screen scraping question

[Tcs]

I'd like to build a small database of information by retrieving data
from the Internet. *IDEALLY*, I'd like to have a button next to my
field that I can click, so Access can go out and perform a Google
search. Then either Access or I can pull up one or more page that the
search returns. And I'd like to have a small form that stays on top,
with severl of the fields that I'd like to also fill. And I'd like
Access to "scrape"(?) the page trying to find the info I'm after,
showing me what it found for each of the several fields. And each
field would have a button I could click for Access to "accept" this
particular value. And perhaps even have another button in order to
accept all the field values with just one click.

I've done hardly anything with forms, let alone something I see as
being this..."ambishous". Is such a thing possible? If so, might you
provide some "How-To", to help get me started?

Thanks so much, in advance,

Tom

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

I wrote a column about how to do this for Pinnacle Publication's Smart
Access back in November, 2003.

You can download the column and sample database (for free) at
http://www.accessmvp.com/djsteele/SmartAccess.html

Unfortunately, the websites that the sample points to have changed, so that
the sample no longer works the way it should, but hopefully the column will
give you enough of a start.