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Why not use Parameter Prompts

Good Practices

Why not use Parameter Prompts

by  dhookom  Posted    (Edited  )
Parameter prompts in the criteria of queries is fairly common but have too many limitations. IMHO, users should never be subjected to them.
[ul]
[li]They don't allow defaults[/li]
[li]They don't allow picking from a list[/li]
[li]They don't allow seeing multiple values at once[/li]
[li]They aren't easily re-used[/li]
[li]You can't check their integrity[/li]
[li]You can't limit one based on the value of another[/li]
[li]They don't support input masks or formats[/li]
[li]Their values can't be displayed in a report that returns no records[/li]
[li]They are annoying like pop-ups[/li]
[li]They are difficult to query with a foreign key value that has no meaning[/li]
[li]You rarely if ever find a parameter prompt type interface in any decent software application[/li]
[/ul]

Using values from controls on forms avoid the above limitations. Rather than SQL like
Code: 
SELECT tblSales.*
FROM tblSales
WHERE SaleDate Between [Enter Start Date] and [Enter End Date]
Try build professional applications that use
Code: 
SELECT tblSales.*
FROM tblSales
WHERE SaleDate Between Forms!frmDates![txStartDate] and Forms!frmDates![txtEndDate]
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