Managing multimple Contacts

[Perfx]

This is my first attempt at a database, so fogive my ignorance. I am creating a customer database for my company. It's most basic function is as a rolodex / phone book. Several of the companies we deal with have multiple contacts. For example, we may have a designer at the main office, and 2 superintedants in the feild, one for one end of the and the other for everything else. How can keep from haveing 3 records in my table for these 3 people who are a part of the same company? Or is this a non issue, that i really should just let go? Thanks in Advance.

 

[Norie]

How can keep from haveing 3 records in my table for these 3 people who are a part of the same company?

You should have 2 seperate tables - one for companies and one for contacts.

The Companies table would have CompanyID (a unique ID normally generated using Autonumber), CompanyName, CompanyAddress and any other info required for the company itself.

The Contacts table would have ContactID(again a unique ID normally generated using Autonumber), CompanyID (a 'foreign key' taken from the Companies table which identifies the contact's company), ContactName, ContactTitle, (superintedent etc), ContactPhoneNo etc

These tables would have a One (Companies table) to Many (Contacts table) relationship on CompanyID.

So you only store the information for each company once and only store the contact information once as well.