how do i add a note/ memo object?

John Burns

hey guys,

im working on a small project that acts as a personal gym assistant as im also into lifting weights/ gym.

i have a small program with 1 forms (windows application) i have a database for this too to keep track of the different weight, reps, sets and progress and a selection of combo boxes to choose which exercise im doing ... nothing fancy or complex, just a simple app.

question is though i now want to add in something that i can type a note into and for this to be saved to the database as well .... i was thinking i could add in a label called "add note" then when i use the click event on that label it would open up a message box .. but i know i cannot write to a message box so what can i use instead? would it be another form ?

been tryign to figure out for a while but im stuck.

thanks

14 Replies

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Sam Hobbs15y ago
Accepted answer
When you create fields in your database, there should be a "memo" data type. A memo field is for notes; they can be multiple lines and any size up to a limit of many characters; something like 32KB. You should be able to modify the table definition and add a memo field for notes.
Sam Hobbs15y ago
This is an excellent example of why it is impractical to use this web site from a mobile phone. I predicted that situations such as this will happen with smart phones that have small displays.
Suthish Nair15y ago
:) Sam you are on fire today, can you please share the documentation link.

Am accessing through mobile.
Sam Hobbs15y ago
Look at the documentation. Isn't that the advice you often give?

And just think about it. It is an extremely common dilemma; what happens when software drops support of something that other software uses?
Suthish Nair15y ago
So why they still provided that data type in SQL Server ?
Sam Hobbs15y ago
The documentation says very clearly that we should not write new applications using "text" data type for SQL Server. The only reason I am aware of that is that I researched what you said about what to use instead of memo.
Suthish Nair15y ago
Ok, "Text" is supported in SQL Server 2008. Might future versions dont?
Sam Hobbs15y ago
Thank you Suthish for the clarification. Yes nvarchar(max) is what John wants. Note however that "text" will not be supported in the future.
Suthish Nair15y ago
Memo is in Access Database.
You can use nvarchar(max) or TEXT datatype
John Burns15y ago
hey Sam,

when i checjed this over there is no 'memo' data type when creating the table in the database.
any suggestions?
John Burns15y ago
cool, that makes more sense now.
Will give this a try dude
John Burns15y ago
hey Sam, thanks for the reply.
the main form i have is split into different days/ dates as i have a date picker (think thats the correct name for it) the drop down menu that allows me to select dates. and on each date i list my exercises and have the option to add a note at the bottom. not really too sure on grids yet as i havent really covered them in much detail but the other one you suggested with adding a memo field when setting up the table in the data base?
Sam Hobbs15y ago
I think you will want a memo field in the database and as Frogleg says a multiline Textbox in the form. If you do that then you don't need a separate button; you can have the Textbox on the same form as the otherr data. You certainly can use a separate form for the notes if you want to.

The tricky part is if you want to show the records in a DataGridView or some other grid. You probably would prefer to have a Textbox in the form that is separate from the grid so you have more room for the notes.

So is your main form going to show only one record at a time or are you going to use a grid to show multiple records? My article Database Table Update in a DataGridView without Writing Code can help to make the programming easy.
Frogleg15y ago
Panel with multiline textbox & a couple of buttons which you could hide as you like