Create a Form with N/A, OK & Not OK check boxes?

[dgaletar]

Hello all,

We are mechanics in a small fleet shop. We perform basic maintenance on the Universities vehicles on a quarterly basis.

I am attempting to update an outdated manual system with an Access database, and it is going quite well.

One of the things we do everyday is perform a basic inspection on vehicles that come in. To this point we have been using a simple form and filling it in manually. Of course everyone complains that they can not read our writing, so I duplicated the form in Access (or so I thought) so we could type in our notes.

You see, the form we use now has a list of items on it. Next to each one are three check boxes; N/A, OK & Not OK. When I made my simple form I only put one check box next to each one - OK.

When I showed my boss the form that I created, he didn't like that it is different.

So here I am, asking if it is possible to create (or adjust) the form so it has the three option check boxes next to each item, and a similar report to print out (NOTE: I know how to do this using the words, but having 3 check boxes for each is where I am getting stuck).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

**I attached a screenshot of the form as it is laid out now.
[imgnothumb]http://bytes.com/attachments/attachment/6872d1359476990/screenshot1.jpg[/imgnothumb]

[Rabbit]

You can use an option group and store the selection as a number.

[NeoPa]

Option Groups would certainly work, but would be somewhat clumsy in such a busy Form and require quite a bit more Form real-estate (Bear in mind Rabbit was unable to see the form easily when you posted it originally).

Access also provides the option of a 3-way CheckBox. The values it supports are Null; False & True. I would imagine that setting the TripleState property of your CheckBoxes would enable this to work. Null ==> N/A; False ==> Not OK; True ==> OK.

If that is not an acceptable solution then a ComboBox with the three values in it would be an alternative solution. This takes more space than a CheckBox, but has the advantage of being explicit for all users.

[Rabbit]

@Neo, I think the issue here is that the boss wants it to look exactly like the old paper form in which every option has 3 checkboxes.

[dgaletar]

WOW... both of you are being VERY helpful. Rabbit, you are correct in that the boss wants all three check boxes to be visible on the form/report with only one of them checked for each line item.

So, are we talking Option Groups for this then? Because I just watched and read several tutorials on these, and they look like they are most often used in a different way.

So far, the only examples of using Option Groups on a form or report are to select one of three choices.

I need it to bee more like this (see attached).

Thx!

[TheSmileyCoder]

Comboboxes are a bit more clumsy for when you have to check that many boxes. I do believe a option group is the right choice here. Bear in mind you can move the checkboxes quite close together, and just have the title at the top.

[dgaletar]

...and there lies the problem. I can't have the titles at the top. The report needs to look just like that PDF. I designed the report already (see attached) and it looks perfect... but only with one check box per item.

Getting the three choices is where I'm getting stuck! :-(

[TheSmileyCoder]

By titles I meant the "N/A,OK,Not OK" titles for the check boxes, just to make clear.

Your report doesn't really show the distinction between the 3 types you listed in your question. How about a quick image of the report as you (your boss :)) would like it look?

[Rabbit]

An option group will do what you're looking for. You'll have to do a little bit of formatting to get it to look just right but it's what you're looking for.

[NeoPa]

It seems you have little choice but to redesign the form to be consistent with the requirements set by your boss. Rabbit's idea of an Option Group in these circumstances thus makes best sense. I should have read your question more carefully, as it does make it clear what is required.

Each Option Group can contain three CheckBoxes, only one of which can ever be checked.

dgaletar:
...and there lies the problem. I can't have the titles at the top. The report needs to look just like that PDF.

That PDF has the titles at the top so I don't follow how/why you cannot do the same. I fail to see your problem here.

[dgaletar]

Good morning people! I think that a good nights sleep cleared my mind. I think that I was "red light" thinking, and thus not understanding your offers.

I was thinking that the option group would consist of the following:

1. A check box for the option of N/A
2. A check box for the option of OK
3. A check box for the option of Not OK

When I did that, I didn't have a place for the items name, like "Headlights ".

Now I understand that the items name would go onto the form as a label next to the three boxes. Also, the titles, N/A, OK & Not OK can be placed in a label on the top of the column.

I'm going to go try this now and I will report back shortly. Thanks again for all of the help!

[TheSmileyCoder]

Your welcome, Rabbit, NeoPa are happy to help.

The basic concept of the option group is to "group" together option buttons or checkboxes so that the checkboxes are bound to a single field, and only 1 of the options can be checked.

[dgaletar]

NUTS!!! As I was going to do this I realized that I apparently still don't know what I'm doing.

I can see in my mind how I will format the form & report, but I don't know how to make the table have three options per item!?!

I saw above where Rabbit said "You can use an option group and store the selection as a number". How exactly would I do that?

I found this topic in another forum (** Snip **), but don't really understand all of the options that they are talking about.

[dgaletar]

OK, trying it has helped me to understand a lot more.

On the form I am creating an "Option Group". For the labels I am using "N/A, OK & NOT OK".

For their values I am using "N/A=1, OK=2 & NOT OK=3".

I selected "store the value in this field" and chose the field from the drop down box.

I also changed the "Data Type" option in the table design to "Number".

Now, how do I capture the results of this hard work???

[TheSmileyCoder]

The option group (Not the individual check boxes) should be bound to the the Number field in which you want to store your information.