Need help with forms setup 1

[infact]

We have a program at work to get daily meter counts, which is written in Excel. It is set up with 30 lines (30 machines) with fields to enter the meter count for each machine and this will update a data file with the info. I want to set up an Access application to do this as it will be easier to maintain. How do I set up a form in Access to enter the info for all 30 machines at once, and is there a way to get info from the datafile such as the machine #, serial #, last meter count from the last entries in the data file that will populate the form each time I go into it.
Thanks.

 

[M8KWR]

So what you what to do is to have a form with 30 machines, and then to enter a meter reading, and keep this value for later use, thus storing multiple value of reading for each machine.

If this is what you want then you would need at least 2 tables.

1st Table

MachineID (Autonumber - indexed)
Machine Number (number or text, whatever you need)
Machine Serial (Text)

2nd Table
MachineID (number)
Meter Reading (assuming number field)
Date (Date/time) - what i was thinking was storing the date/time when the meter reading was entered, this way you are able to do a query to get the last reading entered.

Is there only ever going to be 30 machine, is this static, or is their likely to be an increase/decrease???

I would not put all 30 machines onto a form, cause i think it would look a bit crowded, but that me...

What i would do is to have a drop down box containing all machines, and then the user enters this, and their would be a meter reading text box next to this, and then an update button to write this information to the 2nd table, which auto populates the date and time (i suppose you could also have a user box as well if you wanted)

That is the way i would do it, does that sound about right?

I hope any of this helps.

 

[infact]

Thanks. I'll give it a try.