Memo field on form in multiple columns?

[mattmickle]

I feel like a grade schooler with access, but slowly getting my database to a usable format.
I have a report, generated by inputting a person's last name, which produces a one page document of all issued equipment for that person. On that report, I have a Memo field, which I'm using to store "other equipment" that is not standard to everyone (some people could have nothing, some could have one item, others could have 7-8). On the report, the memo field is about as tall as 4 lines, but, being a memo, can obviously hold more. The report is set up portrait and the Memo field is wider than it is tall. Is there a way to have multiple columns within the Memo field?

Item 1 Item 5
Item 2 Item 6
Item 3 Item 7
Item 4 Item 8

I know i can have the field grow, but I'm trying to keep the report to one page. I know i can also have a scroll bar, but this is really a printed report and therefore that wouldn't work either.

OR, is there a different way to store this information? Should I set up 8 "Other Equipment" fields and show each seperately? All help is appreciated.

 

[stumac]

Should I set up 8 "Other Equipment" fields

That is a slightly better idea than holding all that information in a memo field, however, technically you should have another table where you store other equipment that is related to the main record - this is known as normalisation and is far better for querying and finding information. On the recordsource of your report you would have a query pulling the data from the 'persons' table and the 'OtherEquipment', you would then use grouping at person level with the other equipment in detail.

I know you have 8 fields just now, in a year or 2 that could change, continue to grow. Normalisation in this way means you do not have to continually add fields for other equipment 9,10...

 

[mattmickle]

thanks stumac! that's what i thought.