Question Database Enquiry

[spazzer]

Hi,
I am trying to get my head round how I can fill out an excel spreadsheet daily with data from a database, can anyone help explain further !, I have designed a spreadsheet with train running info on it in excel.
I have created a sheet for Mon,Tues-Thurs,Fri,Sat and Sundays. The reason for this is that the info is different on different days of the week !
I then share the workbook with other people and we enter info into it everyday and then save the file on our hard drive each night. Could I put all this info into a database like access 2007 and retrieve it each day and then work with it and then save it back to the the database and start again the next day fresh with new data again.
Maybe I should use something different to excel like Access 2007 I'm not sure.
Sorry if sound vague but am new to this sort of thing and just wetting my feet, can anyone suggest any ideas etc

Many Thanks,
Nick C

 

[Guus2005]

Welcome in the wonderfull world of Access!

You could store your data in Access (backend) and give people access to your database gui (frontend). You all could enter info and store it. You don't have to export data into spreadsheets anymore.

Enjoy!

 

[WIS]

Hi,
I am trying to get my head round how I can fill out an excel spreadsheet daily with data from a database, can anyone help explain further !, I have designed a spreadsheet with train running info on it in excel.
I have created a sheet for Mon,Tues-Thurs,Fri,Sat and Sundays. The reason for this is that the info is different on different days of the week !
I then share the workbook with other people and we enter info into it everyday and then save the file on our hard drive each night. Could I put all this info into a database like access 2007 and retrieve it each day and then work with it and then save it back to the the database and start again the next day fresh with new data again.
Maybe I should use something different to excel like Access 2007 I'm not sure.
Sorry if sound vague but am new to this sort of thing and just wetting my feet, can anyone suggest any ideas etc

Many Thanks,
Nick C

Can you give us any idea as to what info you're saving in the spreadsheet. eg Is every Mon the same or can info change from week to week. Have a look @ some of the other questions posted to get an idea.

 

[spazzer]

Hi Could you explain Front End and Back End a little further please as I don't understand how thats done ?
Can I explain further the info needed to access !
Everyday we have a timetable of trains arriving and departing our station, the timetable is much the same Mon-Fri but Sat and Sun are different to midweek timetables.
We would like to be able to get the information for the basic timetable each day onto computer screens in our office and be able to add information to it in a table i.e. Train Arrival Time, Platform Arrival, Reason for Delay etc.
We would like more than one user to use this !
Also occasionally over holidays or Bank Holidays the timetable changes due to engineering work so we would like to be able to use a form to enter these new workings into the database,but these would only be used for that day.
The other problem I have is we would like to save the information each night to the database and then start exactly the same again the next day recording information into a table again.
The info does change from week to week occasionally.
Sorry if this sounds complicated but am trying my best to explain !
I will try and upload excel spreadsheet to show what I mean !
This is a base copy and some of the info would already be on sheet !
Many Thanks,
Nick C

 

[DCrake]

Not wanting to sound niave but what is this information used for? Are you recording it historically or as part of a passenger information system. If the latter how far in front do you want to record?

Could not look at your example as I do not have 2007 on this pc, if you can submit an earlier version it would help.


With regard to Front end Back end think of it as a telephone conference call each person involded in the call is listening via their own handset. You will provide everyone with their own copy of the front end, this being everything execpt the tables in an mdb. These handsets are linked to a central database set in a shared location, say on a server, which contains the data tables. When user A talks everyone hears. If each user has their own set of tables how would they know what everyone else is saying?

There are other analogies around that may be more expicit but you will get the gist.

David

 

[spazzer]

Hi,
Have attached an earlier version here, the info is recorded throughout the day for our own records and then hopefully could be then viewed by others within our company and then saved each night to be used if needed for enquiries from within our own staff ?
Cheers

 

[DCrake]

Looking at your layout it seems quite plausable to recreate this in Access without much difficulty.

Firstly you have a HeadCode which I assume is unique to each planned train journey from point of departure to point of arrival. Are you wanting to record the details for all the stops in between?

If you design your form so that it can collect the data in the same way as you would record it in Excel. And have underlying tables that the data is saved to. If you are recording each stop along the way once you have instigated the initial record (the first step in the journey) each time you enter the headcode it will bring up all previous history for that journey so far and the user would then simply enter the next step of the journey. This would be repeated until the user indicates that the journey is complete.

I won't go down this route any further in case my assumptions are incorrect but you get the flavour of what is required.

David

 

[spazzer]

Hi Thanks for reply its helping alot.
I dont need to record info of stops along route etc just where there from and what time they arrive at London and whether there on time late or early, reasons for being late and additional info etc.
Could you explain what tables I would need to put info in and also how to create the input table and how I can get the database to save the data each day from form ?
Sorry to be a pain but if I know this is possible and how to do it it would save alot of time at work !!!!

Cheers,
Nick C

 

[DCrake]

I take it you have not used Access before.

If you look at your spreadsheet and create a new table with matching fields and field types. Then use the wizards to create the forms. You need to look at normalisation, naming conventions and reserved words first.

David

 

[spazzer]

Hi,
Your correct I haven't used it before !
I unsure what you mean by Normalising, Naming and Reserved etc !

 

[Rabbie]

Hi,
Your correct I haven't used it before !
I unsure what you mean by Normalising, Naming and Reserved etc !

Reserved words are words that have a special meaning in Access and SQL and should not be used as field names as it can confuse Access. If you look up reserved words in Access help it will give you more information.

See this link for more info on Data Normalization.

 

[jsv2002]

Heres the link for Jet/Access reserved words:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321266

good luck John