Access Anaesthetics contains a list of about 18,000 Australian postcodes. Because a lookup list containing so many records would function very slowly, special procedures have been implemented. Below are several ways of entering postcodes into your accounts.
| • | Enter the suburb and the matching state and postcode will appear automatically. This is the most efficient option. |
| • | Enter 2 or more characters of the suburb, then press the F4 key to open the suburb lookup list beginning with the characters you have entered. Enter additional characters or select a suburb from the list. |
| • | Enter the postcode and the matching suburb and state will appear automatically. |
Which postcode is selected
Since there may be more than one suburb with the same postcode, when entering a suburb or postcode, the one which is inserted may not be the one you want. The lookup list shows the items which match the suburb and postcode entered. If the suburb and postcode fields are blank, the lookup list will be empty. For example, if the postcode 2031 is entered, the lookup list will contain Clovelly NSW 2031, Clovelly West NSW 2031, Randwick NSW 2031 and St Pauls NSW 2031.
If 2134 is entered, the lookup list will contain the following: |
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If an incorrect entry is made, simply select the correct entry from the list. Where there are several postcodes for the same suburb, the system will select the last one in the list, to avoid selecting the newer PO box postcodes such as 1805.
You can specify the first state to be used for postcode searching so that, in the above example, entering Burwood would select the Victorian postcode rather than the NSW one. Do this on the Miscellaneous page of the Options form.
Additionally, you can specify a default postcode to be inserted into new accounts. This is mainly for users in country towns where most patients are from the same postcode area. The postcode is inserted automatically after the surname is entered or changed, but only if there is not already an existing postcode or suburb.
If you wish to view the entire list of postcodes, click the 'A' (All) button next to the lookup list to show the entire list of suburbs and postcodes in the list box. |
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If there is a state the State field, this function will show all suburbs in that state, otherwise all suburbs in the country will be shown. Click the button again (now labelled M for Matching) to show postcodes matching the postcode currently on the account.
It is also possible to edit the entire list of postcodes by clicking the pencil button. This will allow you to add a new suburb and postcode or edit an existing one. We don't normally recommend this procedure however, since the list is stored in the MBS/RVG items file and will be overwritten the next time you install an items file update. See Using Access datasheets for how to edit the data in the lookup table.
| Note | In accordance with the recommendations of Australia Post, suburbs are usually shown in upper case characters. |