Contact Manager

[Jason M]

Does anyone know an easy way to make a web site that acts as a contact
manager?

Or does anyone know where I could find more info on how to create a web site
that links to a database on a web server and is able to update that database
by accessing with a username and password?

Or if you can do the same thing as above but place the database on a local
server and allow local users to access without a username and password but
be able to access through their web browser?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Arvin Meyer [MVP]]

Not specifically an Access question, but rather a database question. "Easy"
is a relative term. I've created web applications and Access client
applications. In my experience, the Access front ends are significantly
easier to create. For access on a local LAN, I wouldn't even dream of
wasting my time with a web application. On a WAN however, it really depends
upon the number of users, and what they are doing. I prefer a Terminal
Server using Access front-ends for up to about 50 users. After that, a web
front-end usually makes more sense.

That said. The web applications that I've done used ASP pages to access both
JET and SQL-Server databases through an IIS server. One could also use
Dreamweaver to create pages with Cold Fusion on an Apache server. I
personally prefer the Microsoft solution because I think it's better
integrated.

Lastly, if your database is a simple list or even a few lists, you might
consider using a SharePoint page and server.
--
Arvin Meyer, MCP, MVP
Microsoft Access
Free Access downloads
http://www.datastrat.com
http://www.mvps.org/access

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

'Easy' is, of course, a relative term. Personally, I would not describe the
development of any non-trivial web app as 'easy', and I would not describe
the development of a contact manager app, web or desktop, as 'easy'. But I
guess it depends on your definition of 'easy'.

That said, Microsoft's solution for dynamic, data-centric web pages is
ASP.NET. To learn about ASP.NET, you can start here ...

http://www.asp.net/Default.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1

There are non-Microsoft solutions as well, of course, but I don't know
enough about those to comment on them.

 

[Jason M]

We have a company of about 15 employees and we are simply looking for a
"shared" contact list without having to go out and buy Exchange and pay a
ton of money for something that may be as simple as sharing a database. I am
a novice when it comes to databases and integrating them into anything but I
do have limited knowledge on how to create a website. I thought maybe
someone would have a free web-based application using ASP or something like
that. Thanks for any additional info you can provide!


--
Jason Michel
(e-mail address removed)
(remove ns. for direct email)

 

[Arvin Meyer [MVP]]

If everyone is at 1 location, it would be ridiculous to spend the time and
money to build a web page. Just use the template that came with your Office
installation of Access, and modify it if necessary to do what you need. If
you open Access and add a new database, you will get a choice of which
template to use. If you can't find it, try re-installing office and make
sure you have "Run All from My Computer" chosen for the install.

If your employees are scattered and require a wide-area connection, then a
web app may be the answer. I don't know of any free web-based apps out
there.
--
Arvin Meyer, MCP, MVP
Microsoft Access
Free Access downloads
http://www.datastrat.com
http://www.mvps.org/access

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

The ASP.NET Portal Starter Kit at the following URL includes a contact list
module ...

http://www.asp.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabindex=5