DATABASE / DYNAMIC REPORTING DESIGN

  • Thread starter Thread starter apileggi
  • Start date Start date
A

apileggi

I am New to Access, not new to VBA in Excel or Visual Basic 6.0

I am working on a database in Access 2003 that is to do the following:

Take test results from measurements done on certain units (gathered via
a visual basic program I made earlier), store them in an Access
database. The end-users will then have to be able to query the database
by selecting maybe 3 parameters, and then a report needs to be created
to showcase the data. I already have the information going from the VB
program to a bunch of excel files. Then there is a VBA Excel app that
concatenates all the data and makes one report summary sheet in Excel.
I am having trouble with the design because I don't know the capability
of Access, or the best way to program the functionality I need. The
goal of this database is for the user to simply select three query
parameters and have the EXCEL report generated dynamically everytime.

I am having trouble designing it beyond the top level explanation I
just gave. If anyone has done something similar or can suggest a method
of implementing a project like this... it would be much appreciated.
 
Why use Excel to report when Access has powerful report facilities of its own?
You can import Excel data into an Access table and run the reports from
there. Access has all the capabilities you will need for specifying
parameters and generating reports.
In fact, there is probably no need to use Excel at all unless you have to.

Dorian.
 
What if the Excel files are fairly complex entities on their own,
complete with VBA scripts to check for failures in tests, graphs to
display averaged results and data displays that depend on different
work sheets within the entire workbook. The Excel report book itself
contains 12 pages of data. Can Access make charts with as much
functionality as Excel does? Can I make charts that display bar graph
data from one table, and then show a straight line depictings say
specification data from another table (on the same chart?). I just
don't want to have to completely redesign the background calculations
and macros from the already LARGE excel summary reports.

Thanks
 
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