Two tables - need help figuring out how to set up correctly

[accessinformation]

hello....I have two tables each holding the same information fields but differing by two different counties. I assumed it would behoove me down the road to split the info into two tables rather than have one huge flat table. My problem is this...I need to join the information (still separated by county) in a report. If I try to query, there are too many fields to join the info from the two tables.

Can anyone suggest my best way to set the tables up knowing that I will need to eventually join the table information in a report?

Thank you!

 

[SkipVought]

Hi,

"I have two tables each holding the same information fields..."
[red]
Red Flag: multiple tables with similar data structure.
[/red]
ALL your data ought to be in ONE table, with a field to store Country.

http://www.deeptraining.com/litwin/dbdesign/FundamentalsOfRelationalDatabaseDesign.aspx

Skip,
[sub]
When a diminutive clarvoyant had disappeared from detention, headlines read...
Small Medium at Large[/sub]

 

[GingerR]

I completely agree with Skip.

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884 or FAQ222-2244. Basics at

http://r937.com/relational.html

 

[accessinformation]

thanks i will give this some serious thought. i was just thinking that it would be easier for end users who don't need to ever deal with the other county's records AND because they want to use this for the next several years I thought it would make the tables more efficient and not get one table all bogged down with information that could be split.

my workaround was to create a make table query and append query to merge the data when necessary for a report. probably more work than necessary.

thanks for the input!

 

[GingerR]

If you insist on keeping the tables split up, you can use UNION queries for your reports:

Select * from TableA UNION Select * from TableB;

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884 or FAQ222-2244. Basics at

http://r937.com/relational.html