I have a question regarding a data entry form for project pricing estimates I am currently building.
To give you some context: The form will be used to enter data and complete calculations. It will replace an excel spreadsheet comprising of 59 columns, 1-15 rows (it varies by requirements) per project estimate. Average number of projects is 50-60 per year saved in respective customer folders. If there is an update to the estimate, a new version of the spreadsheet is created and saved in the respective customer folder. Hence, in certain scenarios, there are can be up to 10 versions saved per customer per project.
I am seeking to create a form-table combination for each of the customers: hence 10-15 forms with the same structure. Currently, I am only creating one form and table combination as a test. The table designed to replace the spreadsheet will use a total of 30 auto number foreign keys to store information. To be user friendly, I am using combo boxes in my form, where the user types in text but is stored as a foreign key in the table.
On top of this, I need to include calculations. For example, if the user selects certain options from my combo boxes, this will result in a calculated answer in an adjoining form field. Part of the calculated answer will use data in a linked table from another access database. Based on the options selected in the form combo boxes, the database will scan specific columns in the linked table to find matching entries to the selected combo box options. If a match exists, a price is extracted from that linked table. So say the combo box options selected are origin Miami and destination Salt Lake City, the database will scan for those 2 entries in the linked table. If that entry combination is found in the linked table, this price is to be used in the calculation. This price will then be multiplied by two other components entered by the user in the form, resulting in the calculated answer.
My questions:
Regarding the calculation example I gave above, can the above scenario be realistically accomplished in Microsoft Access? If so I am assuming I have to use VBA and/or Macros to do so?
a. If so, is it suitable to use my data entry form to complete it? Or is there an alternate way to achieve this result?
Will 30 combo boxes combined with such calculations have a significant impact on the speed of my form and database, especially as more data is added to the form and given that 10-15 forms will use the same structure? I have thus far included half of the combo boxes in 1 form, completed 1 test entry and I find that occasionally there is a slight lag when opening the form.
a. If it will impact my form's performance, what are my options/other form controls I can use to minimize lag and maximize speed?
Many thanks in advance!
Related
I have Access 2010. I was wondering if there is a way to get the form to load different for every selection.
Example
Item A has 10 Rows and 6 columns of filled in data
Item B has 3 Rows and 2 Columns of filled in data
Both are from the same table.
Is there a way when a certain item is selected from a drop down menu to load, without having multiple forms, only the filled in data? Output would resemble Excel format.
Thank you in advance for any help.
Quick Answer (TL;DR)
Creating dynamically-generated form structure in MSFT Access can be done with sub-forms.
Detailed Answer
Context
MSFT Access
Creating forms
Problem
Scenario: Developer wishes to create context-specific form structure that depends on the query output.
Solution
Create one or more sub-form with attached VBA that changes dependent on the query ouput.
Connect the subform(s) to the primary form and load as needed depending on the context.
See also
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/ms-access+forms+vba
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=msft+access+dynamic+subform
How to dynamically load, access and unload subforms in microsoft access
I'm working on the design of a database for a client and they would like to work with one of their companies (customers) at a time throughout the entire session.
Ideally I would like to set up the forms so that they select the company to work with first and then can navigate to various other forms to manage the different aspects of that company (locations, departments, employees, etc.). There will obviously be many companies in the database, so I would need to ensure that they only see records for the selected company and adding new values ties them to the selected company.
I've been doing some searching around for how best to accomplish this but I've had no real luck.
Any guidance you can give would be awesome.
PS. I've got the structure of the database tables setup to ensure that any entity that is company-specific has a foreign key that identifies the company.
When the user enters the program, the first form they should see should be the company chooser form. Then the user can continue on to the other forms, which would all be filtered based on the user's initial selection.
You can either have the form write to a module-level variable, and all the forms would be filtered by the value of a function which would return the company ID to filter by.
It may be easier for you to simply hide the form, and filter all the successive forms by the value in the combo box of the hidden form.
You might also want to consider creating a query for each table, which contains only the filtered values per company (either with a function, or by the value of the hidden form) and basing all your forms/reports on those queries. That way you won't accidentally forget to include the filter in a form/report.
I'm been using FM for the first time and have a need to use Get Summary on a financial information table. This generates various summaries of different income by customer, year and type. The layout generated from this table is good. The use of Get Summary allows me to do math with the various results, whereas sub summary totals by income type (as far as I know) cannot be added and divided by each other.
The problem I'm facing is that I wish now to create a layout based on customers and include some of the Get Summary detail from the financial table. Because my new layout is based on customers, I understand I cannot use Get Summary from financial as either a related field or in a portal.
The end game is simply to scroll through customer records, one after the other, and have key financial information show on their 'home' screen if you will, for years and type.
