HI!
Does anyone have any idea how to synchronize MS Access data to SharePoint portal. I would like to link both of this together and trigger a workflow upon receiving a new data entry.
Hope you could advice on it.
Thanks!
In Access you can have so called "linked tables". You can have access linked tables with a Sharepoint installation. In Sharepoint this linked table manifests itself as a regular list, so you can have a workflow trigger on each new item created.
There is a nice tutorial here: How to Link SharePoint Server 2007 Lists with Microsoft Access 2007 and for Sharepoint 2010 and Acccess 2010 Microsoft hast written something nice: Synchronize a SharePoint 2010 list with Access 2010.
Additionally let me show you some Screenshots from Access. When you go to External Data > Export > Sharepoint List (see next screen)
When you click on that button you get the following dialog where you can select where to export your table to:
The same dialog you get when you Right click on a table, go to Export > Sharepoint List.
Now if you want to synchronize your data, you need to link that created Sharepoint list to your Access DB. So you click on External Data > Import > From Sharepoint List and you get the following dialog:
When you have a linked table it is synchronized with Sharepoint.
I think you are looking for this article.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-designer-help/add-a-database-as-a-data-source-HA010100908.aspx
Basically, you need to create a new Data Connection Library (pick from the Library list in the "Create" page). And then follow the steps depending on the connection method (i.e. Single Sign-On, custom connection string, or user id/password).
The process involves migrating your access tables to SharePoint. So if you moved or migrate a table in Access to SharePoint AND THEN choose to link the table, then it is a live connection to SharePoint. This is a bi-direction synnc of that table. So any change in Access (any update to that linked table) will see changes sent to the same table (list) in SharePoint. This is a VERY different process then trying to sync a whole file. So power-point files, or even a Access file does not work well at the FILE level, and you don't get any kind of multi-user setup.
However, if you migrate the tables to SharePoint lists, then any sql query you build in Access against that linked table will work just fine. And that includes append query, update query, or just a select for data.
And you can even work against these linked tables in off-line mode. This means that you can continue to update the tables even without network connection. When you do finally get wi-fi or some internet connection, then the data will auto-sync (both ways) and tables will update missing or changed data.
Note that you can even migrate and maintain related data, and SharePoint now supports relations and maintains those relations for you (referential integrity between tables is supported when using Access 2010 (or later) and SharePoint 2010 (or later).
VERY careful steps are required to migrate related tables. Access will migrate and send related tables of data to SharePoint (and maintain the relations for you). You simple have to ensure that your relations are of a type that SharePoint supports.
This means your PK has to be a autonumber ID type, and the foreign key has to be standard long data type. Since this setup is the vast majority of Access relationships, then these types of related tables move rather well to SharePoint. However, if you PK/FK setup is say a string, then such relationships don't work in SharePoint.
The other issue is to keep in mind that performance issues can arise when the row count exceeds 5000 rows when using Office 365 or hosted SharePoint. If your SharePoint system in on-premises then you can turn off some of these limits.
Migration of related data tables is easy, but you need to ensure you setup the relationships using the table lookup wizard in most cases. Sometimes you can use the relationship window, but in most cases, you need to re-build the relationship in a correct way BEFORE you migrate the tables to SharePoint. If your don't have related data, and just a few tables, then you don't really have to do much of anything in Access before you migrate such tables.
As noted, once migrated to SharePoint, then any sql query you execute against such linked tables will work fine. So no need to update the table local, or on SharePoint - the whole process is fully automatic and synced for you.
This video shows how to migrate related data tables to SharePoint if that is your requirement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wdjYIby_b0&t=0s&list=PL27E956A1537FE1C5&index=3
Edit
Given that the tags are for SharePoint 2007, then you will find that access 2010 (or later) and SharePoint 2010 (or later) is required for referential integrity to work. And pre Access 2010, you find performance of linked lists to be rather slow, and table row counts needs to be keep small. (under 10,000 rows).
