record source (a property of the form) of a table (or query). It is basically a window to that table, and any changes made to the data on the form are reflected in the table.

[soulice]

From what I can tell, it must be bound as I can edit, then close it and all changes have been saved. Thanks!

[pbaldy]

Happy to help! Bound forms are most common, as they let Access do most of the work for you.