Question Ideas/guidance for pop up alarm in muti user database?

[Garindan]

Hi all I have been asked to implement an alarm system in a multi user database and wanted to ask for some ideas about how this could be done to get me started?

There is a customer form with a comments section which allows multiple comments. I would like a little clock button next to the comment where the user can click and add a date & time, and have a pop up remind them at that time.

This would probably work from tblCustomerComments which is as follows:-

tblCustomerComments
CommentNumber (AutoNumber PK)
CustomerNumber (Linked to CustomerNumber PK in tblCustomers)
Comment (Memo)
CommentDate_Time (Date/Time General Date)

I imagine I would add an extra field to hold the alarm time to tblCustomerComments? Or a separate table?

Then I would like a little form to pop up at alarm time with the comment and customer details, and a command button to open the 'customers form' at the related record.

I can handle the forms and command buttons etc, but I'm not sure about the best way to go about this, or the code.

Also, how can I do it in a multi user environment? The database is split front and backend with backend on a server. I imagine I need to let the database know which computer to send the pop up to. This would be the one it came from, so I will have to store the computer name with the alarm, so maybe a new table would be best? And I have no idea how the database will know the computer names?

Any help/idea's?? Many thanks

 

[pbaldy]

Here's how you can get the logged in user or computer:

http://www.mvps.org/access/api/api0008.htm

http://www.mvps.org/access/api/api0009.htm

You can also use the Environ() function for either. Since I assume the alarm time and user are attributes of a specific comment, I'd put the two fields to tblCustomerComments.

 

[Garindan]

Thanks Paul, yes they would be comment specific so I'll put them in the same table then

How can I get started? If I have the small 'alarm' button next to the comment open a small form where the user can enter/choose a date and time? And then i would need that 'alarm' form to enter date/time and computer name into the customer comments table? I guess thats the first thing.

The database only runs in a very small office network with a few pc's and there's no network login etc so does this simplify things a bit? i.e. only need computer names?

Would the computer names just be stored in a text field?

 

[pbaldy]

The computer name would just be stored in a text field, yes. Date pickers are pretty common (and built-in starting with 2007). I haven't used a time picker; I just have the user enter the time in 24 hour format.

 

[thechazm]

I don't know so much about access's ability to keep simultanious timers and keep track of them. But one way I would picture is executing multiple threads that would run when the access program is open to keep track of or countdown the time to the event.

Or you could even just execute or create timers for that day based on a query that pulled the daily information. Then just msgbox or whatever but just an idea.

You will need a specific table or even tmp table to do this though.

TheChazm