Related
I have an Access 2013 database that is stored on a remote computer. I do not have it set in a back-end/front-end setup. I have a SharePoint 2010 list linked to it as a linked table. I have 2 users that need to have access to the database at all times, others may need in it at a later date. When I link the table, only 1 user can be in the database at a time. Prior to adding the linked table, all users were able to use the database simultaneously. Now, after the first person gets into the database, subsequent users get the message:
The database has been placed in a state by user 'Admin' on machine '[computername]' that prevents it from being opened or locked.
For testing purposes, I tried creating a blank database that is connecting to that same table and tried to open it from another computer. I received the same error and all that is in there are the 3 tables needed for the SharePoint list.
Is there anything I can do to be able to have multiple users in my database again? I have full control to make changes as needed to the database, but I have no access to be able to change anything server side on SharePoint.
This is because of the 2010 SharePoint caching format.
You can avoid this behavior by going to Options -> Current database -> Caching Web Service and SharePoint tables, and untick Use the cache format that's compatible with Access 2010 or later.
Note that the different cache formats come with different features. The old (XML-based) cache format supports multiple users, the new (table-based) one doesn't. The old cache format can be taken offline manually and needs to be synchronized manually if offline, the new one automatically goes offline if SharePoint is unavailable and synchronizes automatically as soon as SharePoint becomes available. The new one supports adding fields in table view, the old one doesn't.
Through VBA you can mix caching formats for different lists, but that's generally not recommended.
I need to update an MS Access app that connects to a SQL Server database. I copied the app and SQL database to my development computer, opened Access and linked the tables (100+ of them). I can see the data via Access, but all of the table relationships are lost, and the forms are giving me 3146 connection errors.
How do I straighten out the data so I can add features to the app (and eventually give the app to the client to reconnect with the original SQL Server)?
Complication: I haven't used Access in 15 years, so I'm a little rusty with it...
The relationships are NOW handled by SQL server. They have ZERO to do with Access, or a web site, or VB6, or some .net program that simply connects to SQL server. The .net program, the VB6 program, or the software you develop using MS Access has zero to do with how the relationships are setup with the given database system (in this case SQL server).
So that web site software, or .net program, or even MS Access does not change, or control the relationships you setup on SQL server. If this were the case, then which of the programs such as .net, web site, VB6, and MS access all using the SQL server at the SAME TIME would control relationships then??
So it is not possible or practical to have the client software control or set the relationships used by SQL server, since then it would be the client software controlling this, and every program that connects to SQL server could then be different!!! (and thus no enforced relationships would be possible as all programs would have differing ideas as to how the relationships are supposed to be!!!).
Any relationships settings you have in Access are thus ignored by SQL server, since it is now SQL server that is managing the database – not Access.
Access is just a developer’s tool like VB6, or say vb.net – those programs are free to connect to SQL server. Since many different programs are able to connect to SQL server, then the programs connecting are not the ones that control relationships – it all has to be done and set on SQL server.
Access will still allow you to use the relationships diagram. You can thus still draw out relationships in that window if you want, but you note how the options to “enforce” the relationships are now gray out – they can’t be used. So it still can be a documentation tool, or a means to make a cute diagram, but as such, it will not affect the operation of SQL server.
As for you errors? Well, before you attempt to open any form, you want to click on a linked table, and see if that works first. No use to try code, forms, reports if you not FIRST sure that the table links are active and working. ONLY until such time that you can click on, and open a linked table should you be concerned with trying to use forms, code, reports etc.
I would suggest you use the linked table manager, and re-link the tables. Now, I suppose you could delete the links, but I do NOT recommend that as a first try, since the table names will likely have a dbo prefix in front of them, and this will result in all your table names being changed, and that will break near everything in your application. So really try the refresh approach, since if you have lots of tables, then you have to re-name them all if you delete the links and re-link (so try to avoid my suggesting to delete the table links and recreating them – it will save a lot of work).
