problem with "lookup"

[Arnie_c]

For years and years, I’ve been using a DOS database, PC-File by Jim Button (if anybody remembers that far back). I wrote applications for keeping track of my billable time as well as a number of other applications. Well, the last of the DOS machines finally gave up the ghost and I’ve settled on Access. Fortunately, the data is intact and can be imported from the old hard drive.




Here’s the problem I’m having. In the old database, I had a table for “service codes” and a separate table for timestrips . The secretary would enter the three digit code in the timestrip table and the program would fetch the corresponding textual entry.


For example, if the secretary typed the service code “055", the textual entry “telephone call from” would be fetched. The text would not actually appear in the timestrip but when a report was run, the corresponding data would be fetched. The old DOS command in the timestrip table was “ (@SVCCODE,c:\pgfdb\svcs\svcs,codeno,text).


There were about 200 separate service codes in the service codes table.


I want to replicate that functionality in Access 2010 and am stumped as to how to go about it. I believe this to be a "lookup" function. Any help will be much appreciated.

[pbaldy]

Typically in a query you would include both tables, joined on the code field. That enables you to return the text as part of the result. For display on the entry form this may be of interest:

BaldyWeb - Autofill