I need some advice and direction!!

[Bryan]

I have a large MS excel table of information. I would like to find a way to
create queries and summaries of this large table, and then create reports
from those queries.

Some background about us....we are agriculture crop consultants from Iowa.
Our table is actually just one large .dbf of all of our clients farm
information from a growing season. This includes farm names, hybrids planted,
soil types, soil fertility, dates of herbicide applications, crop yield, and
so on.

So, we would like to create a queries/reports that would tell us info, for
example: how each different soil type compared on crop yield across the whole
table. But we would also like to be able to easily filter the query down to
include only one customer's information on the report. However, the filtering
would need to be picklists or drop down menu's for ease of use.

Is access for us, or are there any other suggestions of software's that
might help us accomplish this? Where is the best place to learn? Are there
any consultants that we could hire to help us with this project?

Thanks for any advice!
Bryan

 

[Mr B]

Bryan,

For any situation like you describe, easy tracking data and easy reporting
on the collected data, Access is definately the way to do.

With that said, converting your Excel spreadsheet data to a working Access
database that really works the way you would want it to may not be as simple
as it might seem. There are a few things that would need to be considered,
but it can certainly be done.

As for consultants, there are a very large number of qualified Access
developers that could help with your project. You will just have to find one
that you feel comfortable with. You may find that finding one that has some
understanding of what you are trying to do will help.

If you have specific questions, please feel free to post your questions.

 

[dymondjack]

Is access for us, or are there any other suggestions of software's that

might help us accomplish this?

Access is designed to do exactly what you are trying to do. I can't say its
the best, and I can't say it's the only one, but I think it would be safe to
say that it is used by a good majority (probably better than just good) of
do-it-yourself type people who have a need to economically manage data
(myself included). And on the other hand, many people make a very good
career of designing applications clients. I would attest that access is a
great choice for a project such as this.

You should probably know two things right up front:

1) Access and Excel are not the same! You will need to revolutionalize the
way you think about data when moving to Access. You will no longer be
dealing with a main source of all your information like you do with an excel
spreadsheet, but instead dealing with various tables and relationships
structures that will store your data.

2)If you are planning a doing the project yourself, or want to at some point
be able to fully understand and deal with everything going on in the project,
know that there will be a good size learning curve. Much of the
interface-type features that microsoft gives us with access are (IMHO) not
necessarily enough to ensure a solid, completely reliable home for your data.
As MVP Crystal states in the opening paragraph of her website, "If you are
not a programmer, you will become one — because that is where the power of
Access gets unleashed." (this link further below). Know that you will rely
heavily on VBA, and also, due to the differences between access and excel,
what you may already know if vba may need to be viewed in a brand new light.

Anyway, not to sound too daunting, but if you aren't willing or don't have
the resources to accept those two things, it may be a waste of time, and you
may want to see about having someone do the design around what you would like.

If I had to recommend a book to help someone gain a good overview of what
Access can do and put them on the path to becoming familiar with the program,
I would say Access for Dummies (I know I know...). I started with 2003, and
picked up the full version of the book (there's like 7 'subbook' sections to
it). Its a very quick and easy read that deals with all the basics in a very
easy-to-follow manner (worked for me anyway - go figure). For the record,
that book should be fine for 2000 or 2002 as well.

After you are comfortable with access itself, you will find yourself moving
on to the VBA side of things. I've found WROX Access 2003 VBA to be a great
reference for somone that understands the basics of VBA and are in need of
various examples of how to apply them to Access, as well as good concepts of
how to ultimately make sure that your project runs smoothly.

The internet has always been the biggest help along the way... there's a
countless amount of sites dedicated to the subject. Two good ones to start
are

Crystal (strive4peace) MVP tutorial -
http://www.accessmvp.com/strive4peace/

and Allen Browne's Tips
http://allenbrowne.com/tips.html

(there are many many more... read through some posts here (or signatures at
least)... many people that post here regularly have sites for various aspects
of Access. Many of the MVPs (and probably others) are consultants as well.
The two sites that I posted here are the two that I am most familiar with but)

Hopefully this paints a fairly decent picture of what can be expected if you
decide to do this.

Good luck!


--
Jack Leach
www.tristatemachine.com

- "First, get your information. Then, you can distort it at your leisure."
- Mark Twain

 

[John W. Vinson]

I have a large MS excel table of information. I would like to find a way to
create queries and summaries of this large table, and then create reports
from those queries.

Some background about us....we are agriculture crop consultants from Iowa.
Our table is actually just one large .dbf of all of our clients farm
information from a growing season. This includes farm names, hybrids planted,
soil types, soil fertility, dates of herbicide applications, crop yield, and
so on.

So, we would like to create a queries/reports that would tell us info, for
example: how each different soil type compared on crop yield across the whole
table. But we would also like to be able to easily filter the query down to
include only one customer's information on the report. However, the filtering
would need to be picklists or drop down menu's for ease of use.

This would seem to be an excellent choice for an Access database application.
Will it be accessed from one location, or do you want to connect to it from
multiple geographical locations? Either can be done but the wide area solution
will be different and will require a good bit more work.

Is access for us, or are there any other suggestions of software's that
might help us accomplish this? Where is the best place to learn? Are there
any consultants that we could hire to help us with this project?

See

Jeff Conrad's resources page:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

The Access Web resources page:
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/index.html

A free tutorial written by Crystal (MS Access MVP):
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

MVP Allen Browne's tutorials:
http://allenbrowne.com/links.html#Tutorials

If you're really interested in hiring help, check out the candidates carefully
- like anything else, there are practicioners with a variety of skill levels.
There are websites - google for "access consultant" and you'll find thouands -
but check their references. Some of the regulars here are consultants (who may
or may not have time free) but the culture of the group discourages soliciting
work on the forum; at most you could post an email address (munged like myname
<at> domain <dot> com to prevent spammers from harvesting it) and see if
anyone replies.