I have a lookup list that is used in a custom solution to provide information about a specific location. This list includes columns of type People and Groups.
Given the quantity of locations that will be available I'd be very keen that the list is maintained and imported from an Access database. I do something similar with my configurations list which works great. It just means I can rapidly deploy all configurations across different environments.
The problem I have encountered is that it doesn't seem to handle columns of data type People and Groups. The lookup is not available in Access. From what little i have found online, I'd not even sure if this is possible. This article suggests that Access automatically creates a link to the USerInfo table. Even with this link, I cannot look up values.
Can someone please let me know if this is possible or a limitation and cannot be achieved when linking a list to Access?
This absolutely possible, and MS Access should automatically link any dependent lists when you import a parent list that has lookups.
Check to make sure you don't have multiple UserInfo lists linked, like UserInfo1, UserInfo2, etc. If so, delete all your linked SP lists and relink.
Related
I am developing a access database front-end, where the database resides in SharePoint list. There is a Attendance Table with AttDate and StaffID columns apart from other columns.
Want to achieve: Only one record is added per staff for a day. i.e. only One Attendance is recorded in a day. When user tries to enter attendance of same staff again on same day, he should get error.
When the back-end was in Access file, I had created an index with 2 columns, and made the index "allow unique values only". The screen looks like this.
Now when, I am moving my back-end to SharePoint, I was expecting same functionality. But, moving Tables to SharePoint using Access 2013 wizard did not create the index. Hence I thought creating it manually will solve the problem. So, I created an index with 2 columns, See screenshot below.
When I entered data, it still allows multiple values , see Screenshot
below
Please help, as to what can be the solution to this problem. I am
allowed to change existing table structure, if the solution so
demands. Any workaround will also be helpful.
SharePoint indexing is more about making it faster to retrieve and search for items in SharePoint. It has nothing to do with unique constraints.
You're going to have to add something to your SharePoint instance that will perform this check for you.
You haven't mentioned whether you're using SharePoint on-line or on-premise. You do say that you're using the Access front-end. This typically means you'll need to use an event receiver which will involve C# (or VB.NET) programming.
Workflows wouldn't prevent the duplicate row from being saved
JavaScript would help if using SharePoint UI, but won't prevent services
You do mention that you're using an Access front-end. Maybe you can add some business logic in your Access file?
Hope this helps
I want to build a small Access database to better keep track of the companies we are looking at. I read Access 2010 Inside Out by Conrad/Viescas, did a lot of their examples and had the feeling I understood the basics, so I started with my own data base. Now the struggle begins, I think I have a basic misunderstanding here.
The relation I started with is quite simple: Each company we look at can have listed peers that we want to use to compare this company to. Of course, each company can have many peers and each peer can be the peer of many of our companies. So I modelled this relation as a many-to-many relationship:
Next, I created the form for a company, which looked something like this:
I related the subform I used to show the peers with a query that is based on tblPeersCompanies_1 and gives some additional information. What I now want from a user perspective is straightforward: A user should simply add peers to this subform for the company he is currently viewing. Access should then automatically update tblPeersCompanies_1 and tblPeers_1. The peers really serve no other purpose than to relate them to a company.
However, I struggle implementing this. Adding a new peer to the subform does not work, simply because it is not based on tblPeers_1 and if I enter the information there, Access notices that the peer is not in that table yet. (That is at least what I think the problem is). How can this be achieved though? I don't want the user to open another form, enter the peer first, go back to this form, type the peer again and the other related information. I hope that there must a simple way to do that automatically. Or is this indeed not so simple.
In summary, the question probably can be phrased as: "How to add records to a matching table and a related one-table on the fly in a form?"
Thanks to the great comment by #Remou, I found a solution to this problem. It contais three steps:
Use a combo box as outlined in another SO post
Use this function to automatically enter new records in case the peer is missing. Call this function in the "On Not in List" event
Show other values from tblPeers by linking it to the selected value in the combo box, as explained here
I have to say, this is much harder than I hoped it to be. Let's hope that the learning curve is steep and that it will at least be easy to use for the user and quite robust.
I need to set up user permissions within the same table, based on the value of a field. I know that this is not directly possible in Access but a post on Allenbrown.com points to a way of doing this see here. I'm not proficient in coding so I'm hoping that I can get some directions from you. Here are the details:
I have two tables in the database, a parent one populated via a form and a children one populated via a subform. The parent contains companies and the child contain subsidiaries of those companies. In the child table, I have a field called "Domicile" and I want to discriminate user access based on that. Because the database will be used by a variety of people worldwide, my plan is to create user groups based on location and allow users to edit (or add) information based on a match between their location (as specified in the group) and the domicile of the subsidiary. For example, a person in Europe will only be allowed to edit data for subsidiaries that are in Europe, even though companies from other domiciles may be stored in the same table.
