Inter-user communication on multiple front ends

[Nicholas Scarpinato]

I have a database I'm building for the Returns department of the warehouse of
the company I work for. This database has various users and user groups I've
set up (not through Access security settings, these groups are set up
manually). I have a group of data entry people who check in the returned
products, and then a group one level up from them of people who process the
data the first group has entered and prepare the actual items to be sent back
to their respective vendors.

Our returns department has a limited amount of space to store the products
as they're being checked in. Most of the vendors have their own assigned
location. What I'm trying to do right now is set up a process that does two
things:

1. When the processors are ready to send products from a bin back to their
respective vendor, I want to lock that bin location so nothing can be stored
in it until they finish with their submission. Any products for that vendor
will just have to wait before being put away. (I've already built this half
of the process and I have a temporary storage location for those phones that
will be dumped into the main table once the bin is open again.)
2. I need to somehow let the people who have products waiting to be put up
that the bin is open and ready for items to be stored in it again, and then
give them the functionality to do the transfer.

I would like to know if there's a way to pop up a message on the screens of
the users affected when the bin becomes available again. The database is
split. Is there a way to communicate with the front ends through the backend
database?

 

[Larry Daugherty]

Most of the data you see and manage is actually in the back end. I
know that's not what you meant but that's part of what you asked. if
you mean "Is there a standard messaging system from the back end to
the front end'? the answer is "No". It's not a requirement for the
application to be split so there isn't always a Front and a Back.
Finally, can you achieve what you want to do? Yes. You do it all the
time using error handlers and msgboxes, etc. Instead of a msgbox you
can open a form to announce your intentions.. Instead of popping up
messages and making your users dismiss them gets annoying but you can
do it that way. More user friendly would be to detect the status you
describe and when someone tries to get into a temporarily closed bin,
notify the user then with a message. Why bother people who don't need
to know. You should be able to design the workflow such that the
closed bin is detected and reported as early in the process as
possible after by detecting the bin status early.

HTH

 

[Margaret Bartley]

I would like to know if there's a way to pop up a message on the screens
of
the users affected when the bin becomes available again. The database is
split. Is there a way to communicate with the front ends through the
backend
database?

If the users would be able to see a pop-up message, that implies that they
have this database open, and that they can easily, casually, and frequently
glance at the screen, to see that message.

Why not just have a permanent Status form or control that changes when the
bins are locked or released? It could be very large, and/or change color /
font / graphic to make the status changes easily visible.