I have a website online with just HTML and I am not willing to use any other programming language apart from Javascript. All I need to do is connect my Microsoft Access database on my computer to a form hosted online so when information is submitted online it is updated on MS access the next time I open the file up. Is this possible and how can it be done?
Turns out, you can do this with zero code. If you use office 365, and publish an Access web forms.
Any information entered into the Access web form will automatic appear in your local database. The synchronizing of data from the web site and pulling down of the records to a local copy works automatic and without the need to write any code. In fact the sync starts automatic when you launch the client application. (it runs in disconnected mode). And any records you enter in the client application will also sync up and appear on the web site.
So, you can use Access and write zero code, and this two way sync feature is built in.
You need Access 2010, and either SharePoint 2010 (enterprise), or you can use office 365 and the $6 per month p1 plan which also does support Access web publishing.
However, I suspect issues of user logons and security may well be a greater issue here, and thus office 365 might not be correct from a user logon point of view. You can invite up to 50 users to that site for the basic $6 per month, but all users of the site will require a logon (which can be due to being invited to the site).
There are two videos of mine here showing this setup in action here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL27E956A1537FE1C5&feature=plcp
I think what you are trying to do is very impractical. You'll need to use Server Side Javascript to insert your data into a database, preferably SQL Server, and then you'll have to write some kind of code to sync the SQL Server Database to your Access database.
Alternately, you could setup your Access database so it connects to the same instance of SQL Server as your website using ODBC linked tables or ADO. I cannot really recommend this, especially if the data you have in your Access database is anything you wouldn't want to be public. Also, using MS Access to access a database across the WAN/Internet is really not recommended although it can certainly be done, as long as you aren't working with large amounts of data, large quantity of records, etc.
I am not willing to use any other programming language apart from Javascript.
And why aren't you willing to use something else? I don't think you're going to get anywhere if you don't open your mind to using the right tools for the right job.
Here's something that might help you get connected to SQL from Javascript:
How to connect to SQL Server database from JavaScript in the browser?
Related
I have used a variety of WYSIWYG web builders before. I now have a new website that I would like to create that is a bit beyond my skill set. The website will need to have some kind of IDX plugin or interface for real estate listings. There are a ton of different options out there for this. However mine will also - ideally - display microsoft access based forms and reports on specific pages. I'll need to design how the forms & reports are displayed. A plugin would be fine. My understanding is that Access can interface with the web through asp.net as long as the db is hosted in the cloud. I also have a mail chimp account that should be connected with the same site. I would like to know if anyone with more technical knowledge than myself can make any recommendations as to how to pull these pieces together and if I should ask any specific hosting or servicing questions as I do my research. Many thanks!
Well, a c# program (non web) can connect to sql server.
A c# program or a foxPro, or even a vb program can connect to MS-access.
And a web site can connect to sql server, or MS-access.
However, in ALL of these cases, we talking about a program interface that allows one to read the tables as a database.
Access has two parts.
The database part. This part can be consumed by c++, asp.net (web site), FoxPro, V6, vb.net and just about ANY development set of tools that supports the MS-Access ODBC drivers.
However, you can't call MS-Access "just" a database. MS-Access includes two parts:
The database part (this is the database engine). This ONLY allows you to open the database table(s) and work with the data. So VB6, or FoxPro, or vb.net can thus read + use MS-Access as the database.
However, this has ZERO to do with code, queries, forms, and reports written in MS-Access.
So, when someone decides to use SQL server + a web site?
Then you have use of the tables and can submit sql to the database engine. That database engine might be Oracle, or MySQL, or SQL server or MS-Access data engine (ACE/JET). However in all of these cases, you not using VBA code from MS-Access nor are you using reports, nor are you using forms.
So, Access ALSO include a IDE and development part. That development part allows you to build a application. But a application has ZERO much to do with a database.
So, while you can use the data from MS-Access and connect to the tables, the forms, the code, the reports have ZERO to do with web devleopment, and thus the forms and code in that Access database can no more be used on the web then can some code written using Turbo-Pascal, FoxPro, VB6 or any other desktop development system. VB6 has ZERO ZERO to do with web development. Foxpro has ZERO ZERO to do with web development. And Access has ZERO ZERO to do with web development.
So you can "use" the data from FoxPro or say the data from MS-Access in a web site, but ZERO OF THE code in such desktop systems can no more be used for the web.
