I have an Access 2010 database with a VBA module that does some statistical analysis on the data. The results of the statistical analysis cannot be generated by SQL, but they can be presented in tabular format. Right now, I can run the VBA function in the Immediate window and it will loop over the results and write them to the terminal using Debug.Print().
I'd like to have the results of this function available to the rest of Access so that I can create queries and reports from the table of results. So what I'm looking for is how to turn my function into a "dynamic table" -- a table that doesn't actually store data, but stores the VBA function that runs and fills in the table data dynamically whenever that table is used.
I've spent quite a bit of time looking at creating tables dynamically via MAKE TABLE queries or using DDL in VBA, but all of these examples use SQL to create the new table from existing records. I can't use SQL to generate the results, so I'm not really sure how to coerce the results into an object that Access will recognize. Part of the problem is that I'm just not familiar enough with Access VBA terminology to know what I should be looking for.
My declaration is just "Public Function GenerateSchedule" . It has three code blocks: the first pulls the data I need from the database using a query and processes the RecordSet into an array. The second block performs the statistical analysis on the array, and the third prints the results of the analysis to the terminal. I'd like to replace the third block with a block that provides the results as a table that is usable by the rest of Access.
I use following code if I don't want to use DDL and SQL Query...
Set dbs = CurrentDb
Set tbl = dbs.CreateTableDef("tbl_Name")
Set fld = tbl.CreateField("Field1", dbText, 255)
tbl.Fields.Append fld
Set fld = tbl.CreateField("Field2", dbText, 255)
tbl.Fields.Append fld
Set fld = tbl.CreateField("Field3", dbInteger)
tbl.Fields.Append fld
Set fld = tbl.CreateField("Field4", dbCurrency)
tbl.Fields.Append fld
dbs.TableDefs.Append tbl
dbs.TableDefs.Refresh
and if you want to add a record you could do
Dim dbs As DAO.Database
Dim rs As DAO.Recordset
Set dbs = CurrentDb
Set rstVideos = dbs.OpenRecordset("tbl_name")
rs.AddNew
rs("field1").Value = "TEST "
rs("field2").Value = "TEXT"
rs("field3").Value = 1991
rs("field4").Value = 19.99
rstVideos.Update
I am not sure why you need to put the retrieved data into an array. It seems and extra step. If you can generate the statistics from the array, the same thing should be possible in a query. create another query, using the results query as one recordsource and make your calculations accordingly for the fields that you want created.
If we saw what you were trying to do, I think it could be made more simple.
This sounds like a disconnected recordset, or maybe "synthetic recordset," which is something ADO can do. I don't use ADO, so can't provide you with instruction, but maybe that will provide you with what you need.
Alternatively, depending on how you want to display it to the users, you might be able to do it native in Access. For instance, if presenting it on a form or report in a listbox is sufficient, then you could write a custom callback function and bind it to the listbox.
Related
Problem Background:
I have a Powershell script that I can execute from my Microsoft Access Form that scans through file folders that contain information on different facilities, and produces a CSV that looks something like:
SiteCode FacilityNumber DocumentType HyperlinkPath
DKFZ 10 DD1400 C:\FACILITIES DATABASE\path
DKFZ 10 FLRPLN C:\FACILITIES DATABASE\path
SMQL 17 P1 C:\FACILITIES DATABASE\path
SMQL 17 P2 C:\FACILITIES DATABASE\path
So that way every time new files are added to those folders, I can just run this script and produce an updated list of everything I have:
C:\...\Output\scanResults.csv
All I need now is to take that CSV file and update (or even overwrite) a Table that I have in an Access database, which has relationships to other tables and is used by various Queries and Forms in the database. The CSV columns are already named and formatted in the same way as the Access Table.
I've looked at and tried to replicate the following threads:
VBA procedure to import csv file into access
Access Data Project Importing CSV File In VBA
VBA Import CSV file
The closest answer I found is:
Sub Import()
Dim conn as new ADODB.Connection
Dim rs as new ADODB.Recordset
Dim f as ADODB.field
conn.Open "DRIVER={Microsoft Text Driver (*.txt; *.csv)};DBQ=c:\temp;"
rs.Open "SELECT * FROM [test.txt]", conn, adOpenStatic, adLockReadOnly, adCmdText
While Not rs.EOF
For Each f In rs.Fields
Debug.Print f.name & "=" & f.Value
Next
Wend
End Sub
But this obviously won't write the data into the table, and I could not understand what the author was trying to say with respect to changing Select to Insert.
