Prohibit End-User From Entering a pre-existing Value

[jmitchelldueck]

Update: to force user to enter firstName prior to endName

Private Sub firstName_LostFocus()
If IsNull(firstName) Then
    lastName.SetFocus
    firstName.SetFocus
    MsgBox "You must enter the physician's first name before leaving this field."
    
    End If
    
End Sub

The bit I posted before stopped working for some reason.

[June7]

Errors message, wrong results, nothing happens?

Could set the fields as required in table and let Access nag users. They will eventually learn not to skip.

Could use Validation Rule property instead of VBA.

So once record is initiated or enters the firstname box, user cannot abort?

[jmitchelldueck]

The first code I had worked for the correct sequence of events, however I had it on GotFocus for the lastName field, so I was able to click away to another field lower down on the form. I changed it to LostFocus for the firstName field, which forces the user to enter a value before moving to another field. Upon further consideration, I will have a bit more tweaking to do. Will post final code when complete.

[jmitchelldueck]

Final update for anyone following this riveting storyline:

Having the most recent code on LostFocus event for the firstName field did not make it possible for the user to exit the form without entering data into the firstName field, giving useless values in the table the form writes to.

I replaced it with GotFocus events on every other entry field in my form that was programmed like so:

If IsNull(Me.firstName) Or IsNull(Me.lastName) Then
    MsgBox "Enter the physician's first and last names.", , "Physician Name"
    If IsNull(Me.firstName) Then
        firstName.SetFocus
    Else
        lastName.SetFocus
    End If
    
End If

I am now able to use all the buttons on the form and ensure blank or incomplete records aren't being written to the table, while still ensuring the user enters both first and last names. Thanks all for the help.