Complex String Concatenation in a Report 1

[Genimuse]

Sorry, I'm sure this is an idiotic question, but I've searched the archives, Access help, etc. and can't seem to figure this simple-seeming thing out.

I've got a report where some of the text is a combination of several fields and spaces and symbols and such, with plenty of conditions.

In the report I can't seem to reference an unbound textbox and set it to something (this would solve my problem), and I can't seem to reference more than one hidden form field (because of focus reference problems), so I've resorted to global variables. I created a new module that looks like this:

Option Compare Database

Global Summary1 As String
Global Summary2 As String

It appears that I'm referencing them ok in my form code (setting them to the complex concatenated strings) but I can't seem to reference them in the report -- if I set a textbox's data to "=[Summary1]" it asks for it when I open the report.

Whew. So... How can I reference globals? Or how can I set the value of a textbox on a form to something in code (like in the Open event)? Or how can I reference multiple unbound hidden form fields? Lame questions, I know, but I just can't quite seem to understand these basic referencing issues.

 

[formerTexan]

Sorry, I am unclear as to how you are attempting to reference things from your report. But I believe you are going to have to create the report's recordsource (including all of the concatenations) in code and then pass it complete to the report.

Cheers
Bill

 

[CajunCenturion]

My preferred method for referencing Global variables in a report is write a wrapper function in a standard code module.

The control source would be
=GetSummary()

and the function would be as follows:

Public Function GetSummary As String
GetSummary = Summary1
End Function

and of course, for more complex concatenations, you can handle them inside the function.

Public Function GetSummary () As String
GetSummary = Summary1 & " - " & Summary2
End Function

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Genimuse]

Perfect, that's exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

PS: Why doesn't the report see the global variable on its own?