You can no more take desktop code for windows and run it on a Apple II, a iPad, a Android phone, or run such code in a web site. They are about as different between a bicycle and a helicopter.
So the ONLY part you can use from MS-Access applications written for the desktop part? Answer zero, none, nada!
The only part that you can use from a MS-Access database say in FoxPro? Only the data part - not the code and UI parts.
The only part you can use from a MS-Access database say in VB6? Only the data part - not the code and UI parts.
The only part you can use from a MS-Access database say in VB.NET? Only the data part - not the code and UI parts from MS-Access.
The only part you can use from a MS-Access database say in c++? Only the data part - not the code and UI parts from MS-Access.
The only part you can use from a MS-Access database say in a asp.net web site? Only the data part - not the code and UI parts from MS-Access.
So you are confusing the application part (code, forms, reports) that belongs to a given application. If you going to use a whole new different development system? Then what system in the last 30 years, going all the way back to say software written in Turbo-pascal, c++, VB6, FoxPro or ANY system could you by some magic act use the code and parts from those DIFFERENT application systems in another new application you plan to write?
The answer is ZERO parts!!!
You can no more take code and forms written in say Pascal and expect that code to now run and be used in say VB6, or VB.net.
So, you are most free to move/take/grab/consume the data from MS-Access and use that in a web site. But the code, form, reports etc. written in MS-Access cannot be used for the web, no more then some forms and code you wrote in BASIC for your Apple II can be used on the web.
The only part you can move in a automated fashion from MS-Access applications is the data part - not the code part.
You can no more take BASIC code and forms from a c++ program and shove them into say an MS-Access application you plan to write.
So, you MUST distinguish between the data parts of a given application, and that of the UI and forms and code. In general, since the VERY first personal computer came out, this MOST basic and fundamental concept? Code for one application and system cannot be salvaged, used, nor converted in some automated fashion.
If you want to move code from c++ to MS-Access? You have to re-code and re-write that code.
And if you want to move code from MS-Access to c++? You have to re-code and re-write that code.
And if you want to move code, forms, logic, reports from MS-Access to some other new platform - say like some new set of web development tools? Once again, this a manual process, and it been that way since the very first computer came out!!!
so there are a gazillion web development platforms. More platforms exist then there are flavors of ICE cream. You have to go and find one you like, or one that suits your fancy, or what that maybe you took a few courses. However, not knowing your past experience, and ALSO that outright recommendations of software product X or product Y goes against the code of conduct on StackOverflow. And this is a good thing since then these boards would be swamped and over-run with people selling their wares and products here as opposed to a community that helps developers answer coding and development questions based on a particular tool or platform.
Using Access 2013, Sharepoint 2010 OnPremise
I have an Access database that uses Sharepoint 2010 for a back end using Linked Tables.
A few months ago there was a request to have a field contain multiple values, and I stupidly implemented that change, not fully understanding all the issues behind that. Initial research lead to it being "ok" for Sharepoint Lists.
Due to the company architecture, this application needs to be accessible on a Kiosk machine that doesn't have access to the Sharepoint site, but still is connected to the internet.
If the computer runs the application while connected to the internet it will hangup/stall when opening because it's trying to resolve the connection of the linked tables or trying authenticate.
But if the computer runs the application while not connected to the internet it will operate as it should in an offline mode. All data is accessible.
Since we can't/don't want to disable the internet of the Kiosk machine the solution was to convert all the Linked Tables to local tables and issue it to the machine that way.
But now a few months later when trying to make the offline mode application we get the following error:
You cannot enter that value because it duplicates an existing value in the multi-valued lookup or attachment field
I think it has to do with that multivalue field, which has turned into a huge headache, but can't be undone for at least a couple more months.
The Offline mode functionality was created long before the multivalue change, unfortunately that part of the application wasn't tested against this changed field.
So I need to know if there's a way I can convert the table, or if there's another way to Force Access 2013 into an offline mode.
Thanks,
Dennis
I have a Access 2003 and lower databases. The company i work for is currently using MS Office 2007 and Access 2003 instead of Access 2007 because of issues with library references. We're currently converting the Access 2003 databases to Access 2007, but some users are already being upgraded to MS Office 2013 and Access 2013.
I am aware that Access will only change library references when design changes are made in Access 2013 which is not something we want because it will cause issues for users still using Access 2007.
