Access to Dataverse question (1 Viewer)

[Martyh]

I have a table in Access that is as follows:

I need the Whose field to become like the MS-Access. Can this be done using the Access to Dataverse tools?

 

[Gasman]

That is how it should be. In Access as well. You store the ID not the description.

 

[GPGeorge]

Lookup Fields in Access are problematic, and you've just surfaced one more reason to be suspicious of them in Access.

Search the internet, and this forum, for posts on the problem that is Lookup Fields in Access.

In Dataverse, the equivalent field will be "Choices" or "Choice" ( I can't recall off the top of my head if the name is singular or plural).

This calls for some fix-up on your part, in the Dataverse environment. It's possible with enough digging around to find how Dataverse expects you to do it.

 

[Martyh]

understood ... but in access you can ( and do) allow the secondary field to show up without any great effort. Is this not true of Dataverse too?

 

[GPGeorge]

I don't know the specifics, but you should be able to create the equivalent Choice field (I'm going with the singular name) in Dataverse and use it the same way you would similar fields in Access and SharePoint.

To be honest, my few, limited attempts at Dataverse left me hungering for the familiarity and security of SQL Server tables which don't hide things from users in a layer of black box interface stuff.

 

[Martyh]

I have the same feeling ... however these clients have bought into the Power Apps Dataverse scenerio !!

 

[Martyh]

Thanks for the "Choice" info ... I'll be looking into it !

 

[Minty]

Just as a FY I - You can still build power apps and flows on a Azure SQL back end.

 

[GPGeorge]

I have the same feeling ... however these clients have bought into the Power Apps Dataverse scenerio !!

I love PowerApps and consider them to be a useful extension of tools for Access developers who need to support a remote, or off-premises and disconnected data input scenario. I get that Dataverse is Microsoft's preferred data source for that approach, but if I had my druthers, it would be hosted SQL Server, or SQL Azure, not Dataverse.

I see this an an opportunity to leverage the existing power of Access/VBA/SQL Server via a hybrid interface. In other words, if your Access/SQL Server application needs data input from a disconnected location, PowerApps fits nicely, running on a smart phone or tablet.

License costs are the big challenge. Both are "Premium" services which add $20/month per user to the cost of simply using PowerApps. The licensing cost is greater than say, a SharePoint list backend. So the choice, in my mind comes down to more than what works best; it has to include the ROI on the tool.

 

[GPGeorge]

Just as a FY I - You can still build power apps and flows on a Azure SQL back end.

And on a hosted SQL Server database.

 

[GPGeorge]

Thanks for the "Choice" info ... I'll be looking into it !

I should have mentioned, Maria Barnes has presented a couple of times on using Dataverse with Access. You can find one of those videos here.

 

[Minty]

License costs are the big challenge. Both are "Premium" services which add $20/month per user to the cost of simply using PowerApps. The licensing cost is greater than say, a SharePoint list backend. So the choice, in my mind comes down to more than what works best; it has to include the ROI on the tool.

^^^ This is the big problem. It's just too expensive for a SME to justify.

I can get a simple but well built website connected to a Azure SQL backend and hosted for 100's of users for £25-30 a month as a single cost. Okay, there is the initial development cost of the website, but that is tiny compared to £20/month per user over any period of time with even only 15 or 20 users.

 

[GPGeorge]

Daniel Pineault published an article today in which he explains his objection to using Dataverse with Access, among other topics.

 

[NauticalGent]

Daniel Pineault published an article today in which he explains his objection to using Dataverse with Access, among other topics.

I was just getting ready to respond in the same way...