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how to copy 1 field to another in access

jim walsh 0 Reputation points
2026-01-15T19:35:04.7566667+00:00

I have 6 field Buy, Closed, Selling, Cover, Stoplevel, and Hitstop. Hit stop is a checkbox.'

If I make an entry in Buy and another in Stoplevel and check Hitstop I want the entry in Stoplevel to be copied to Closed

Microsoft 365 and Office | Access | For home | Windows

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  1. Duane Hookom 26,820 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-02-09T02:08:38.26+00:00

    It doesn't sound like you are going to follow George's advice. Having the same value in StopLevel and Closed seems unnecessary.

    You can use the after update event VBA of the Hitstop to check the values of StopLevel and Buy and if they are not null, set the StopLevel value to the value of the Closed field.

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  2. George Hepworth 22,765 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-01-15T23:02:54.1166667+00:00

    Actually, this would not be a good idea to do in the first place.

    There are formal rules of Database Normalization which describe how tables and the relationships between those tables should be designed.

    I strongly recommend you put further work on this aside and invest time in learning those Database Normalization rules so you can correct the design flaw here.

    Because we don't really have any context for this particular table, and can only assume from the terms used that it has something to do with Stock investments, it would be premature to suggest a revision of the table at this point. That said, we can identify and address the specific flaw.

    One of the fundamental principles of good relational table design is that each data point is stored once, in one field, in one table. Therefore, copying a value from a field called "Stoplevel" to a field called "Closed" is an invalid design. In order to help you correct it one would need to know more about the intent underlying the database.

    Search the internet for discussions of "Database Normalization".
    Here's one for starters. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/microsoft-365-apps/access/database-normalization-description

    I also like the series of YouTube videos from this channel. Although they are as not technically complex as they could be, they do explain enough about the concepts involved to help beginners get started.
    https://youtu.be/GFQaEYEc8_8?si=to9NUSJgKYrIwsmm


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