Table documentation

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Rick - 13 Apr 2005 23:49 GMT

I am using MSAccess 2000.

When I see a table in design view I see the Field Name, Field Type, and
Description.

I would like to be able to print that same information in the same 3
columns. I have not been able to find a way to do this with the
documentor.

Any help on how to capture and print this information would be greatly
appreciated. I have about 50 to 60 fields in each of my tables.

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DL - 14 Apr 2005 00:19 GMT

I believe many would say thats too many fields for an individual tbl

> I am using MSAccess 2000.
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> Any help on how to capture and print this information would be greatly
> appreciated. I have about 50 to 60 fields in each of my tables.

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Duane Hookom - 14 Apr 2005 03:00 GMT

I agree that 50 fields is usually too many. You can set the documenter to
display minimal information. There is a free documenter at
http://www.accessmvp.com/djsteele/Documentor.html.

You can also run the documenter and then close it. All the information is
stored in a table (C:\Documents and Settings\Duane Hookom\Application
Data\Microsoft\Access\ACWZUSRT.MDT;TABLE=doc_tblObjects) that you can link
to and create a crosstab query like:

TRANSFORM Min(Left([doc_tblObjects_2]![Extra1],255)) AS Expr1
SELECT doc_tblObjects.Name AS TableName,
doc_tblObjects_1.Name AS FieldName, doc_tblObjects_1.Extra2 AS FieldType,
doc_tblObjects_1.Extra3 AS FieldSize
FROM doc_tblObjects AS doc_tblObjects_2 RIGHT JOIN
(doc_tblObjects AS doc_tblObjects_1 RIGHT JOIN
doc_tblObjects ON doc_tblObjects_1.ParentID = doc_tblObjects.ID)
ON doc_tblObjects_2.ParentID = doc_tblObjects_1.ID
WHERE (((doc_tblObjects_1.TypeID)=11))
GROUP BY doc_tblObjects.Name, doc_tblObjects_1.Name,
doc_tblObjects_1.Extra2, doc_tblObjects_1.Extra3
PIVOT doc_tblObjects_2.Name;

Signature

Duane Hookom
MS Access MVP

>I believe many would say thats too many fields for an individual tbl
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>> Any help on how to capture and print this information would be greatly
>> appreciated. I have about 50 to 60 fields in each of my tables.

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Jeff Conrad - 14 Apr 2005 04:00 GMT

The Documentor link Duane pointed out is the one I made that will
produce a list of all the database objects. Probably not quite what
you are looking for. In addition to the cool "create your own" option
provided by Duane, here is another option as well.

I created an Access Add-In called the "John Viescas Table Documentor"
that does exactly this. It is even easier to use than the built-in Access
Documentor and creates a slick report that will list each table (including
linked ones) and their field properties in an easy-to-read format. I recently
finished Version 2.0 of the add-in. This version even works on MDE files.

Once installed (takes less than a minute) all you have to do is
Tools | Add-Ins | John Viescas Table Documentor. Poof!
After a few seconds a slick report is displayed on the screen. Easy as pie!

The report will list each Field Name, Description, Type, Length, and which
field(s) compose the Primary Key.

The display output will be something like this:

Table: tblVendors
Field Name: Description Type Length Primary
VendorID ID Field Autonumber 4 X
VendorName Vendor's Name Text 50
etc...

Will this work for you?

I am awaiting word back from John about the possibility of having him post
it on his web site where anyone can download it. In the meantime, I do not
believe he would have a problem if I sent you a copy. If you do wish to have
a copy please let me know where you would like it sent to (please mung the
e-mail address so you won't get spammed!). There is one version for Access
97 and one for 2000 which works with Access 2000, 2002, and 2003.
I will need to know which version you need.

Signature

Jeff Conrad
Access Junkie
Bend, Oregon

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