Love Filemaker but have to do a MS Access solution...help

[aharown07]

Longtime FM Pro user, and it's still my go-to app builder whenever I have a choice. But now I've got to put together an Access-based solution at work. Might make sense to ask these questions in an Access forum, but so far, nobody there knows FileMaker, so...   A couple things I could use some help on from anyone who has used both platforms a good bit.

1. In FM, when I want to process imported data bit but not weight the solution down w/too many calc fields, I use an auto-enter calc that adjusts the data during import. So, what's the nearest equivalent to an auto-enter calculation in MS Access? I'm using calc fields so far, but have concerns about this getting slow eventually.
2. How do you display a list of related records, like a portal, in MS Access?

 

[aharown07]

OK, as often happens, when I get frustrated and quit looking for answers, then come back and try again later, answers materialize. So I have an answer to #1. In Access an auto-enter calculation is a "Default Value" calculation. Still no idea if these will calculate during an import, but will find out soon.

Still interested in how to do portal-like stuff in Access.

Edit: NO, it's not as simple as it seemed. Apparently Access won't accept a field reference in a default value calculation because there is no value in the referenced field yet... or something like that. So there appears to be no simple way to do this scenario: enter data in field AAA and field BBB; make field CCC concatenate the first 20 chars of AAA and BBB and put the result in CCC once and leave it there until you change AAA or BBB.

(Appreciation for FileMaker continues to deepen!)

Edited December 23, 2017 by aharown07