data model/form problem - very basic

[jlockley]

Let's assume we have data model 123 from parent 1.db, child 1 2.db and child 2 3.db.

1.db (parent)
Name*
Title*
Telephone
Emeai

2.db
Name*
Title*
Business
Department

3.Db
Name*
Title*
Education
Salary

So 2<-1->3
(Other configurations gladly considered. TRied 1->2->3 as well.

All are linked by Name and Title.

Using the Paradox 8 expert interface to build a form I have the following problem:

There are no fields selected from 1.db, the parent table of 2.db(they are selected)in order for the fields from 2 to be displayed, you must select at least one field.

On a second try the error read: there are no fields from .,....

The Data model looks fine. The fields selected are
Name (1.db)
Title (1.db)
Business (2.db)
Department (2.db)
Education (3.db)
Salary (3.db)


Also, am I correct in assuming that I can make one form to enter data into all three tables with the two key fields linked?

 

[Kliot]

jlockley,

Sorry it's taken so long to respond, tek-tips upgraded their site and I've been locked out for a week, they finally got it fixed today.

Your datamodel should work, I set up similar tables and can link them with no problem. Have you tried setting up the form without using the expert, just using the datamodel manually? I find that at times, most times the experts can create more trouble than they are worth. I'm using v10 but things should still work with v8.

Perrin

 

[jlockley]

I will try and report back. It looks to me like it should work, too, but I bet something dumb is wrong.

Let me ask a stupid question (which I thought I had asked before, but I looked through most of the past year's posts and found nothing) -

Let's suppose that I am doing 1, 2 and three. The form is for entry. The linked field(s) come from 1.db, the others from 2 and three. Entering in 1.db will update those shared fields in all tables, right? While entering information in 2 and three will add the information to the specific records linked with that name. This should also work, if I pull down the fields independently, corect?

Sorry to ask such basic stuff, but I have been meaning to do this for years on a very large table (1, 2 and 3 are just test objects) and I haven't been able to get it to work yet. Every time I try something else goes wrong, so I have decided it has to work.

Please don't apologize for the delay. I am delighted for any answer.

 

[Kliot]

Yes and No, the linked fields of a child table will automatically populate but they will not update. If you make a change in the key field such as changing the spelling of a name, those child records will then be orpaned. To correct this problem you should also set up referential integrity between the tables, this is done with the restructure dialog box, RI is set on the child table. Set RI to "prohibit" to prevent changes in the key if a child record depends on it or "cascade" to allow changes and to cascade them to the child tables.

Not sure what you are refering to here "This should also work, if I pull down the fields independently, corect?"

Let us know how it goes.
Perrin