Sending Access information into a Word document with a twist?

[GoBruins]

hi all,

from browsing this newsgroup, i'm become somewhat familiar with taking
Access data and merging it into a Word document using bookmarks.

but, how about if i want to store the Access data on a website? so from
a web based form, click on a button that merges the web-based access
data into a local computer's Word document. does the Word bookmark
method still work given this scenario?

or, is this a case where i need to employ XML?



thanks in advance.

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

If I wanted to use Word, I would probably do it the other way around -
create an add-in in Word to retrieve the data from the remote database,
rather than trying to automate Word on the client from a Web-based app.
There are some serious security issues to be considered before allowing a
Web-based app access to client-side resources. Think about what could happen
if your Web site got hacked.

An alternative would be to use a reporting solution designed for the Web,
such as SQL Server Reporting Services.

 

[GoBruins]

hi, and thanks for your reply.

what would this "add-in" entail? would it be rather straightforward?

and also, would this solution be smart enough to link to a remote
database on the web?

 

[GoBruins]

hi, and thanks for your reply.

what would this "add-in" entail? would it be rather straightforward?

and also, would this solution be smart enough to link to a remote
database on the web?

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

There are too many unknowns involved here to answer in any detail, notably
what server-side technologies are available on the server. If you can get a
Web Service on the server to return the data you want, calling such a Web
Service from Office XP or later is quite easy. Developing the Web Service
itself can be a non-trivial task.

Really, I just don't know enough about your situation to do much more than
speculate here.

 

[GoBruins]

how about a generic Windows hosting plan like this:

http://www.lunarpages.com/windows-hosting/

would that do the trick? i don't mind paying more for a more
comprehensive service if it can do what we need.


thanks again.

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

The web page says they support ASP.NET so a Web Service is certainly a
possibility. But whether that is the best match to your needs I can not say,
as I don't know what those needs are.

 

[GoBruins]

hi, and thank for the reply.

what would this "add-in" entail. is it something that i buy, or
something that i can build/program.

and also, would this solution be smart enough to link a database hosted