[AccessD] Autonumber Assigned Immediately

Yeah, I know we say that... And I always warn readers to consider it... But
the truth is -- I don't see any reason to re-invent the wheel until the one
you have isn't big enough -- or small enough depending on how you view the
discussion. :)  

I once had a guy refuse to update his assignment process. He had this
convoluted reasoning behind the id values he assigned to each record. He
created them by hand and entered them himself. They had no real connection
to the data. They were just a series of expressions he'd combined. All his
hard copies used these values and were filed by them (uggggg....). Instead
of just updating the entire system, he insisted we keep the routine but it
was a stupid hoop to continue jumping through. The only thing that
"meaningful" value did was create job security for his file clerk.  

On the other hand -- once worked with a system that generated values that
were ... truly keen. :) It was a steel warehouse and each "type" of steel
had a unique code -- truly ingenious system. :) Each digit in the resulting
value meant something and once you knew the code, you knew everything you
needed to know for that one value. Truly cool. It was meaningful and
valuable. Fortunately, if you knew the steel business, deciphering the code
was no big deal. A stranger to the business would've gotten nothing out of
it. 

But the truth is, if the user just needed a value to connect some dots
between the record displayed in the form and some piece of paper, and they
didn't care what it was -- I can't think of any reason not to use an
AutoNumber. If you use code to generate the value, you still have to change
the code if and when the rules change. I don't see the difference in
workload to implement the change. However, if the change never comes, you
have saved a tad of time -- not much -- less than it took to write this
message in fact -- so I'm not sure it really matters either way. :)  

Susan H. 

Now, Susan, you've been around computers and users long enough to know that
"it might never happen" is a joke! ;->  Whatever you DON'T plan for will
ALWAYS happen, sooner or later!