My question is what constitutes a design change? For example we have some forms who's labels change based on user selection, would that be considered a design change? We do not want Access 2013 users to inadvertently make design changes.
The only way to avoid users making inadvertent changes would be to either use the Runtime instead of a full version of Access on their machine or force the database to open in Runtime mode by changing the your front-end's database extension to accdr.
Now, if your aplication relies on the standard office references, you should be ok (for most of them) as Access will use the right one for the version you have.
Any any rate, the fact that you are worried about users making inadvertent modification seems to imply that your users are sharing a front-end, which is not the recommended way to deploy an Access application: the application should be split.
Database containing the shared tables of the application remain on a network share. The Front-end, containing the UI and business code, should be deployed on the local machine of each user. The front-end only contain links to the tables in the backend.
This is a safe multi-user design since only data is shared, not the UI state.
Now if you have that design, if would not matter too much if users made accidental updates since that would only be local to their machine.
In that configuration, you can also keep sharing a specific mdb database with various front-ends for Access 2003, 2007, 2013 being deployed for different users.
Deployment is the hard part since you want that to happen automatically when there is a new version of the front-end available. There are tools like Auto FE Updater that can help.
We're looking for an easy way to display Access reports on the web. These reports have been written and viewed internally for years. They are not simple tables, but more complex charts and graphs. But, now people outside the organization need to see them. All of the data is in access. And, except for reporting everything else is working fine.
We have a web server that has permissions to see the Access database. However, the Access database server cannot be the webserver itself. So, the question is how do we view these reports on the web? This excellent solution, which I reference in case it helps others, (https://web.archive.org/web/20211020135306/https://www.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/042600-1.shtml) does not apply, as it requires you to be on a company intranet . (Although, it may be possible to implement the solution outside of an intranet, so many security holes would be opened up that the developer leading this project would surely be fired.) If possible, we also do not want a solution that expects every client to install code, for example, the access runtime.
Is there a tool that can read the
access reports when requested? OR
Is there a tool that can upload the
data from the Access database on a
periodic basis and based on the last
retrieved data - it can display the
report that was written in access?
Other solutions ...
Thanks!
print the reports to pdf and then copy the pdf files to the webserver
Options:
output to PDF.
output to Access snapshot format and force users to use the snapshot viewer.
wait for Access 2010 with Sharepoint 2010 and Access Services and you're home free (as long as you can rewrite your reports to be full web reports, i.e., not VBA and only using the capabilities of web reports in A2010).
We deliver an Access app (and reports therefore) over a Terminal Server as a WebApp.
I've got a MS Access database with a table and a form, but I want the user to only see the form. I don't want them to be able to edit any of the data. The user should only be able to use the form to query the table. Any suggestions??
There are a few ways to enforce some control over what users can do.
AutoExec
The most simple way is to use an AutoExec macro to initialise the user interface when the application starts.
That way to can make sure that only the form you want is displayed and hide everything else.
Runtime
A good complement to this approach is to compile your application and force the user to use the Access Runtime to use your application.
In the runtime, users don't have access to all the standard tools unless you explicitly code for it.
A good thing to know is that unlike previous versions, the Access 2007 Runtime is free, and that makes Access a very cheap platform to develop for.
Runtime emulation
With Access 2007, a simple way to ensure that the application will open as if only the runtime was installed is to change the extension of the database to .accdr.
You can also force a full Access installation to open a normal database in Runtime emulation by passing the /runtime command line switch.
Secure data-access
Note that short of encrypting the database (but then you have to manage the password), all you can do is make it hard for the user to open the tables manually.
A determined and knowledgeable user can always circumvent these protective measures and access the data.
If you need a really secure solution though, Access may not be the best choice: implementing fine grained security in Access is a greater challenge than the alternatives, say storing the data into a SQL Server database for instance where security is enforced.
Links to resources
Security Considerations and Guidance for Access 2007 on MSDN
A simple Microsoft Access User-Level Security Tutorial for older versions of Access.
FormSafe, a commercial product that helps enforce security on form controls.
I believe you want to use Access User-Level Security. Here's the documentation at Microsoft.
If you are using Access 2003 or earlier, you can use user level security, as mentioned. If you are using Access 2007 you are out of luck - Microsoft in their wisdom removed this ability. You will basically have to write your own login and set permissions on editing etc. using VBA code.