Any help gratefully appreciated. Thanks
I understand I cannot use Get Summary from financial as either a
related field or in a portal.
No, that's not quite correct. The GetSummary() function returns the sub-summary value by breakfield - if records are sorted by breakfield. Thus if the portal (or the underlying relationship) sorts the related records by type, you will see sub-summary values in the portal. However, you won't be able to see only sub-summary values, since a portal has no sub-summary parts.
There are other ways to show summarized related data. If you don't have (and don't expect to have) a large amount of records, considering filtering a (one-row) portal to show only a specific type of related records, then place the summary field inside it. Of course, this assumes the types are known in advance and unchanging.
I'm using Access 2010 and I would like to create a form where useres can enter data much like they can in an Excel format. The users need to enter a date when a step is complete for a specific unit.
In Excel the units run aross the top row, the steps run down the left column. In the cell where the unit and step meet, you put a date when it is done. In Access it is much harder to create a form that looks like this (at least it has been for me so far). I tried to use a crosstab query, but you cannot enter information into a crosstab query. I can do a massive form listing every combination of units and steps, but there are over 50 units and each one has 63 steps. I don't want users to have to look through a form with over 3,000 lines in it just to enter a date completed.
This definitely feels like something we should be using a database for instead of an Excel spreadsheet. I have the format for the back end tables to hold the data. My problem is how to create a form that is easy for the user to enter the dates.
I think you have three options. First, you could build the form from scratch, which you've already admitted would suck. And it would take a lot of VBA to get the data in the right place. Second, you could automate Excel - it's the same as the first method but you don't have to build the form. You would populate an Excel spreadsheet and write the changes back to the database. This is not a trivial task and I don't recommend it.
The third option is to throw away the idea that you want to do this in a grid. You've probably been doing it in Excel and to the extent that you replicate that, your users will be happy and comfortable. Moving to a database gives you benefits, but there are costs. This is one of the costs.
So create a form with a dropdown containing all of the units. When a unit is selected, populate a subform (datasheet view) listing all of the procedures and dates. The user can then select the unit, and fill in the date next to whichever procedures he wants. Then he can select another unit and do the same thing. If you set it up right, your data will flow to the tables automatically and you'll get all the benefits of data validation, input masks, relationships, and whatever else you're using at the table level.
I know that's not what you were looking for, but I think it's the best way forward.
I'd like to generate itemized bills for a non-profit as a Word mail merge.
Right now, the source data is stored in Excel in a pivot-table-like structure (this wasn't my idea) with two cells (owed and paid) per item type per customer. (Each customer has one row, and each item type has two columns). The existing data is in this structure, but if there's a way to automatically convert it to something better, I'm open to ideas.
I currently have a Word mail merge document generated by a Word macro that writes a Word IF field code for every pair of columns (item type). (Not all customers have all item types, so I need IF fields to exclude the ones each customer doesn't owe).
The problem is that only I know how to operate this system, and I no longer have time to generate all of the bills myself.
Ideally, I'd write my own billing app (this would also solve a number of other problems), but I don't have time for that, either.
Is there any way to (reasonably quickly) make a system to allow somewhat less technical people to do all of the billing without me?
We've looked into QuickBooks, but it cannot import the existing transactions.
Here is one solution I've thought of:
Manipulate the Excel data into a non-pivoted form with one row per transaction (per item per customer, or per pair of cells in the current structure). I actually already did this in a failed attempt to import the transactions to QuickBooks.
Each row would turn into one item in the bill (as opposed the the current, pivoted, form where each row turns into an entire page with many items)
Then, make a Word merge document that checks whether the current row is the first row for a different customer, and, if it is, include the entire text of the bill (as opposed to the items) in two (very large) IF field codes.
All of the rows would generate an item in the bill.
Each customer's last row would follow that with the second half of the text for the old customer (the part after the items).
Each customer's first row would precede it with the first half of the text for the new customer (the part before the items).
Two IFs are necessary to handle the first and last customer.
I would have to add a formula column to the spreadsheet that tells me whether to insert the prefix, the suffix, or neither, as that's impossible to do in Word. (You can't peek the next record)
The merge generator would still be a complicated monstrosity, but it would never need to change; new item types would be picked up from the source data. (Unlike the current merge generator which requires a new macro-generated field code for each new item type). Even so, I'd probably make a macro to generate it in case the texts change. (Editing texts inside field codes is very annoying).
Both Word and Excel have VBA built-in and if you use these, then you are not limited in what you can do. This type of application really should be driven from a database (Access) which would generate itemized bills, add a preamble, and a bottom total and miscellaneous after the itemization.
However, if you need to stick with the Excel data, then think of Excel as the database, write your VBA code in Excel to produce the bills, and then either assemble the word document in Excel (VBA) or place it in a worksheet format that only requires trivial work from a Word template to pull it all in.