Field Default for Data Entry

[joefincher]

I am using float for entering data into a workout database for weight, distance, etc. When I create a new record I must first delete 0.00 before I can enter new data. Is there a workaround or am I setting something wrong when I create the field? Apparently there is no custom Forms for BB yet.

[dhaupert]

This is correct. You can set a default value for a float field in the desktop when you design your database. But anything you set would have to be deleted/edited to overwrite this.

[joefincher]

Thanks Dave, however I didn't set a default. Apparently the program is setting 0.00 as a default default (redundancy intended) which must be deleted in order to input anything. Suggestions?

Regards, Joe

[dhaupert]

Hi Joe,

The Float field requires a numeric value to be stored, in other words, at any moment it has to have some numeric value associated with it. So a 'blank' field is 0, and the number is formatted to the number of decimal places you specify for that field. It sounds like you have it set to 2 places after the decimal which is the default setting for a float field. If you want the field to be able to default to 'blank', I'd suggest using a text field instead. Of course it won't reformat the number you put in to a fixed set of decimal places, but you can have a blank value and it can be used for calculations as well.

If not, I'd suggest putting something like 0 in the default value, so you have less to delete. Let me know which works best for you!