Automate Highlighting

[Dick7Access]

Does anybody have an idea how to automate this task?
Out church secretary each week has to take a couple hundred bulletin, that each have a couple hundred names. (Same names) and she has to take a highlighter and highlight 6 different names on each bulletin. MS Word has a highlight feature, but I can’t think of a way to automate it.

 

[rzw0wr]

What application are we talking about?
Excel, Word or Access?

Dale

 

[Dick7Access]

What application are we talking about?
Excel, Word or Access?

Dale

Sorry I should have been more specific. MS Word. I use MS Word 2010, but I am not sure what version she has. Now that you mention it, even if someone knows of a program that would be better than Word, than that could be considered.

 

[Pat Hartman]

This is an Access forum. Are you trying to highlight the Word document with Access? How do you determine which names should be highlighted?

 

[Dick7Access]

This is an Access forum. Are you trying to highlight the Word document with Access? How do you determine which names should be highlighted?

While this is predominately a Access forum there are a great deal of other topic covered. Being the computer guy at my church I was ask if this task could be done by computer. I said I would ask around. If it could be done by any program is would be welcome, so it doesn't have to be done in word.

She (secretary) types out the list in MS Word. Prints out 200 copies. Takes in her hand a yellow highlighter. highlights the first 5 or 6 names, Takes a second copy and highlight the next 6 names, takes the third copy and highlights the next 6 names, until all 200 copies are finished.

 

[Mihail]

If you ask, maybe we can find a way.
Hope the forum rules allow as to help you even if it is not about Access.

By the way:
How can I read again the forum rules ?
Where are they ?
I can't find the link.
Thanks !

First of all give us a better idea about the task.
Upload one word document, with highlighted names.

 

[Pat Hartman]

The secretary could highlight them in Word as she enters them. Then they will be highlighted when printed. Gray if printed on a black and white printer, yellow (or whatever) if they were printed on a color printer. Nothing will highlight them in color if they are printed on a black and white printer except her current manual method.

To make this work in Access, she would need to enter the names in Access using a form you create for her. Why does she need to recreate the list again each week? You would add a column to the table named HighlightYN and have a query that she can run to clear the last week's highlighting. Then go through the list and select the new names to highlight. Create a report to duplicate the list she currently makes. The report needs to be sorted first by the HighlightYN field to get the highlighted members to the top and then after that probably alpha by name.

 

[Dick7Access]

The secretary could highlight them in Word as she enters them. Then they will be highlighted when printed. Gray if printed on a black and white printer, yellow (or whatever) if they were printed on a color printer. Nothing will highlight them in color if they are printed on a black and white printer except her current manual method.

Interesting point! I don't know if they have a colored printer. I will have to check. I personally didn't think there was any way to automate it, but I told her I would put the question out there.

To make this work in Access, she would need to enter the names in Access using a form you create for her. Why does she need to recreate the list again each week?

[FONT=&quot] She doesn't recreate the list each week, just makes a few additions and subtractions.[/FONT]

You would add a column to the table named HighlightYN and have a query that she can run to clear the last week's highlighting.
Then go through the list and select the new names to highlight. Create a report to duplicate the list she currently makes. The report needs to be sorted first by the HighlightYN field to get the highlighted members to the top and then after that probably alpha by name.

[FONT=&quot]She doesn't even need to change the highlights, because each name has to be highlighted, and it doesn’t matter which person gets what names hightlighted. In fact if there was no additions or subtractions, the exact same highlights would be perfectly alright.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
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In the meantime if someone knows of a program besides Access, or word, that would do it better, any suggestion will be welcome. I have never used PowerPoint. I suppose that could have some interesting options.

 

[Pat Hartman]

What EXACTLY do you want to do? As I said, there is simply NO way to get yellow highlight out of a black and white printer. To automate something requires RULES and you haven't given us any. You never said what criteria was being used to select what would be highlighted? You never confirmed/denied the use of a color printer. You never said where the list originated. You never said why she couldn't use the highlight feature in Word. Word also would allow her to segregate the "highlighted" names using white space or an outline block to differentiate them from the other names so color wouldn't be necessary.

 

[Dick7Access]

What EXACTLY do you want to do? As I said, there is simply NO way to get yellow highlight out of a black and white printer. You never confirmed/denied the use of a color printer.

I will have to check if she has a colored printer. Since I have a color printer it just didn't accrued to me that she didn't. She probable does, but I am not sure. I will check tomorrow.

You never said what criteria was being used to select what would be highlighted?

Sorry, I though I had mention, but maybe not, that she just takes a bulletin that she has printed and highlights the first 6 names. She then takes the second copy that she has printed and highlights the next six name. She then takes a third bulletin and highlights the next six names, until all bulletins have five or six name highlighted.

You never said where the list originated.

She types it in from special request that people give her the week before.

You never said why she couldn't use the highlight feature in Word.

She probable doesn't even know its there

Word also would allow her to segregate the "highlighted" names using white space or an outline block to differentiate them from the other names so color wouldn't be necessary.

Like I said before, I am not sure this would save her time, but I told her I would look into it. I have to be patient with people that are not into computers the way I am. I am working with a guy now that I made db for and he said with is that little white line at bottom for. I said that is for you to paste a URL/Link. He came back and said what's a URL.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Unless you want to create an app to manage the list for her, the simplest solution is probably teaching her how to use Word.

 

[Dick7Access]

Unless you want to create an app to manage the list for her, the simplest solution is probably teaching her how to use Word.

Amen, I agree