I'm looking for some guidance here as well as suggestions as to how you think may be done most effectively. I'm not partial to this method, that's just something I came up with to put some logic behind what I'm doing.
Thank you so much!
The important thing to note in Allen's description is (emphasis mine):
Assuming all updates are performed through forms, the Current event of the form then locks the fields based on this property.
There would be no practical, bulletproof way to prevent users from viewing and altering any data in the table(s) if they open the back-end database file directly.
Since you are asking for advice on how "[row- or column-level restrictions] may be done most effectively" the first issue you need to address is how "effective" those restrictions really need to be:
If you can accept that these will be "soft restrictions" (really a matter of convenience to the user so they don't accidentally alter certain records or fields while using the forms), then Allen's approach might be sufficient. (If so, then follow Allen's instructions as best you can and ask new question if you need help with a specific aspect of that implementation.)
On the other hand, if you need "hard restrictions" (serious protection against mischievous or malevolent user activity) then you'll have to employ a different database back-end -- something like Microsoft SQL Server -- with a richer set of security tools for you to use.
Does anyone have any pointers on how to go about creating a "wizard interface" using Access 2010? I need a sequential set of forms that will be capable of branching the flow based on answers from the user and data found in the database. I have used Access before for some CRUD/Reports type of applications, but in this case I can't seem to wrap my head around how to get started on such a complex machine.
Before anyone suggests it, I cannot use anything but Access due to client requirements.
I feel your pain ... working with Access gets so difficult where there are complex requirements.
Gather and document the requirements
Make sure you've teased out every possible wrinkle and contingency from the client, and put it into a flow chart or something.
Extract the models
Figure out what models are being used -- customers, addresses, vendors, products, etc. These will have to be created as tables or adapted to existing ones.
Extract other variables
What could potentially change over time and/or what will the client want to be able to change via an admin screen? You'll have to decide which of these variables to put into tables, and which are ok in the code (form logic and/or VBA).
Design the tables for the wizard views
I imagine you'll want a wizard screens table, where each row corresponds to a step; each should have (other than an id column) a previous screen column, and a form name or form template name column. You'll need a second table choices with a many-to-one foreign key linking back to screens; each row here will correspond to a possible outcome of the view, and the target next step in the wizard.
Design the forms
Finally, design the forms corresponding to each wizard step or template, pulling data from the structures in 1-4 as needed.
I am trying to build a user interface which will allow users to choose what kind of information they want, then based on these selected conditions, I need to query an access database and retrieve the corresponding data for future calculation. During calculation, there are two additional tables that I will query from. Finally, I need to display the calculated results to users. Now I have some questions:
Which one will be easier if I use excel as a front-end to users and retrieve querying data from Access to excel vs. I use access forms as a front-end to users and directly work with access to query data?
Does access forms can perform functions like allow users to select options from a drop down list? and once options selected, Access will query the target info?
Can Access perform intermediate calculation for large amount records? Will it get very slow? Compared to excel, which one is better in terms of calculation?
I never use Access before and just know a little about Excel VBA, not totally familiar with it, not to mention object models. So, in this case, which way is time-saving for me? or they are probably the same time-consuming?
Anything else that I should be aware of?
Thanks so much!
Bing
Definitely Access - it is specifically made for working with, querying, and reporting on data. The language of VBA that you have experience with in Excel is the exact same language used for coding in MS Access!
Access, no question!
Absolutely. Of course it doesn't magically know this as your requirement. You have to drop the combo box on the form yourself, and then in the OnChange event of the combo box, alter a query statement that displays results to filter based on the user's selection.
Sure. Make a temp table (a table that is only used for the calculation), populate the records with INSERT statements, apply intermediate calculations with UPDATE statements, and display the results. Access is built for this kind of thing and will most likely be faster than Excel.
Access uses VBA as well. There may be a larger learning curve to switch, but if you are familiar with the user interface objects in Excel such as Button, Combo Box, etc., they will be very similar and yet more intuitive in Access (Because that's what Access was made for)
Access has some quirks. Google a few tutorials and get some background on the ways Access is traditionally used for your kinds of scenarios and it will go a long way toward streamlining your development.
Start with the simplest model that will accomplish what your requirements are, and implement it. Then work through the quirks and bugs that you find with Google as your friend, and you should be able to get something solid pretty quickly! As you get into the experience, feel free to post new questions with specific problems you find along the way.
Best Regards,