I've also found:
DoCmd.TransferText acImportDelim, "YourCustomSpecificationName", _
"tblImport", "C:\SomeFolder\DataFile.csv", False
Since both of these are from 2010, I wonder if there isn't a better way to accomplish this in Access 2013. And while I can do this all manually, I would like to incorporate it into the VBA code I use to tell Powershell to produce the CSV, that way I can make it and then upload it immediately.
Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm still very green to Access, VBA, and SQL statements in general, so this has been very much a "learning as I go" process.
I prefer to use SQL clauses and queries to import such data. The details depend on your exact configuration, but it tends to look something like this:
SELECT *
INTO MyTable
FROM [Text;FMT=CSVDelimited;HDR=No;DATABASE=C:\...\Output].[scanResults#csv]
Or append the information to the table instead:
INSERT INTO MyTable
(SiteCode, FacilityNumber, DocumentType, HyperlinkPath)
SELECT *
FROM [Text;FMT=CSVDelimited;HDR=No;DATABASE=C:\...\Output].[scanResults#csv]
This allows you to do checks before importing (using a WHERE clause), import only specific values, and allows you to customize a lot without using external files.
DATABASE= is followed by your folder name (use {} if there are characters that need escaping in there), and then followed by your file name with . replaced with #.
You can execute it by either saving it as a query, or using it as a string in either VBA or a macro. Note that I rarely recommend macro's, but you can execute them using a scheduled task and close Access after importing.
To backup and restore a relation before and after updating, you can use the following functions:
Public Function DeleteRelationsGiveBackup(strTablename As String) As Collection
Dim ReturnCollection As Collection
Set ReturnCollection = New Collection
Dim i As Integer
Dim o As Integer
Do While i <= (CurrentDb.Relations.Count - 1)
Select Case strTablename
Case Is = CurrentDb.Relations(i).Table
ReturnCollection.Add DuplicateRelation(CurrentDb.Relations(i))
o = o + 1
CurrentDb.Relations.Delete CurrentDb.Relations(i).NAME
Case Is = CurrentDb.Relations(i).ForeignTable
ReturnCollection.Add DuplicateRelation(CurrentDb.Relations(i))
o = o + 1
CurrentDb.Relations.Delete CurrentDb.Relations(i).NAME
Case Else
i = i + 1
End Select
Loop
Set DeleteRelationsGiveBackup = ReturnCollection
End Function
Public Sub RestoreRelationBackup(collRelationBackup As Collection)
Dim relBackup As Variant
If collRelationBackup.Count = 0 Then Exit Sub
For Each relBackup In collRelationBackup
CurrentDb.Relations.Append relBackup
Next relBackup
End Sub
Public Function DuplicateRelation(SourceRelation As Relation) As Relation
Set DuplicateRelation = CurrentDb.CreateRelation(SourceRelation.NAME, SourceRelation.Table, SourceRelation.ForeignTable)
DuplicateRelation.Attributes = SourceRelation.Attributes
Dim i As Integer
Dim fldLoop As Field
Do While i < SourceRelation.Fields.Count
Set fldLoop = DuplicateRelation.CreateField(SourceRelation.Fields(i).NAME)
fldLoop.ForeignName = SourceRelation.Fields(i).ForeignName
DuplicateRelation.Fields.Append fldLoop
i = i + 1
Loop
End Function
And then, when importing:
Dim colRelBackup As Collection
Set colRelBackup = DeleteRelationsGiveBackup("MyTable")
'Delete MyTable
'Import new version
RestoreRelationBackup colRelBackup
(Note that the code is quite long, developed for a project several years ago, and not extensively tested. If a field name/type is not exactly like how it was before the import, the restore of the backup might fail and the relations will be permanently lost).
So some high level architect advice: replacing data versus replacing table
It is easier replacing data - - the new incoming data must be the exact same structure as the existing table (i.e. same field names and no new fields).
just fire a Delete Query to the existing table that clears out all records
then fire an Append Query to the linked CSV file that writes all those records into the existing table
very simple really.
