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Technical Help & Discussion => Windows PCs & Software: Help, News & Discussion => Topic started by: Stormy on May 01, 2004, 03:01

Title: Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 01, 2004, 03:01
Does anyone here know MSAccess?  I need help editing the switchboard.  Too complicated to post it all here.  If anyone here can help let me know. TIA  :)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Adept on May 01, 2004, 09:48
Me!

What do you need?
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 01, 2004, 12:23
CYE!  I had to e-mail you a copy as an attachment so you can see what I'm talking about.
TIA

Stormy  :)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Adept on May 01, 2004, 16:00
You have mail Stormy ;)

Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 01, 2004, 18:24
Got it!  And a bigtime thank you!  You hit the nail on the head!!  ;D
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Adept on May 01, 2004, 18:51
Glad to be of help.

It's not often I get in first before Sandra these days! ;) ;D ;D
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Sandra on May 01, 2004, 23:22
Its a good job that you got that one Sean as I have never even heard of it  ???
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Lona on May 01, 2004, 23:32
I think Access is similar to Excel Sandra.  :D
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Sandra on May 01, 2004, 23:33
I dont use that much either Lona  :(
Isnt that used for doing real pc stuff not just playing around with them  ???
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Simon on May 01, 2004, 23:47
Actually, I think Access is databases, whereas Excel is spreadsheets.
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 01, 2004, 23:52
You build databases with Access.  Comes in real handy if you need to keep track of a lot of info.  I use one for my auction site where I keep all the members info.  It makes it easier to keep track of everything and if I need to look up a particular member, I just add their id and it takes me right to their info rather than searching thru hundreds of files.  This one I had to make for a real estate broker who wanted to keep better track of his properties.  I don't use it much myself as far as building with it but I do use it for my databases.   :)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Sandra on May 02, 2004, 00:14
Does it make an OBCD database Stormy, or maybe the letters in the correct order if I have mixed them up  ???
I am running a server program that allows you to import an OBCD database but doesnt say how to save and export the users anywhere, so do you think I could use something like that to make one with ?
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Lona on May 02, 2004, 02:22
Is access a part of Microsoft works, Stormy?
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 02, 2004, 02:37
Lona my copy came as part of Office Premier, not sure if it comes with Works or not.

Sandra, it's ODBC and yes you can use Access for that, below are the data formats Microsoft Access can export;

Application Version or format supported
Microsoft Access database 2.0, 7.0/95, 8.0/97, 9.0/2000
Microsoft Access project 2000
dBASE III, III+, IV, and 5
7 (Requires Borland Database Engine 4.x or later)
 
Paradox, Paradox for Windows 3.x, 4.x, and 5.0
8.0 (Requires Borland Database Engine 4.x or later)
 
Microsoft Excel 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 7.0/95, 8.0/97, and 9.0/2000
Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format  
Lotus 1-2-3 .wk1 and .wk3 formats
Delimited text files All character sets
Fixed-width text files All character sets
HTML and IDC/HTX 1.0 (if a list)
2.0, 3.x, 4.x (if a table or list)
Microsoft Active Server Pages  
SQL tables, Microsoft Visual FoxPro, and programs and databases that support the ODBC protocol Visual FoxPro 3.0, 5.0, and 6.x
For an up-to-date list of supported ODBC drivers, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
 
ODBC data sources:

A data source is a source of data and the connection information needed to access that data. Examples of data sources are Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle RDBMS, a spreadsheet, and a text file. Examples of connection information include server location, database name, logon ID, password, and various ODBC driver options that describe how to connect to the data source.

In the ODBC architecture, an application (such as Access or a Microsoft Visual Basic program) connects to the ODBC Driver Manager, which in turn uses a specific ODBC driver (for example, Microsoft SQL ODBC driver) to connect to a data source (in this case, an SQL Server database). In Access, you use ODBC data sources to connect to data external to Access that do not have built-in drivers.

To connect to these data sources, you must do the following:

Install the appropriate ODBC driver on the computer that contains the data source.

Define a data source name (DSN) by using either the ODBC Data Source Administrator to store the connection information in the Windows registry or a DSN file, or a connect string in Visual Basic code to pass the connection information directly to the ODBC Driver Manager.

Machine data sources store connection information in the Windows Registry on a specific computer with a user-defined name. You can use machine data sources only on the computer they are defined on. There are two types of machine data sources ? user and system. User data sources can be used only by the current user and are visible only to that user. System data sources can be used by all users on a computer and are visible to all users on the computer and system-wide services, such as Microsoft Windows NT services. A machine data source is especially useful when you want to provide added security, because only users who are logged on can view a machine data source and it cannot be copied by a remote user to another computer.

File data sources (also called DSN files) store connection information in a text file, not the Windows Registry, and are generally more flexible to use than machine data sources. For example you can copy a file data source to any computer with the correct ODBC driver so that your application can rely on consistent and accurate connection information to all the computers it uses. Or you can place the file data source on a single server, share it between many computers on the network, and easily maintain the connection information in one location.

A file data source can also be unshareable. An unshareable file data source resides on a single computer and points to a machine data source. You can use unshareable file data sources to access existing machine data sources from file data sources.

Connect strings
If you are a programmer, you can define a formatted connect string in your Visual Basic code that specifies the connection information. Using a connect string avoids defining a machine or file DSN and passes the connection information directly to the ODBC Driver Manager. This is useful, for example, when you want to avoid requiring system administrators or users from first creating a DSN, or to simplify the installation of your application.

You can find more information about programming ODBC in the ODBC 3.0 Programmer's Reference Manual.

I hope that wasn't too confusing!  :o


Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Sandra on May 02, 2004, 02:40
Clear as mud Stormy  ::)

If you are visiting the UK anytime in the near future feel free to call in and create a database for me  :)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 02, 2004, 02:44
I'm better at using them than I am creating them.  This kind of coding can be extremely complicated to say the least.  But I do have a programmer friend I'll see if I can get some info from him on this for you that's a little easier to understand.   :)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Sandra on May 02, 2004, 02:48
Something like right click and copy this then right click and paste it would be ideal Stormy  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 02, 2004, 02:53
Don't know if it could be made that simple but I'll see what I can do.   ;D
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 02, 2004, 03:14
I forgot I had this link, this site is full of all kinds of information.  Check it out.

http://www.w3schools.com/ (http://www.w3schools.com/)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Stormy on May 02, 2004, 03:46
Here's an Access tutorial that may help too;

http://cisnet.baruch.cuny.edu/holowczak/classes/2200/access/accessall.html (http://cisnet.baruch.cuny.edu/holowczak/classes/2200/access/accessall.html)  :)
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: Simon on May 02, 2004, 08:44
Is access a part of Microsoft works, Stormy?


Access is part of MS Office, but MS Works has Works Database, which I think would be similar.
Title: Re:Anybody familiar with Access?
Post by: ketamininja on May 08, 2004, 13:08
www.utteraccess.com  < good advice, replies within 20 mins mostly!

I like to use VB as a front end to ACCESS using DAO to connect. Makes it a lot better than the Access forms  :P