So first step:
Make sure the table links works. (don’t try code, don’t try forms, don’t try reports).
You need to ensure that a simple linked table works, and that you can simply open these linked tables. Skipping this step means everything else you attempt is folly and a waste of time.
So click on a linked table and see if you can then open + view that linked table data.
If not?
Then I would launch the linked table manager, and select all linked tables, and then force a re-fresh. (make sure you click on the box to [x] “Always prompt for new location” in the lower left corner of the linked table manager.
Looked around quite a bit before posting this - I just can't seem to get this seemingly very simple question answered (I think I missing something!)
From within MS Access 2007 I have several related tables that deal with inventory of products. I simply want to export that table data into a SharePoint List (or Lists), and link them. Users will generally just use the SP lists in order to search, view, and sometimes modify the data (i.e. mark a product as exhausted). For our work group this is preferential to opening MS Access repetitively.
The problem I'm having is that the linking features within Access don't make sense to me! I seem to be missing something fundamental here, despite reading over the MS documentation and various sources.
One can export a table, but there is no linkage between the created list and the original table. Changes made on the SP list will not be reflected in the original table which makes this a lot less useful?
One can import a list, but that linked table that is generated is NOT the original data table that I started with (the new, generated SP-linked table is a different entity than the original table. Updates to that new SP-linked table are not reflected in any original table that I had). This method seems very backwards, as you ought to have your relational DB setup correctly before attempting to make SP lists that surface that data. It seems backwards to me to make SP lists that are then wedged into an existing DB without any consideration to the existing DB structure?
So - I think that there is something fundamental that I'm missing here. It would seem that one ought to be able to just use SP to surface/provide views/editing of existing Access tables.
Isn't there just a simple way to have a SP list directly linked to an existing Access table, so that changes in the SP list are reflected in the original Access table?
I believe the solution you're looking for is the ability to "Publish" an Access DB to a SharePoint site. If you're using SharePoint 2007, the published copy will be read-only in SharePoint but users can still do everything else you described.
Details on this type of Publish are in the Office Help here:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Publish-a-database-to-a-SharePoint-site-8287ed04-9c65-46c4-bbdb-c965c56b018c
To quote from it:
Click the Microsoft Office Button Office button image , point to
Publish , and then click Document Management Server.
Type the URL of
the SharePoint site where you want to publish the database. If you
used the same location the last time you opened Access, the database
appears in the Publish to Web Server dialog box.
NOTE: This option is available only if your database is saved in Office Access 2007 format.
Select the library, such as a document library, where you
want to publish the database, and then click Open.
In the Name box,
type a file name for your database.
Click Publish.
If you have SharePoint 2010 or newer, users in SharePoint can have full CRUD (Create, Read, Update & Delete) capabilities to both the data and even the DB design without having to touch Access once the DB has been published. This is described in more detail here:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Build-and-publish-an-Access-database-to-SharePoint-e68bf007-410c-43b2-bf21-322ddbcf5411
The steps to do so are simply:
Open the Access file
Click 'Save and Publish' in the File menu
Choose 'Publish to Access Services' under the Publish heading
Specify the URL to the SharePoint site you wish to publish it to
I am building an Access Database application in MS Access 2007 which is essentially a tool for data collection which I will need to distribute to various sites to be filled out. After the sites fill out all the necessary records, they will return the tool and I will need to merge all the data from the various sites into a single database for analysis. I have 2 tables and 3 forms with a bunch of custom VBA code behind for data validation, cleaning and flow.
I have a Summary form that shows all the records currently entered. Users can then Add a record using a button on the Summary form which launches a data entry form (let's call it Data Entry Form #1). From Data Entry Form #1, there is another form that can be launched (Data Entry Form #2) for entering child records about the record being filled out on Data Entry Form #1. There is referential integrity enforced at the table level.
The flow from the Summary Form to Data Entry Form #1 and Data Entry Form #2 is important for the integrity of the data. I have dictated this flow explicitly in VBA and will instruct users to always begin at the Summary Form.