You can replace the tables if you must - and you are already down this path. You can delete those table relationships entirely. That table relationship feature is useful - but not mandatory. You can create relationships at the query level as an alternative. Essentially the table relationships just auto create the query level relationships. If you delete the table relationships then one must simply create the table relationships at the query level manually - they don't automatically appear. Note however that if one is relying on cascade deletes or referential integrity, then removing table relationships will undo that - so you should check these points.
Deleting Table Relationships will not break any existing queries. Their table relationship join lines will remain intact.
I have a continuous form in MS Access that I would like to create a table from. Most of the fields are populated by a query, but some fields will be user entered and there will also be calculated fields. Basically I need to create a snapshot of the data when a users clicks a button at any given point and then save the table with the value of one of the fields and that particular date. What is the best way to achieve this?
Thank you!
-Charlie
What you actually want to do is learn how to use recordset clones. You should also reuse a table seeing in how there is a pretty good chance you'll want fresh data on each pull.
Because this isnt a code writing service, ill let you figure out the details, but this should be plenty to get you started.
Sub Print_Field_Names()
Dim rst As Recordset, intI As Integer
Dim fld As Field
dim vbSql as string
vbSql = "DELETE * FROM Tbl"
DoCmd.RunSQL vbSql
Set rst = Me.RecordsetClone
For Each fld in rst.Fields
' Print field names.
Debug.Print fld.Name
Next
End Sub
In the loop through the original recordset clone, you should try for yourself how to edit another recordset on your reusuable table to "Fill" the new table with your form data. this is actually really simple and the masochist in me wants you to actually suffer since you didnt try anything on your own first :P
I have an Access database with many year-specific table names (not my design). I want to copy the DB to a new DB and update all tables to have the same name but updated from "xxx_2007" to "xxx_2008", and have all queries that reference "2007" updated to reference "2008" instead. These references might be in table names or may be selection criteria in the query.
The approach I'm using now is to open each query, copy the SQL to notepad, replace "2007" with "2008", then copy it back to the SQL view of the query. It's workable, but tedious.
Any suggestions on programmatic way to update everything?
What Gord said.
But if you really need a quick hack to make it work right now, you can loop the QueryDefs collection:
Dim DB As Database
Dim QD As QueryDef
Dim S As String
Set DB = CurrentDb
For Each QD In DB.QueryDefs
S = QD.SQL
If InStr(S, "2007") > 0 Then
S = Replace(S, "2007", "2008")
QD.SQL = S
End If
Next QD
Similar with TableDefs for table names, here you would replace TD.Name
I also recommend what Gord stated. If not, simply use Rick Fisher's Find and Replace http://www.rickworld.com/products.html.
Okay, friends, I'm leaving my job in a week and a half, and I'm trying to make what I've done easier for my boss to do. He has no access knowledge, so I'm trying to create a form that will automate the reports I've been generating. Rather than create a different form for all the different reports, I'm trying to automate it from a table of parameters. Here's what I'm going for:
I have a table, which I have created, which is comprised of 5 fields. I'd like to use these fields to fill parameter fields in a standard form template. The five fields in my table are as follows:
The type of query being run (the result spit out)
The queries that generate this report, separated by a comma and no space. "QRYNAMEA,QRYNAMEB"
The Table which these queries generate, which will be used by transferspreadsheet
The destination excel file, which already has a pivot table set up to feed of the data.
The input sheet of this excel file. Currently, all of these sheets are called "Input". (that isn't important)
My issue comes with having no idea where to go after I've made my combo box. I know enough visual basic to automate my queries, but not enough to populate the form with the information in 3,4 and 5 (so far, I've been manually changing these for different queries). I have no idea how to look up the record in the table from the choice in the 'choosebox', and then select individual fields from that in my automation.
I'm pretty confident in my ability to parse #2 and automate the queries, and to put the values into the fields I'm looking at, but I don't know how to actually pull those values from the table, before I can do these things. I also can't seem to describe this well enough for google to help me.
Has anyone done something like this before? I'm assuming I just lack knowledge of one of the VBA libraries, but I've not had any luck finding out which.
edit:
my inclination at this point is to create a query for this table, which will return a single field depending on the input I give. I can imagine doing this in SQL, but I still don't know how to populate the forms, nor extract the field object from the table once I get it.
I have to head out for the day, but I'll be back on Friday to keep working on this, and I'll post my solution, once I find it. This seems like a unique conundrum, and it would be nice to give an answer to it.
