Designing a DB for Tract Home Models w/ Many Options and Categorie

[Guest]

I’m relatively new to Access but I have a fairly good understanding of the
basics. What I am faced with is creating an application to create, maintain
and modify “Base House†information for tract home projects.

Our customers give us “rack sets†of plans of houses that they build. We
build floor system, wall systems and roof systems for these houses.

I have looked for a similar template to modify to what I need but just about
all the specific information I need has slightly different criteria based on
the Customer, the Design Category (Floors, Walls, or Roofs) the Model, the
options for each Model and many more. I can’t find anything that even closely
represents what I need.

I have attempted to teach myself how to create what I need and I’m frankly
overwhelmed. Models, and Options, and DesignCategories, and ID’s and multiple
options for multiple design departments and on and on.

What would be my best approach to creating what I need as quickly and
painlessly as I can?

 

[Steve]

Quick and Painless!!!

I will build the database for you for a very reasonable fee.

PC Datasheet
Providing Customers A Resource For Help With Access, Excel And Word
Applications
(e-mail address removed)

 

[John W. Vinson]

I’m relatively new to Access but I have a fairly good understanding of the
basics. What I am faced with is creating an application to create, maintain
and modify “Base House” information for tract home projects.

Our customers give us “rack sets” of plans of houses that they build. We
build floor system, wall systems and roof systems for these houses.

I have looked for a similar template to modify to what I need but just about
all the specific information I need has slightly different criteria based on
the Customer, the Design Category (Floors, Walls, or Roofs) the Model, the
options for each Model and many more. I can’t find anything that even closely
represents what I need.

I have attempted to teach myself how to create what I need and I’m frankly
overwhelmed. Models, and Options, and DesignCategories, and ID’s and multiple
options for multiple design departments and on and on.

What would be my best approach to creating what I need as quickly and
painlessly as I can?

Sounds like several many to many relationships... which aren't all that bad.
It sounds like you have many Houses, each of which can have many Options; you
can handle this with a table of Houses, a table of Options, and a table of
OptionsChosen. The options table might have a field for the design category,
or you might have separate tables for floors, walls, roofs etc. - I don't know
enough about the structure of your data to say.

Take a look at some of these references, particularly Crystal's tutorial and
the Database Design 101 link on Jeff's webpage.

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

A free tutorial written by Crystal (MS Access MVP):
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

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

John W. Vinson [MVP]

 

[Guest]

Yes, thank you, very quick and painless and I'm sure you'd do a great job too.

 

[Guest]

Thank you very much John. I'll let you know how I make out.

 

[Steve]

I did an application like this for a customer who does the same thing you do
which I would modify for what you need.

PC Datasheet
Providing Customers A Resource For Help With Access, Excel And Word
Applications
(e-mail address removed)

 

[John W. Vinson]

Yes, thank you, very quick and painless and I'm sure you'd do a great job too.

Billyrad, you may want to do a quick http://groups.google.com advanced search
for Steve's postings on the newsgroup. At the very least get references from
previous customers and talk to them. Steve's reputation is not very high
around here.

John W. Vinson [MVP]

 

[Steve]

John,

I am really surprised that you would stoop to the level of Arno R, John
Marshall and Keith Wilby!!

Steve

 

[Guest]

Well, I see discussion groups aren't much different no matter where you go.

My reply to Steve is a bit of sarcasm. I need to build this thing myself or
I would have already paid someone to do it.

Don't worry about having a reputation Steve, good or bad; it will only take
your concentration away from you goals, unless your goal is to have a bad
reputation, then in that case... Flame away John!

billyradd

 

[John W. Vinson]

John,

I am really surprised that you would stoop to the level of Arno R, John
Marshall and Keith Wilby!!

<shrug>

If I were offering my own services (which I'm not) I would advise him to get
references and check my posting history. If you have good references and
satisfied customers, let him know.

John W. Vinson [MVP]

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

These newsgroups are provided by Microsoft for FREE peer to peer support,
not for snake oil salesmen to ply their wares.

John... Visio MVP

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

I have yet to see any of steve's satisfied customers, if there are any, come
to his defense.

John... Visio MVP

 

[Steve]

There is nothing good to be said about any of your responses because they
are all worthless responses that do not offer one iota of help to the OP.
You're an embarassment to the principles of being an MVP and all MVPs should
be outraged about how you besmudge MVP.

 

[Steve]

Where is the peer to peer support you offer. All you provide are worthless
responses that do not offer one iota of help to the OP. All you do is waste
the time of everyone who reads your worthless responses.
You're an embarassment to the principles of being an MVP and all MVPs should
be outraged about how you besmudge MVP.

 

[Guest]

....anyway

What I'm needing is; to start out going down the right path. I don't want to
waste any time building it all in Access forms and find out 75% of the way
through that I should have done it the other way.

Ultimately I'd like to be able to use a browser for all user I/O. Have the
database on a local (business office) server. That seems to be best way in my
eyes, maybe not, that's why I'm asking.

Thank you very much.
Please, have some respect...

 

[John W. Vinson]

...anyway

What I'm needing is; to start out going down the right path. I don't want to
waste any time building it all in Access forms and find out 75% of the way
through that I should have done it the other way.

Ultimately I'd like to be able to use a browser for all user I/O. Have the
database on a local (business office) server. That seems to be best way in my
eyes, maybe not, that's why I'm asking.

If you are targeting a web-based application using a browser as the primary
data interaction method, then I would suggest that Access may *NOT* be your
best bet. There have been a couple of attempts to marry Access to the Web
(Data Access Projects = DAP, Access Data Projects = ADP) but neither has
really caught on. You may be better storing your data in a SQL/Server or MySQL
database and using the web database tools (perhaps in ADP, or Dreamweaver, or
the new Microsoft Expression) to build your interface.

Thank you very much.
Please, have some respect...

My apologies if my replay was disrespectful; that certainly was not my intent.

John W. Vinson [MVP]

 

[Pete]

Kind of disgusting to have someone trolling for buesness in a news group to
help people for free. I would block you but then how would I warn other
folks trying to learn.

 

[Guest]

If you are targeting a web-based application using a browser as the primary
data interaction method, then I would suggest that Access may *NOT* be your
best bet. There have been a couple of attempts to marry Access to the Web
(Data Access Projects = DAP, Access Data Projects = ADP) but neither has
really caught on. You may be better storing your data in a SQL/Server or MySQL
database and using the web database tools (perhaps in ADP, or Dreamweaver, or
the new Microsoft Expression) to build your interface.


My apologies if my replay was disrespectful; that certainly was not my intent.

I really should have been more specific in my "respect" comment. You have
NOT been the one showing a lack of respect, John. You have been a huge help.