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MS Access Forum / Database Design / August 2004Date Fields Question
I there any way to set a date field to allow incomplete dates? Most of the dates I have would have a format like: 10-25-2004 But sometimes It could be missing information. 10-??-2004 ??-25-2004 ??-25-???? etc....... I've tried using spaces, question marks, and exclamations to no avail. I want to be able to sort on this field and to query on this field so I hesitate to make it a non-date field. Is that my only choice? To make it a straight Alphanumeric field? No, you'll need to use three separate fields. But this can actually make life easier, because it gives you more options in the UI. HTH  SignatureRebecca Riordan, MVP Seeing Data: Designing User Interfaces Designing Relational Database Systems, 2nd Edition www.awprofessional.com Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Programming Step by Step Microsoft ADO.NET Step by Step www.microsoft.com/mspress > I there any way to set a date field to allow incomplete dates? > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I hesitate to make it a non-date field. Is that my only choice? > To make it a straight Alphanumeric field? For what I want to do, separating the date to the three fields will complicate the hell out of what otherwise is a very simple ten field database and report. Sigh...... Recombine them into a single field, using a query, for your report. SignatureDoug Steele, Microsoft Access MVP http://I.Am/DougSteele (no e-mails, please!) > For what I want to do, separating the date to the three fields will > complicate the hell out of what otherwise is a > very simple ten field database and report. > > Sigh...... Yeah, I get the jist of what has to be done. I don't know about you folks but I have had enough of Microsofts lousy products. >Recombine them into a single field, using a query, for your report. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> >> Sigh...... Has nothing to do with Microsoft. This is how relational databases work. SignatureRebecca Riordan, MVP Seeing Data: Designing User Interfaces Designing Relational Database Systems, 2nd Edition www.awprofessional.com Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Programming Step by Step Microsoft ADO.NET Step by Step www.microsoft.com/mspress > Yeah, I get the jist of what has to be done. > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >> > >> Sigh...... >I there any way to set a date field to allow incomplete dates? > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >I've tried using spaces, question marks, and exclamations to no avail. As Rebecca says, no you cannot. A Date/Time value IS NOT A STRING. It's stored internally as a double float number, a count of days and fractions of a day (times) since midnight, December 30, 1899. As such any date/time value corresponds to one precise moment of time. You'll need to use a text field. Searching it will be complicated I fear (but you're asking this field to do a complicated job!) John W. Vinson[MVP] Come for live chats every Tuesday and Thursday http://go.compuserve.com/msdevapps?loc=us&access=public |
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