Final edit: code is polished (does not have much in the way of error handling):
The first method, which pulls the fields from the table and populates the form, is activated by choosing a new entry in the combo box and looks like this:
Private Sub QuerySelect_Change()
Dim db As Database
Dim rec As Recordset
Set db = CurrentDb
Set rec = db.OpenRecordset("SELECT [Queries to Run], [Source Table], [Destination Spreadsheet], [Destination Sheet Name] FROM TBL_QRY_SETTINGS WHERE TBL_QRY_SETTINGS.[Query Type] Like '" & [Forms]![QuerySelector]![QuerySelect] & "';")
[Forms]![QuerySelector]![QueriesToRun].Value = rec("Queries to Run")
[Forms]![QuerySelector]![SourceTable].Value = rec("Source Table")
[Forms]![QuerySelector]![FileDest].Value = rec("Destination Spreadsheet")
[Forms]![QuerySelector]![SheetName].Value = rec("Destination Sheet Name")
Set rec = Nothing
Set db = Nothing
End Sub
The second code pulls that data to run the query. I like how this turned out. It runs when a button near the combobox is clicked.
Private Sub DynamicQuery_Click()
Dim qryArray As Variant
Dim i As Integer
qryArray = Split([Forms]![QuerySelector]![QueriesToRun], ",")
DoCmd.SetWarnings False
For i = LBound(qryArray) To UBound(qryArray)
Debug.Print qryArray(i)
DoCmd.OpenQuery (qryArray(i))
Next
DoCmd.SetWarnings True
DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet acExport, acSpreadsheetTypeExcel12Xml, [Forms]![QuerySelector]![SourceTable], _
[Forms]![QuerySelector]![FileDest], _
True, [Forms]![QuerySelector]![SheetName]
End Sub
Note that the final code for part (1) is almost the same as the selected answer, except that I am grabbing more than one field. This works because I know that I have unique "Query Types", and my recordset will only contain one record.
Anyway, I hope some people stumble upon this and find it useful. Send me a message if you do. As far as I can tell from brief googling, this sort of automation work has not been done in access. It should make it easier for access-illiterate to run their own queries, and be simple for designers to add to, if they want all their queries available after a few clicks.
Someone could conceivably use this to automate a variety of reports in sequence, by iterating through a table like the one I reference.
I may be massively misunderstanding what you're doing, but I think it's as easy as creating a new form using the form wizard. It will let you choose the table that contains the data, and it will let you choose which fields you want to add.
You can later change any of the textboxes to combo boxes which will allow you to limit the choices available to fill in.
Am I understanding that correctly?
EDIT: This will fill a variable (MyRandomField) with the contents of a field in a table
Dim db as Database
Dim rec as Recordset
set db = CurrentDB
set rec = db.OpenRecordSet("Select SomeField from SomeTable Where Something = 'SomethingElse'")
MyRandomField = rec("SomeFieldName")
set rec = Nothing
set db = Nothing
There is some literature available at expert's exchange and at teck republic about using the combobox.recordset property to populate a combobox in an Access form.
These controls are usually populated with a "SELECT *" string in the 'rowsource' properties of the control, referencing a table or query available on the client's side of the app. When I need to display server's side data in a combobox, I create a temporary local table and import requested records. This is time consuming, specially with large tables.
Being able to use a recordset to populate a combobox control would allow the user to directly display data from the server's side.
Inspired by the 2 previous examples, I wrote some code as follow:
Dim rsPersonne as ADODB.recordset
Set rsPersonne = New ADODB.Recordset
Set rsPersonne.ActiveConnection = connexionActive
rsPersonne.CursorType = adOpenDynamic
rsPersonne.LockType = adLockPessimistic
rsPersonne.CursorLocation = adUseClient
rsPersonne.Open "SELECT id_Personne, nomPersonne FROM Tbl_Personne"
fc().Controls("id_Personne").Recordset = rsPersonne
Where:
connexionActive: is my permanent ADO connection to my database server
fc(): is my current/active form
controls("id_Personne"): is the
combobox control to populate with
company's staff list
Access version in 2003
Unfortunately, it doesn't work!
In debug mode, I am able to check that the recordset is properly created, with requested columns and data, and properly associated to the combobox control. Unfortunately, when I display the form, I keep getting an empty combobox, with no records in it! Any help is highly appreciated.
