Subforms

To start with, let's take HDD: CM-8 and Monitor #1: CM-8. What are you tracking there?

What about the OS and application software installed on each "asset"?

Alex It occurred to me this morning that there was no grouping.  I made a new "AIS" table with a list of networks an office might have as well as the one computer per network.  
AIST: Network and computer name
AISHardwareT: for now: hardware specifications (manufacturer, type, model, serial number, physical location), information system/component owner, and for a networked component/device, the machine name.  software will come later.

Thomas Thomas for now: hardware specifications (manufacturer, type, model, serial number, physical location), information system/component owner, and for a networked component/device, the machine name.  software will come later.

Thomas OS and software will come after I can control the physical asset.

Many years ago, I worked in an Asset Management module that didn't include only "computers". It covered everything a compay might own. Most modules didn't go to the component level, but this one did. For example, a metal stamping machine might have a motor that they wanted the component for. Kind of like your HDD example.

Since a network or office cubicle aren't a physical attribute of an asset, I would have separate tables for those and then use the many-to-many approach to join them to the asset. Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but your use of "AIST" doesn't really tell us much about your overall design approach. Make a diagram if you want more help.

Thomas thank you!

I'd like to jump in on this. We handle office inventory by using barcode labels with unique numbers. We tagged every item and then added those items into a database. As Thomas mentioned, it's essentially a many-to-many setup.

Now, each year, we walk through the office with handheld scanners to inventory equipment and verify what's in each cubicle or office. It works really well.

Setting this up can definitely be tedious at the beginning - no joke - but once it's in place, it becomes much easier to maintain. Whenever you acquire a new asset, you simply add it to the system. When items are removed from an office, you check them back into supply.

I'd also recommend looking at Richard's invoicing template. If you follow along, it shows you how to add items to a dropdown and assign them to a location instead of a customer. Think of it like building with LEGO - flexible pieces that you can adapt into a solid system.

Juan I'd love to get my fingerprint reader working with Access. And the bar code reader.
Do the handheld scanners come with software to download from the device and save to a Windows file? What data format is it in? I'm thinking ahead.

Did you watch richard barcode reader?  he incorp a hand held scanner. The device we use came with software.  It saves it in a CSV file.

The handheld scanner I have just came with a sheet of QR codes to scan to set what mode you want it in (batch, direct, etc) and then it plugs in via USB or Bluetooth and as long as there is a listener (text field, key preview, etc), if i scan it will put the content into that field or listener.

A fingerprint reader would be interesting to work with.

Thomas , I bought this one from Amazon three years ago.  It had no software and works like a keyboard.  It did have a book of barcodes for configuration options.  It is wireless, but not Bluetooth if that is important.

I recommend getting a reader to play with, if you think you may have a need.

One thing I'd add here is don't try to "design the printout" in your tables or form layout. Design the data structure first, then worry about how it looks on paper.

What you're really building is a list of assets assigned to a location (cube, office, network, etc). Each asset should be one record with fields like AssetType, Manufacturer, Model, SerialNumber, etc. Then you relate those assets to a location (and possibly a network) using proper relationships.

Once that's set up, the form is easy: main form for the location, subform for the assets. You can even use continuous forms or multiple subforms filtered by asset type if you want that "Computer | HDD | Monitor1 | Monitor2" look.

For printing, that's where reports shine. Build a report grouped by Location (or user), and then list all related assets underneath. You can format it to look exactly like your CM-8 layout without forcing your table design to match the visual layout.

In other words: normalize the data first, then let forms/reports handle how it looks. Don't try to bake the layout into the structure.

And yeah, barcodes are easy. Tons of videos on the site on how to use those. Haven't done anything with fingerprint readers yet.