Hi! I'm a foreigner working in japan and my job has recently put me in a position where I have to use Access for the first time. I've managed to create some tables and establish relationships between them, but I got stuck trying to create a form with subforms.

I have a table with PlaceNames and PlaceID's (primary key) to which I linked (one to many) many other tables containing various data for every place.

To make data entry easier, I would like to create a form where I have the PlaceName and PlaceID in a main form and a subform for every other table linked through that PlaceID. When I do this, however, only the subforms for which I've already inserted some data show with all the fields. Subforms that don't contain any data yet, show up without any fields, which makes data entry impossible...

It might be a silly question, but I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me how to solve this problem. Maybe it is not possible and I misunderstood the whole concept of forms?... Either way, it would help me a lot if you could let me know!

Thanks!

I'm currently having the SAME problem. I'm hoping someone can assist!

For the sub forms, Do you want the fields to change based off the PlaceID? or will all the fields be the same? Do you have your subform showing in form view or datasheet view?

In my situation the fields in the subform should simply show the related records (if any) which are based on the PlaceID field in the main form. The Place ID in the main form is the link between the main form and the subform.

The subforms I am using are in form view rather than datasheet view.

As long as the subform underlying table has records the subform shows up fine. However, when there aren't any records, the main form just shows up with a big blank box where the subform should be (the subforms are on different tab pages). I would like the subform to appear with all the labels and fields (even if the fields are blank) so the user can enter data into the underlying table which the subform is based upon.

Thanks for your help in advance!

I guess I am confused because whenever I have made forms with subforms, the form fields in the subform are always visible regardless of whether data is present or not. Is it possible for you put put up your database (or a part of it) so I can get a better understanding of what is happening?

Topina...

I finally figured it out and it was so simple. I'm almost embarrassed at how simple it was. I didn't have the subforms set to allow for additions, edits, and deletions. Once I changed those properties all is well.

I hope this helps you if you are still looking for the answer.

Thank you HI2Japan for your attempts to assist.