I'm trying to get a database in Access 97 to call up a message box when a
date/time field in the database equals the system time. I want to be able
to set a date for a call to be made in the field and have the database
remind me when it is time to make the call. I'm at a complete loss as to
how to proceed. Any help would be appreciated

You can use the TimerInterval property and the OnTimer event of your form.
For example:

In the OnTimer have this:
If Now() >[MyDateToCallField] then
        'put your code here
        Msgbox "Please call " & [NameTopCallField]
      Else
        'Nothing secial hapens if condition not true
End if
'reset the timer here so that it would do the checking again in 10 seconds
Me.TimerInterval = 10000

If you need a timer for any form you have opened on the screen you may want
to create a form only for the timer code and check and keep it invisible.

Hope this helped,

Ionut Iosub

http://junior.apk.net/~ionut/

Useful links:

You could set up a form, turn on its timer event. Then maybe every so
many seconds have it check the current time with a value in a table.

Hi,

I will follow Chris' suggestion, but set the TimerInterval to the
difference, in milliseconds, between the time required and now( ). This
way, the timer event will fire only once, exactly (almost, remember Timer
event are on a low priority like queue) when appropriate. If there are many
event to be driven by the same timer, I will take the first event to occur
in the future. Note that is there is no more event to be "scanned" for, you
will then set the timer interval to zero.

Hope it may help,
Vanderghast, Access MVP.