I have, what I think, is a simple db design. 3 tables in a simple hierarchy.
tbl01Doc - DocID (pk), DocName, DocDate, SecID (fk)
tbl02Sec - SecID (pk), SectionNum, SectionTitle, ParaID (fk)
tbl03Para - ParaID (pk), ParaText, ParaPage
I'd like a single form that has only text boxes for the DocName, DocDate, SectionNum, SectionTitle, ParaText, and ParaPage.
I can create this form, and without using sub-forms, but the section and paragraph fields don't allow me to type any text in them. I suspect this is because of where they are in the relationship (i.e. many to one relationship with the tbl01Doc table). I haven't dug into sub-forms much because the "nested Excel table" look is non-starter.
The work flow for the use of the desired looking form is this:
All tables are completely empty,
Open a document and select the first paragraph to enter into the db,
Open empty form,
Paste in the document details,
Paste in the section details,
Paste in the paragraph text and details,
Hit submit/save button (all data saved to tables [new records for all three tables in this case] and text in text boxes remains),
Select another paragraph to enter into the db,
Paste over existing text in paragraph text field box,
Update paragraph details,
Do not change Section or Document details,
Hit submit/save button (records matching the section and document details already exists so no new records in those tables, new record in the paragraph table is created)
Continue doing this for more paragraphs in this same document and section,
Change the section details as you move on to paragraphs in other sections (and since the data is different new records will be created in the section table) [same for the document as you finish with one document and move on to another, only at that time will the document table have a new record added],
Exit the form.
Am I crazy? How doable is this?
Thank you for any assistance and hopefully I've described my problem and desired solution well enough.
Clayton