Hi,

I have a database in which each record needs a unique name based on other values in that record. However, some fields may have the same value from record to record, so the "Name" field is calculated from a field "Namebase" & an appended unique serial number, which I obtained by using two self-join relationships in this table. If three records in the table share the same "Namebase", and a 4th is added that also has the same value for this field, then the serial number "4" is appended to "Namebase" to create the unique "Name".

The only problem with this is that if I later delete a record, some of the remaining names will change (the serial numbers of some records with the same "Namebase' will decrease by 1), and this is a major potential source of confusion for other applications. Is there any way for the name field in a given record to be locked or protected from further change if other records are changed later?

Marcel

Make your "Name" field an auto-enter calculation. That way, "Name" will be calculated the first time that data is available for "Namebase", but the auto-enter won't bother recalculating every time the number of related records changes. You can uncheck the "do not replace existing value of field" box if you want "Name" to update if you make changes to "Namebase", but this will lead to the same time of problem you're trying to avoid -- having the unique ID of a record change (albeit only because its Namebase changed, and not because of changes in other records).

-Terence

This is exactly the solution I was looking for - many thanks!

Marcel