Question

[Annette Marie]

I am a bit confused between look up fields or just referencing another table.

On my database I have a client form where I enter name, address, phone, etc.

On another form, similar to an invoice, I enter services for a client and have the clients name and address fields referenced. I have a value list for the client name, its a pop up and you select from the list of clients. It automatically pulls up the address info. I've got this working fine. But basically, there is one field from the client page that could change periodically. So I want to be able to change it in the Service hours form but for it to not change in the customer form.

I've attached the database so you can see what I'm talking about after my bad explanations.

The field that I'm referring to is the Priority field.

Respite.zip

[comment]

A lookup copies the data from the related field into a local one. This means that (a) if the related value changes, the lookup keeps the original value (at the time of the lookup), and ( you can modify the local value without messing up the related field.

[Søren Dyhr]

But basically, there is one field from the client page that could change periodically.

...and it's exactly here you would need to pay attention, if a value somehow has a historic dimension to it, such as a price in a quote which you later could be hold resposible to ... should it be a lookup, while the rest of the fields should be tunneled, to prevent going out of sync.

The distinction is sometimes difficult but should follow the type of document issued ... lost shipments due to recurring changes of adresses is central to this problem. The shipping document is a snapshot of what was the intend in a given mili-second of time. But it has to be kept/saved for further investigation, if something goes wrong!

--sd