Relationships Window

[JohnHarkins]

I note that there is a one-to-many designator in the Relationships Windows that looks like a 1-[infinity symbol] and another that looks like a 1-[arrowhead symbol]. What's the difference? When and how do you specify each.

Secondly, is the relationships window the "default" when you go to create a query? I know this should be elementary, but I've somehow avoided dealing with the issue for a couple of years and I think it's really important!

Thanks John Harkins

 

[Smack]

I think it would help you quite a bit to understand how relationships work, they can be critical (or detrimental)to whatever you are trying to accomplish. Check out the FAQ's in the tables/relationships forum at this site.
-Smack

 

[JohnHarkins]

Hi!

Thanks for the pointer; however, I find only one entry (Why AutoNumber shouldn't be used in MultiUser databases (And How to ge the Unique Number) in the FAQ. Am I looking in the wrong spot?
John Harkins

 

[Smack]

Infinity, one, is a one to many relationship. There are four types of relationships,
>One to One
>One to Many
>Many to One
>Many to Many
Typically if relationships are created in the relationships window, a query of the tables will automatically show this relationship. You can also highlight the relationship line itself, double click, and it will show three choices of how to view the records. The Access 97 bible((Prague/Irwin)has been a good resource for me. Access help is also quite useful.
It is critical to understand relationships because you can (and I have) spend many painful hours correcting bugs caused by not doing enough advanced planning. I have seen mdb's obviuosly written in code where there are no relationships evident in the window. I do not know code so I plunder along!
There is also a company called course technology that has good reference material, and it is VERY easy to use / understand. I can't find the website in the book, but it's eay to find on the internet.
Hope this helped.
-Smack

 

[JohnHarkins]

Thanks to all of you who gave me pointers on relationships; however, my question wasn't so much about "what is a relation and what kinds are there," but what's the difference in the Relationship Window between the infinity-symbol and the arrowhead.

My observation heretofore was that where you'd normally have an arrowhead in a 1-many query, expressing that same relationship in the Relationship Window yields an infinity-symbol instead of the arrowhead. If that's true, then is there some special significance to the infinity-symbol?

Thanks,

John John Harkins