Cell population depended on other cell value

[bighop]

Ok, I'm still not getting this:



I would like one cell to have a drop down list (that is working fine) I have a drop down list with my student's names.

I need ACCESS to let me pick the last name, and in the cell NEXT to the last name I need the first name to populate.

I can get them both to appear in one cell. But I can't do any filtering.. I need to sort and filter last names and events... etc

Can anyone explain this?

Thanks!

[orange]

??? Cells are spreadsheet??? This is an Access forum. Events have special meaning in Access.

Can you tell us the issue you are facing and WHAT you are trying to do in plain English?

There is an online book concerning database and Access here
http://www.accessmvp.com/strive4peace/

Good luck with your project

[bighop]

Thanks for the link. I'm building a database for my class, and hopefully, my school.
I have a table with student information (last name, first name, id, address, etc)

i have a second table with staff information (last name, first name etc)

i want to have a third table for behavior: auto event id, auto fill date, a drop down list with the students last name (I can do this), I would like the next field to auto fill with the students first name. The next field will be a memo for behavior issues.

I found that I can use &" "& to combine the first and last name in the same field, this is ok, but I need to sort and filter the names, when they are combined they won't sort.

So..min short: I need a field with a drop down list of last and first names, and when a name is selected, I need the first name to appear in the field next to the field with the last name.

Sorry for the excel reference... I teach excel and The table view in access is like excel

[orange]

You should research Normalization and Normal Forms.

I have listed a number of videos and links to other info in various posts.

see post#11 at
https://www.accessforums.net/program...ues-30333.html

[bighop]

Thanks. I'll try that, I was hoping it was just a setting or something.

[June7]

You can concatenate the name parts in query like LastName & ", " & FirstName then sort on that constructed field.

Might find this of interest http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/te...001018407.aspx

It doesn't offer what you want but could be a learning tool.

[bighop]

This is the basic idea... I have a drop down that gives the last and first name. I would like the first name to appear in the next field "Student First" . Only because I need to order and sort behavior, and if the names are combined, the sort feature does not work.

So the &" "& will put both names in one field. That looks good, but doesn't help for long term reports.

[June7]

My recommendation is don't work directly with tables and queries - use forms as data entry/edit interface and reports for output.

At least don't work directly with tables. Use queries for sorting and filtering and even data entry. A query can join the Students table to Behavior table and then all related info is available for display and use in sorting/filtering actions. Although the risk here is that data in the Students table could be altered when it shouldn't.

Should not be saving student name in Behavior table. Just save the StudentID

[bighop]

Ok... I think I understand. The long term goal is to have all staff use this data base and log in when they have a student issue, parent contact, etc, to log the information. The reason we wanted student's names is just because the teacher will know the student's name faster than the ID

[orange]

I think you should re-read Normalization. The teacher may know the Name, but the underlying database processes will know all fields. And properly structured/normalized, the student name will be only in the student table, and it will prevent errors in the longer term.

This is a great spot to learn and apply some database/table design principles.
Good luck with your project.

[June7]

All that is better handled with forms. Combobox can be set up to show student name but save the ID or use the ID for filtering. And the concatenated name can be used for sorting.

[bighop]

I started watching the videos... I also have been doing the training on Lynda.com.... so much to learn and other work to keep me busy.

Thanks for the input.

[orange]

I started watching the videos... I also have been doing the training on Lynda.com.... so much to learn and other work to keep me busy.

Thanks for the input.

Good for you. Keep at it. You don't have to watch them all at one sitting. They'll be there tomorrow, next week....so you can go back for another session.

Do some watching, then a little testing of what you've learned. Once you get into the "habit" of building the model, it will make database more satisfying. The written material at http://www.rogersaccesslibrary.com/T...lationship.zip has a step by step example that makes a good reference as well.