End User to input multiple criteria that is used to create a form

[DH]

I would like to develop a form that has several labeled yes/no check boxes that the user can check to determine what criteria they would like to include in a report. The report will then be based off what the user determines as criteria.

Most likely multiple criteria will be selected by the user for the same field. Therefore, some of the criteria that the user checks will have a value such as -1 and some will have no value or a null.

Any suggestions? I am essentially trying to build a report writer.

Thanks!

 

[MichaelRed]

I have done something like this, but mine is more of a report "customizer". I design the basic report, and then set up many of the fields to be parameterized in the recordsource(query). Then, I place a number of control groups on a form relating to the various parameters. Users select the "Basic Report" form a list. Form the report selection, I maintain a list of parameters for the recordsource, and enable/disable (or set the visible property) for the control groups according to the list and set focus to the parameter selection form (actuallly this is all in one Form, but using a Tab control to go to the 'forms' mentioned here. Users then select the applicable/appropiate parameters form the controls and click on the execute button. The parameters are set before the report is activated via code.

Some ammount of work involved in this approach, as it helps A LOT if the parameters in all of the recordsource queries use the same names for their (same) parameters, and there is an ammount of programming to keep all of htese in Sync, but for the app i did this on, I reduced the number of "reports" in the system from > 100 to 17 AND provided additional functionality.

The only (user) down side was the reports tended to look very much the same. I some what 'fixed' that by making the report "Title" a text box instead of a label and filling it with a different "Name" at run time. I did this in a number of different areas. I also included the report name and parameters as well as the date/time styamp and User ID in the report footer. This was more help to me than the Users, but it allowed me to answer a lot of questions from Users re why does "his" report not look like "MY" report ...

Actually building a report "Writer" involves all of this and MUCH MUCH more! You would need to be able to let the user locate and size the various controls, and set their attributes, as well as 'build' a record source (SQL string?) to support and populate the report controls.



MichaelRed
mred@duvallgroup.com
There is never time to do it right but there is always time to do it over