Forms that populate based on ID#

[Living Design]

I am an end user charged with a programmers task.... We have a linux server.
As far as I can tell, it's a shared hard drive with about 10 users. Our
goal is to use The Office 2007 suite to develop a set of forms that we can
use to get from client intake to contract. This currenlty entails 5-6 pieces
of paperwork.
Here's my ideal situation...
1. Each of these "forms" would be in template form on our intranet.
When we open up the first form(client intake), it has one field filled in,
the next job # in sequence. The rest of the fields are blank and we would
fill them in then submit this data to the database.
2. For the next "form" we need to fill out, we input the job # and
much of the form is automatically populated. We can then fill in the missing
pieces of information, submit the data to the database and print the hard
copy.
3. Step #2 is repeated for the additional "forms"
4. All users can access the data in the data base, which ultimately is
client and job specific data.
5. outlook would be able to access this info as well.

It seems to me that this is very feasible, but after exploring around a bit
I'm stumped...

Is this possible to be designed by a somewhat savvy end user?
Is The 2007 Offiice Suite the right tool for the job?
Any Suggestions or books etc.....?

Thanks

Scott

 

[Elwood P Dowd]

Not sure you can use an Access database in a shared folder on Linux. In the
past, and may still be, Linux and Windows used a different locking mechanism
and putting an Access database on Linux could cause errors. If that's been
fixed, then:

1. It can be done with Access.
2. It can be done by someone who's mostly an end-user.
3. It can't be done by someone who doesn't know anything about Access.
Access 2003 (2007 if you just _must_) Step by Step is a good book to start.
Access 2003 Inside Out, by Viescas, is a good follow-up; Access 2007 (if you
just _must_), Viescas and Conrad, is equally good for A2007.
4. It would be a lot easier to teach someone enough about Access 2003.
5. It would be a lot easier to learn enough about Access 2003.
6. It could be done with Acces 2007.
7. There's no easier software tool that you can use to do what you want to
do, if the Linux server is not a problem, but some would claim other desktop
databases easier, but they are, at best, only as easy.

If you have more questions, ask.

Elwood

 

[Living Design]

In my research previously, someone had mentioned that splitting the database
into a front end and a back end would be the way to go if one wanted multiple
users to be able to access data at the same time. Does anyone know about the
compatibility with a "basic Linux server" I'm sorry I don't have more
information about what the server actually is.... I just know it's "not an
exchange server."

 

[James A. Fortune]

I am an end user charged with a programmers task.... We have a linux server.
As far as I can tell, it's a shared hard drive with about 10 users. Our
goal is to use The Office 2007 suite to develop a set of forms that we can
use to get from client intake to contract. This currenlty entails 5-6 pieces
of paperwork.
Here's my ideal situation...
1. Each of these "forms" would be in template form on our intranet.
When we open up the first form(client intake), it has one field filled in,
the next job # in sequence. The rest of the fields are blank and we would
fill them in then submit this data to the database.
2. For the next "form" we need to fill out, we input the job # and
much of the form is automatically populated. We can then fill in the missing
pieces of information, submit the data to the database and print the hard
copy.
3. Step #2 is repeated for the additional "forms"
4. All users can access the data in the data base, which ultimately is
client and job specific data.
5. outlook would be able to access this info as well.

It seems to me that this is very feasible, but after exploring around a bit
I'm stumped...

Is this possible to be designed by a somewhat savvy end user?
Is The 2007 Offiice Suite the right tool for the job?
Any Suggestions or books etc.....?

Thanks

Scott

Try using Samba on the Linux Server. After $150,000 in network hardware
upgrades, the network I do most of my development on (using Windows 2K3
Server) is still only half as fast as it was when using Samba under
Linux. It was more stable than under Win NT 4.0 or Windows 2K3 Server,
actually perfectly stable -- there was not a single problem or
corruption of data at all. The Linux Server was on a $400 VIA.

In:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.databases.ms-access/browse_frm/thread/8b89979db4094f44

Michael (michka) Kaplan was just about apoplectic in warning us about
the dangers of using Access in an unsupported, i.e., using a non-Windows
server, way. That should give you an idea of how good it was .

Also see:

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.access/browse_frm/thread/cddc80ea9faf256a

They were right that if things go wrong you're basically on your own. I
recommend against installing Access under the Windows emulator (WINE),
but I have never tried nor tested that option.

I'll see if I can dig up the contents of the smb.conf file I used.

Samba tries to keep up with changes to SMB but Microsoft is anxious to
keep upgrading it . I.e., I can't even say that it would work
properly with A2K7. You would have to do a lot of testing. In the
situation I tried, Samba was totally transparent to the users and
behaved just like directories on a Windows Server, only better. I
simply placed the backend MDB files on the server and linked to the
tables in the normal way.

James A. Fortune
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Larry Linson]

In my research previously, someone had mentioned that splitting the database
into a front end and a back end would be the way to go if one wanted multiple
users to be able to access data at the same time. Does anyone know about the
compatibility with a "basic Linux server" I'm sorry I don't have more
information about what the server actually is.... I just know it's "not an
exchange server."

I don't know the answer about compatibility, but the difference would be
between Linux and Windows servers... Exchange Server has to do with e-mail,
messages, etc..

Larry Linson
Microsoft Office Access MVP

 

[James A. Fortune]

I'll see if I can dig up the contents of the smb.conf file I used.

I found a copy of a smb.conf file in my notes. Email me at the address
below my name and I will send you a copy. I would post it here, but
even though you want to use it for Access, it uses a server product that
competes with Microsoft and this is their newsgroup. I.e., it might be
considered impolite to post it here rather than in a newsgroup like
comp.databases.ms-access. I don't check that email address much, but I
will for the next several days. Its spam filter keeps getting better
and better so I don't mind the threat of spammers.

James A. Fortune
(e-mail address removed)

 

[John W. Vinson]

I found a copy of a smb.conf file in my notes. Email me at the address
below my name and I will send you a copy. I would post it here, but
even though you want to use it for Access, it uses a server product that
competes with Microsoft and this is their newsgroup. I.e., it might be
considered impolite to post it here rather than in a newsgroup like
comp.databases.ms-access.

<shrug> I've posted about Oracle and MySQL, and I've seen others. I've never
seen such posts taken down and I'd be really disappointed in Microsoft if they
were. After all, they advertise Access as a flexible frontend to multiple
databases!