should i use a select query to find the Sum of a field?

[Aztecfan63]

I would like to show the total (sum) of cost field in a Report. it should be simple but I am missing something.

[June7]

Expression in textbox in report footer: =Sum(fieldname)

[Aztecfan63]

when I created a Textbox in the footer of my report and entered "=Sum(Original Cost)" I received the message "The expression you entered contains invalid syntax."

[Welshgasman]

No quotes.

[pbaldy]

Also, due to the inadvisable space you'd need to bracket the field name:

=Sum([Original Cost])

[Aztecfan63]

I went back to my tools table and renamed

Original Cost

to

Cost

.now I simply get #Error. also I tried assigning a name (TotCost) in front of

=sum(Cost)

that gives Invalid Source code.

[madpiet]

You are leaving out the square brackets. That's how Access knows you are referring to a column in a table and not a custom function.

[Micron]

Put it back to Original Cost but as shown in post 5. Then from here on, no spaces or special characters in ANY object name. Underscore is allowed but I almost never use it in favour of Camel Case.

[Micron]

That's how Access knows you are referring to a column in a table

Brackets would be required around any object name that contains spaces, subject to naming rules AFAIK. That includes control names which Original Cost probably is, and would have to be an unbound control in order to contain an expression, hence it can't be a field name in this case.

[madpiet]

One of the reasons to rename the controls on your forms... so they have some kind of prefix... makes it obvious that it's a form control! =)

[Aztecfan63]

In my Tools table I went back to Original Cost. now in the Report textbox it looks like = Sum([Original Cost]). This causes: The expression you entered contains invalid syntax

[madpiet]

Is [Original Cost] in the source that the report is based on?

Can you post the source? (if it's a table, is [Original Cost] a column in that table?)

[Aztecfan63]

1. yes, Original Cost is a field in my Tools Inventory table.
2. I did a Compact & Repair then Zip my database How do I send (post the source ) to you?

[madpiet]

Click the Go Advanced button below the message text box and then you can upload your file.

[Aztecfan63]

Database7.zipThis is my Tools Inventory.