After that lengthy background, my question.....
What are my different options, and the relative advantages/disadvantages for the options for deploying this application to my various sites. My basic requirements are:
Ideally users would never see the tables in which the data is being stored in.
The Summary form would launch when opened and they could not open any other form directly.
Closing the Summary form would close the application.
Since there is a bunch of VBA code dictating important functionality, if they did not accept the Security Warning, they would not be able to access any of the forms or use the tool
I can easily script the extraction/export of the data from the two tables for each tool
I am vaguely aware of the following options:
- Distribute the full ACCDB file to the sites
- Create and distribute an AACDE file to the sites
- Use the Access Developer Extensions to "package" the application - create and EXE file?
I have also read that if users do not have Access 2007 or later, that they can download the MS Access Runtime Services and be able to use my application without having to buy/install a full version of MS Access. Can someone confirm this? Does this apply to all of the above (ACCDB, ACCDE, EXE) Is there any functionality that would not be available to them from a strictly data entry role?
Thanks!
You should be able to do most of this with options set within access, plus some code;
Create an accde;
Using that accde, in the options, untick display navigation pane (or something like that); There should be an option to disable the shift key as well.
Set startform to the summary form
Closing the summary form closes the application: In design view of the summary form (in the accdb, before you do the rest of this), create a form_unload event; In this event put
DoCmd.Quit
More of an issue might be whether or not all the sites have the necessary components of ms office to run access 2007, or if you need to provide an access 2007 runtime as well, but I'm not going there. If you need to do this, you'd best ask another question or go hunting for an existing answer.
Hope this helps
If you do want to package the database as a run-time, the MS tools are notoriously flaky when it comes to deploying. A company called SageKey sell scripts that actually work, dealing with the issue of other versions of Access being installed, and many other things.
I've used about three versions of their scripts (ie. for three different MS Access versions), and they have been great.
I'm usually not working with Microsoft products. I have an MS Access 2007 project here, and I know that the MSSQL Server with the Database has some procedures. How can I make them visible? I can just browse trough tables and views...
Thanks and regards,
Jan Oliver
When you say access project, are using the term that you have a project you're working on, or you do specifically mean you're working with an access data project? (ADP). The ms access term ADP has an specific meaning that's very important in your context.
In ms access a good number of developers simply use ODBC linked tables to data is sitting on SQL server. There's also an option in ms access to create what is called a Access Data Project (ADP). When you choose to create an access data project then any view design services such as the relationships editor, table design etc. looks like you're developing inside of the access desktop client, but in fact behind the scenes access is sending DDL (data definition language) commands to SQL server to make those modifications on the server side object. So, you CAN modify server side objects inside of ms-access. No local tables can exist when you create a ADP.
What this means that the version of access and SQL server have to be more closely matched then if you're not using an access data project. If you open up the access database and look in the query table, you should see stored procedures appearing in the list. Access should let you modify them.
So take a look of the file extension, if this is actually an access data project, then the file extension for the access database will be *.adp.
If the file extension is mdb, or accDB, then this is not an access data project, but is a traditional access database in which linked tables to SQL server are being used. This this case of non ADP, then the views and tables you link to will only appear in the tables table. Furthermore ANY design changes you make will be done using the SQL server management tools and NOT the access client. So, changes to tables and views and procedures etc. are NOT made and CAN NOT be made inside of the access client like they can when you're using an access data project. Despite this limitation, most developers prefer using linked tables as opposed to an access data project because of the loose tie between the version of SQL server. In fact you can use even different database servers in these cases such as Oracle or MySql. The other significant advantage of linked (odbc) tables is that the linked tables allows multiple data sources from local files, server based etc. And, you also can have local tables (ADP does not allow local tables in the client).
So your ability to edit or not edit the server side objects inside of access will be determined by the above scenario IF you are in fact using a ADP or not.