Certificate numbers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Neal
  • Start date Start date
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Neal

We have a form that we use to issue certificates.

Each one starts with NZFS1. I was thinking of using an autonumber field and
concatenating it. Would that work?

One thing I am worried about, the numbers can never change once issued. Is
there potential for that with an autonumber field?

Is there a better way to do it?

Thanks, Neal.
 
We have a form that we use to issue certificates.

Each one starts with NZFS1. I was thinking of using an autonumber field and
concatenating it. Would that work?
Click to expand...

Not very well. Autonumbers will ALWAYS have gaps - if you delete a
record, it leaves a gap; if you hit <Esc> halfway through entering a
record it will leave a gap. All you can count on with an autonumber is
that it will be unique (barring bugs in Access, which have happened),
and that it will not be editable.
One thing I am worried about, the numbers can never change once issued. Is
there potential for that with an autonumber field?
Click to expand...

That's actually an *advantage* of autonumbers for this purpose - they
are not editable, period.
Is there a better way to do it?
Click to expand...

If gaps in the sequence are tolerable, go for it; if not, you'll need
to program your own "Custom Counter".

John W. Vinson[MVP]
Join the online Access Chats
Tuesday 11am EDT - Thursday 3:30pm EDT
http://community.compuserve.com/msdevapps
 
Thanks for the clarification.

They will not want to have gaps, so a 'Custom Counter' it is!

Err, how do I go about doing that?

Thanks in advance (-:

Neal
 
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