copy from previous

[mallikai]

i have a timesheet program that has (among other fields) a value list field for start time and a value list field for end time...

each employee must enter their time for each client and enter start and end times for per record...

is there a way to copy the end time from the previous record into the start time of the new record so the employee doesn't have to enter the start time for each new record?

thanks

[Kurt Knippel]

You can use one of the Auto-Entered options, which is Value from Previous Record. However this will break if more than one person is entering records at the same time. I would suggest storing that data in some globals fields and have the person press a button to create a new record, which will store the data, create the new record and then set the fields for them to modify.

[mallikai]

the problem with auto enter option is that I need to copy the end time field from the previous record into the start time field of the next record...

the auto-enter command doesn't allow me to do this...i think

[The Bridge]

You're on the right track with auto-enter, only I suggest making Start Time a look-up field.

I did a quick test, which you can adapt to your needs:

Define Fields:

Start_Time (Time, Look-up)

End_Time (Time)

gConstant (indexed calculation, number) = 1

Define a self-join relationship, say, Constant, which relates gConstant to itself. Sort by End_Time descending

Define Start_Time to Look-up End_Time based on the Constant relationship.

There are many drawbacks to this very basic system, but with some adaptation you should be able to get it to work with multiple users, etc. The key, as it were, is in the key field for the relationship.

At any rate, I've attached a sample file (zipped) for your perusal.

Hope this helps.