Question Central DB with Front End for Users? Advice Please :-)

[jimmy.guilfoyle]

Hi Everyone

I’m after some advice on how best achieve something with access 2007

I’ve been using access for a number of years so I have some good experience in using it. (Tables/forms/queries/macros etc)

I have to create a central database that I need a number of users to update.

The users will be Project managers and they will be simply updating data based upon the projects that they have assigned.

Three main aspects will be

1.Invoicing
2.Forecasting
3.Project Status

The link to all of these will be the project Number which will be the primary key and the main relationship link.

I don’t have an issues setting up all the tables/queries/forms/macros etc

At the moment we have a database which covers the above but people email in their updates and someone’s has to number crunch and put the data in which is very time consuming.

I’m sure some of you are cringing at this i.e. a database which is open in exclusive mode and we are using this pre-historic method of updating.

So my idea is that all of the users (Project Managers) will have something on their PCs (a front end) and any data entry’s/updates will be made on the database which is on the network drive at a location.

I’ve heard of something about MDE etc and I was hoping that someone can give me the benefits of their advice.

Some early questions that I have are , if/when I get something up an running, what will happen if x2 Project managers are trying to update their own records which are different entries but are in the same table…

Again I would really appreciate any advice on how best to achieve this.

I don’t do SQL and this has to be something easy to manage for me as I am not a full time access guru.

So any advice is appreciate on the best design way to achieve this.

Thanks n advance

Jimmy

 

[pbaldy]

This is common, even required for multi-user applications. It's called splitting the application:

http://allenbrowne.com/ser-01.html

http://granite.ab.ca/access/splitapp/index.htm

To answer your question, you should not have a problem with multiple users adding records or editing their own records. You would get an error if two people tried to edit the same record at the same time.

 

[jimmy.guilfoyle]

Hi Paul, Great advice many thanks for your time. Jimmy

 

[pbaldy]

No problem Jimmy; post back if you get stuck.