EDIT:
This recordset property is indeed available for the specific combobox object, not for the standard control object, and I was very surprised to discover it a few days ago.
I have already tried to use combobox's callback function, or to populate a list with the "addItem" method of the combobox,. All of these are time consuming.
To set a control that accepts a rowsource to a recordset you do the following:
Set recordset = currentDb.OpenRecordset("SELECT * FROM TABLE", dbOpenSnapshot)
Set control.recordset = recordset
Works with DAO Recordsets for sure, I haven't tried ADO recordsets because I don't have any real reason to use them.
When done this way, a simple requery will not work to refresh the data, you must do a repeat of the set statement.
As was said, you have to get the RowSourceType to "Table/Query" (or "Table/Requête" if in french) in order to show query results in the combobox.
Your memory problems arise from opening the recordset (rsPersonne) without closing it. You should close them when closing/unloading the form (but then again you would have scope problems since the recordset is declared in the function and not in the form).
You could also try to create and save a query with Access's built-in query creator and plug that same query in the RowSource of your combobox. That way the query is validated and compiled within Access.
I found the trick ... the "rowSourceType" property of the combobox control has to be set to "Table/Query". Display is now ok, but I have now another issue with memory. Since I use these ADO recordsets on my forms, memory usage of Access is increasing each time I browse a form. Memory is not freed either by stopping the browsing or closing the form, making MS Access unstable and regularly freezing. I will open a question if I cannot solve this issue
good method with using the Recordset property, thanks for that hint!
Patrick, the method you shown on your page has a big disadvantage (I tried that too on my own): The value list can only be 32 KB, if you exceed this limit the function will throw an error.
The callback method has the big disadvantage that it is very slow and it is called once for every entry which makes it unuseable for a longer list.
Using the recordset method works very well. I needed this because my SQL string was longer than 32 KB (lot of index values for WHERE ID IN(x,x,x,x,x...)).
Here's a simple function which uses this idea to set a recordset to the combobox:
' Fills a combobox with the result of a recordset.
'
' Works with any length of recordset results (up to 10000 in ADP)
' Useful if strSQL is longer than 32767 characters
'
' Author: Christian Coppes
' Date: 16.09.2009
'
Public Sub fnADOComboboxSetRS(cmb As ComboBox, strSQL As String)
Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset
Dim lngCount As Long
On Error GoTo fnADOComboboxSetRS_Error
Set rs = fnADOSelectCommon(strSQL, adLockReadOnly, adOpenForwardOnly)
If Not rs Is Nothing Then
If Not (rs.EOF And rs.BOF) Then
Set cmb.Recordset = rs
' enforces the combobox to load completely
lngCount = cmb.ListCount
End If
End If
fnADOComboboxSetRS_Exit:
If Not rs Is Nothing Then
If rs.State = adStateOpen Then rs.Close
Set rs = Nothing
End If
Exit Sub
fnADOComboboxSetRS_Error:
Select Case Err
Case Else
fnErr "modODBC->fnADOComboboxSetRS", True
Resume fnADOComboboxSetRS_Exit
End Select
End Sub
(The function fnADOSelectCommon opens an ADO recordset and gives it back. The function fnErr shows a message box with the error, if there was one.)
As this function closes the opened recordset there should be no problem with the memory. I tested it and didn't saw any increasing of memory which wasn't released after closing the form with the comboboxes.
In the Unload Event of the form you can additionaly use a "Set rs=Me.Comboboxname.Recordset" and then close it. This should not be necessary regarding memory, but it may be better to free up open connections (if used with a backend database server).
Cheers,
Christian
A combo box control does not have a recordset property. It does have a RowSource property but Access is expecting a SQL string in there.
You can change the RowSourceType to the name of a user defined "callback" function. Access help will give you more information including sample code by positioning yourself on the RowSourceType and pressing F1. I use this type of function when I want to give the users a list of available reports, drive letters, or other data that is not available via a SQL query.
I don't understand what you mean by your third paragraph with respect to using data directly from the server side. Or rather I don't understand what the problem is with using standard queries.
In MS Access, it's ok, but in VB, you may use something like this using adodc (Jet 4.0):
Private sub Form1_Load()
with Adodc1
.commandtype = adcmdtext
.recordsource = "Select * from courses"
.refresh
while not .recordset.eof
combo1.additem = .recordset.coursecode
.recordset.movenext
wend
end with
End Sub