Number Entries

Beyond AutoNumber

Embedding information in a Primary key or ID, can lead to trouble in the future.
(If the first three numbers are to represent the warehouse address, what happens if new addresses have four numbers?)

Autonumbering can give a false sense of order. There is an initial tendency to try to keep all database records in some order. This violates the sense of a relational database.

The records can be sorted or filtered as needed.

Still some record numbering scheme may be desired.

Allen Browne's Access tips:
Numbering Entries in a Report or Form

"In relational database theory, the records in a table cannot have any physical order, so record numbers represent faulty thinking. In place of record numbers, Access uses the Primary Key of the table, or the Bookmark of a recordset. If you are accustomed from another database and find it difficult to conceive of life without record numbers, check out What, no record numbers?"

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