Complete beginner please help xx

K

ktismename

hi

I work part time as an admin and the factory powers that be have
decided, that I have to make a database!!
This was no problem at first. I created tables for each month with all
the data they want included.

But now they want me to calculate the difference between 'date raised'
"time raised" and "finished date" "finished time"

I really am a total beginner and dont have a clue where to start i
have purchased access for dummies but i still cant figure out what to
do (clearly im dummer then the author thought!!!)

If anyone can help talk me through it step by step i would be
eternally grateful
Regards
Katy Turner :)
 
J

John W. Vinson

hi

I work part time as an admin and the factory powers that be have
decided, that I have to make a database!!
This was no problem at first. I created tables for each month with all
the data they want included.

But now they want me to calculate the difference between 'date raised'
"time raised" and "finished date" "finished time"

I really am a total beginner and dont have a clue where to start i
have purchased access for dummies but i still cant figure out what to
do (clearly im dummer then the author thought!!!)

If anyone can help talk me through it step by step i would be
eternally grateful
Regards
Katy Turner :)

Well, in my experience the Dummies books are decent for learning how to use an
existing Access database, but they're pretty much useless if you're trying to
develop a new one. Access is a complex program with a steep learning curve (as
you're discovering!); my favorite reference book is the _Access <version>
Developer's Handbook_, in two 800-page volumes of dense and difficult text.

But you can get a lot done without going to that extent. I'll post my list of
favorite resources at the end of this message.

What you need for this question is to create a Query based on your table,
using the DateDiff() function to calculate the time spent. I would very
strongly suggest that you NOT have "tables for each month" - you should have
ONE table with a date field, and you can use a Query to select out the data
for a given month (or any other date range), calculate differences between
dates in different months, and many other benefits. I'd also use one Date/Time
field containing both the [Date raised] and [Time raised], though it's easy
enough to combine them.

It's not clear from your post just how your data is stored or what result you
want so I'm hesitant to post a query expression that might lead you off in the
wrong direction; post back with more specifics if you want to persue this. And
do check out these resources, especially Crystal's video and tutorial:

Utter Access discussion forum and resources:
http://www.utteraccess.com

Jeff Conrad's resources page:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

The Access Web resources page:
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/index.html

Roger Carlson's tutorials, samples and tips:
http://www.rogersaccesslibrary.com/

A free tutorial written by Crystal:
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

A video how-to series by Crystal:
http://www.YouTube.com/user/LearnAccessByCrystal

MVP Allen Browne's tutorials:
http://allenbrowne.com/links.html#Tutorials
--

John W. Vinson [MVP]
Microsoft's replacements for these newsgroups:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/accessdev/
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/addbuz/
and see also http://www.utteraccess.com
 
B

Bob Quintal

m:
hi

I work part time as an admin and the factory powers that be have
decided, that I have to make a database!!
This was no problem at first. I created tables for each month with
all the data they want included.
Your first problem is that you have a table for each month.
It should be a single table, with each row having a data which
identifies the month it belongs in.
But now they want me to calculate the difference between 'date
raised' "time raised" and "finished date" "finished time"

Access date fields store both date and time. If you are using two
fields, you will need to do some complex mathematics to get the
difference.

First get the difference of the times, using the built-in function
datediff()

timebetween = datediff("n",[time raised],[Finished time])
daysbetween = datediff("d",[date raised],[Finished date])
now you need to add the time number, divided by the number of minutes
in a day, to the days
totalbetween = daysbetween + (timebetween/1440)

That will need to go in a visual basic module as a function/
 

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