Hi, I have a form created in Excel which is used to record test readings. Each form may have several job numbers on it and we use at least one form per day, so as you can imagine we have a lot of paper stored away.
I have been set the task of creating the form in Access '97 so that the tester can key the data into the form and the records will be kept on the system. The form has got 45 rows on for data entry and we will need to be able to search the database for the records we need.
Can anyone help me by sugesting a way to do this as i'm only a very inexperienced novice with Access.
I have tried to insert a spreadsheet from Excel but it won't let me enter data into it
pppppppplllllllllleeeeaaaaassssseeee please help

Is there data on this spreadsheet, or are you just trying to copy the form itself? If you have data stored in an Excel spreadsheet, you could import that and have it as an Access table. Then you could go under the Forms tab and click on New and then Form Wizard and at the bottom of the dialog box choose the table you want to base your form off of (you should have your form bound to a table if you want to store your data). Access will create a form for you. Or, instead of the wizard (which seems to freak out if you have lots of fields), you can just choose New and then Design View and specify the table to base it off of. Then you just drag and drop fields onto your form.

This is a very general explanation...

The spreadshet is empty and when it is filled in i need to be able to search for data that has been entered into it, does this make it any clearer?

It's hard to give you a very specific response, because it sounds like you need to start from the ground up as it were. If you have no knowledge at all of Access, I would suggest you do some research on databases and database design before starting on this project. If you don't, you will regret it later (believe me, I speak from experience!). You should also download all the sample Access databases (like Northwind and Orders) from Microsoft. Looking at what others have done will help you.

Basically, you can't just have a form floating out there in the ether. You will need to design a table or tables to hold the data. If you want to retrieve information from the form, you will need to design queries. If you want ppl to be able to get reports from the data, you will need to design reports based on the tables or queries. The topic is too huge to address here, but post back with specific questions.

Here is an article from Microsoft that may get you started... http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?id=kb;en-us;Q288949

HTH