Hey guys, I'm having a bit of trouble making a report looking the way I want:
I have a table which has the following headers:

Valve No
Schematic
Service No.
Manifold
Subplate

so I just made one table and am imputting the data...
take into account...a valve no may have different service no so you might se the same valve and I want to sort all these things by valve no.....
so this is a screenshot of what the report looks like:
Table1

but, I have an old report that I want to refer to and make it look like this:
i didn't have a digital copy so I made it in paint and this is what I want it to look like:
Table 2

As you can see Table 2 looks cleaner and it separates the valve no and only puts it once...is there a way to do this..or do I need multiple tables, certain queries?
if someone could help I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

If a single Valve Number can have more than one Service Number then your structure is wrong. You need at least one more table, possibly two, depending on the other fields in your table. If there can be more than one Service Number for a single Valve Number then want to fix that first as it will have an impact on how you can construct your report...

hth,
Jack

thanks jack..Yeah after what you showed me about structure, that would make sense...

and yes...for each valve, there can be several service numbers...and for the valve...all of those different service numbers might have the same manifold or subplate # or different ones...it varies:

so this is an idea for two tables:

one table can be:

Valve No ID (PK) (auto number)
Valve No

(thats one table^^^)
and maybe have the other one:

Valve No ID
Service No
Manifold
Subplate

on this second table do I also need a primary key with an autonumber?

I wanna make sure i'm on the right track
and if so how I do form them so they look like that Table 2 pic?

tblValves
ValveID (PK an auto)
ValveNumber

tblServiceNumbers
ServiceNumberID (PK and auto)
ServiceNumber

tblManifolds
ManifoldsID (PK and auto)
ManifoldNumber

tblSubplates
SubplatesID (PK and auto)
SubplateNumber

tblAssemblies
AssempliesID (PK and auto)
ValveID (FK)
ServiceID(FK)
ManifoldID (FK)
SubplateID (FK)
ServiceDate

I have made this up assuming that Manifolds and Subplates are 'parts' with number and that each one is NOT unique...

Jack

thanks jack..makes perfect sense...
and yes...because lets say you have one valve no...has many service number..
each service number has a manifold and/or subplate...
so lets say that under valve. 20154-001 there is service numbers:
ABC
DFD
GDF
DFDF

the first three have the same manifold: 21456-400
and the last one has a subplate : 21888-400 (which could be used in another valve)

heres the last thing though:
these valves can have either/or of subplates or valves...
about 90% of the time...on the valves...each service number will have a subplate OR manifold...just one..and 10% of the time. it has both..
is that gonna be a problem while making this report?

The report will be what the report will be, as asking about the report now is like putting the horse before the cart. Get your structure right and you can work out the report. Do not try to make the report meet existing requirements, especially if you have used paper forms until now. Don't let the tail wag the dog....

How was that for metaphorically speaking?

Jack