Question Impossible, Difficult or Easy?

[NigelC]

Hi All,

Quick background:
I used to be a software engineer for military fighter jets, so I am not a bad programmer. But my knowledge of languages outside of ADA is nowhere near as good.

Four years ago I started a company with my two brothers, and we soon needed a database to run the company, which we couldn't afford. So, as part of my degree was in database design, I learnt access and have developed a good database that runs our business over the last year.

Xmas is now upon us so I will have many hours where I can add cool stuff to our database. Many of the things I want to add are relatively easy, especially as my VB has come on well.

I am struggling with the following and was hoping if you experts could point me in the right direction to achieve the following tasks, if they are achievable with my moderate knowledge.

1. Replication:
Our database has a back end on the server and front end on our workstations. Our MD works in London two days a week. I remember from my degree a subject on Replication. I can put our database on his laptop but will I be able to sycronise the two versions on his return? If so, could you point me to good reading on the subject.

2. Folder Views:
I am sure this should be easy, but I have already spent eight hours trying to do it. Our company installs residential fire sprinkler systems. Therefore, each project has its own record within the database that is displayed on a form. I have added a hyperlink to allow quick access to the projects folder on the server. However, I would really like a window on the form that shows the contents of the relevant folder. Then as we get emails relating to the project we can drag and drop straight into this window. Also, when a client rings about a project, we type in the project name, the form displays the project, and we can click on the plans/ email/ letters ect from this window on the form. Is this achievable? Would it slow the speed of the database as every time you goto the next record on the form the window would need to update to the folder contents? Is it an active x control I need? (this is where I have spent most of my time but to no avail!)

3. Website integration:
At present, our 15 enginers fill in time sheets. This data is added to the database so we can run the wages from the DB, and all the labour is recorded against the projects so we can see how the project is going.

All our vans have trackers and therefore full web access. I am building an interface so the engineers can fill in an online form for their days work and press a send button. This data ends up on our server.

What should I learn to be able to pick up this data by our database? Is share point the only way and does this take a long time to learn?

4. PDF
Finally, if you are still awake, I have one final question. Again, I think this should be simple. All our invoices and quotations are generated by reports and queries. When it is on screen, by right clicking you can select print preview, then print and select print to pdf. I would like to add a button to print as pdf as we keep getting things printed as the pdf was not selected, thus wasting paper. I can not find the code for this!

Thanks for reading

Nigel

 

[sportsguy]

Button.Event On Click


DoCmd.OpenReport "myReport", acViewNormal

to print in PDF

open report in design view,
click on PAge Setup, Page setup
select middle tab page
at the bottom, click use specific printer
select your PDF printer. . .



sportsguy

 

[NigelC]

Thanks sportsguy, that's working!

nigel

 

[GaryPanic]

Number two is easy as well

do you have make directory funtion in your d/b -(push a buton and it creates a folder ) if so then there is a bit of code that will allow you to open a folder based on the record you are on- both the make directoryand the find files are in the samples

mkdir

and the find files i am using i cannot find the name of it - but the main form is called formdemo


if you have ;problesm finding it ping me and i will trawl through the samples - as i know what it looks like

 

[GaryPanic]

I think this is the folder question solution

http://www.lebans.com/callbackbrowser.htm


hth

 

[Lightwave]

3. Point 3 is almost two different questions - Web integration and the how do you get information into access. I can't help you with full web integration but just importing of data is very simple

The TransferText command in the following code imports a CSV which in this example is defined by the user (full path) stCSVLocation into the T003IPICOraw table using an import specification previously defined and saved.

No reason why you couldn't automatically import information output from a small hand held form.

DoCmd.SetWarnings False
DoCmd.TransferText acImportDelim, "FSLSImportSpec", "T003IPICOraw", stCSVLocation
MsgBox stCSVLocation & " " & "Import Complete", , "Finish Line Timing"
DoCmd.SetWarnings True

 

[NigelC]

GaryPanic and Lightwave,

Thanks for your help. Its manic at work at the moment, so I will have to wait until xmas eve to try out your solutions.... can't wait!

Nigel

 

[dfenton]

1. Replication:
Our database has a back end on the server and front end on our workstations. Our MD works in London two days a week. I remember from my degree a subject on Replication. I can put our database on his laptop but will I be able to sycronise the two versions on his return? If so, could you point me to good reading on the subject.

This is easy if two assumptions are correct:

1. your back end is MDB format and not ACCDB.

2. you are going to synch the laptop with the file server via a wired LAN (not over the Internet and not over WiFi).

If #1 is not true, then there is no built-in synchronization -- the only synching available with ACCDBs without programming is to use Sharepoint.

If #2 is not true, then you would need to program indirect replication, which is an order of magnitude more complex than direct.

All about replication on the Jet Replication Wiki:

http://dfenton.com/DFA/Replication/

 

[NigelC]

Thanks David.

Unfortunately we do have an accdb. Looks like I will need to learn Sharepoint.

 

[dfenton]

Unfortunately we do have an accdb. Looks like I will need to learn Sharepoint.

Is there anything in ACCDB that you use that is not supported in MDB? If so, is it something that is convertible (like multi-value fields)? It might be substantially easier to convert to MDB format than to try to integrate with Sharepoint.

Of course, "ease" is in the eye of the beholder, and also depends on whether you have to use direct or indirect replication. But keep in mind that Sharepoint in the currently available version has substantially weaker data integrity enforcement than Jet/ACE, so you'll be sacrificing a lot of engine-level data integrity enforcement.