Office 365 - Access

Copper Contributor

I have a very large Access file consisting of 30 fields and some 80 entries in each field. Whenever I add a new entry and save it the program changes the order of the fields. This means that when I re-open the file I have to correct the field order every time. This is very tiresome!

5 Replies

@tfhancockbtinternet 

This may be a bit clearer if you provide a screenshot illustrating the problem.

Are you directly adding records into tables, i.e. not using the appropriate interface object, a form?

When you say the order of the fields changes, that's hard to picture, actually. Unless you deliberate move fields left to right in datasheet view, they do not change, so something tells me you're probably either not providing all the details or saying something in a way that doesn't convey the actual problem.

 

Oh, it just occurred to me that you don't mean the order of the fields, but the order of the records in the fields. Is that a good guess?

If so, there's a good reason for that, but before we indulge in a lengthy discussion we ought to be clear on what it is we're discussing.

 

And by the way, 30 fields is above average, but not what normally one would call large. 80 records is tiny, compared to what tables can hold, i.e. hundreds of thousands of records.

@tfhancockbtinternet an access file or database consists of tables of records and queries, forms and other objects to manage, view and report the records. An entry is normally done through a form connected to a table but it can be done directly on the table. An entry consists of a new record and will consist of entries into various fields for example membername, datebirth, address, phone. If you open a table access lets you sort the records and when closing will ask if you want to save "the changes to its design". If you click yes it will keep the sorting and the next time you open the table you will see this sorting. Let's say you want to sort your "member" table by membername ascending, open the table, click inside the membername field, in the Home tab under Sort and Filter click on Ascending, then save, or if you forget to save Access will ask as I said before. 

Actually, even this type of saved property is not really appropriate for tables. Access alone offers this as a "feature" for newer, less experienced users.

In reality, if we are right in assuming that we are talking about sort order of records, then the proper way to do that is a query with an ORDER BY clause.

@George Hepworth and open the query instead of the table or use the query as record source for a Form. But we don't know how object "rich" his project is. Judging from the explanation, it seems to be simple. 

i agree.
you should mention how are you opening the "file".
table view, using form (what form).
it always work by "re-arraging" the column (in datasheet view) and saving it (ctrl-s).