Outlook 2003 front end to Access database

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Guest

I want to use Outlook 2003 as a front end to an Access database.

It's a simple Access Database. Mostly contact information with a few sort
fields.

Do I create an Outlook form, add fields and reference the Access database
and fields in their properties? Not sure how to do this. Are there white
papers available? Is it covered in a resource kit?

Can you give me a jump start?

Jack
 
This is not a simple project. The details (and there are a lot of them)
depend on what you want to see, both in Outlook's main window and on an
individual item's window. You've given only the barest sketch of what you
have in mind. Think about questions like these:

1) Will users be allowed to update the database from Outlook?

2) What fields do you want to show in the main Outlook window?

3) What do you want to show in the window for an individual item?

4) What should happen if the user deletes the item in Outlook? In the
database?

In the meantime, you might find the information and database sync tools
listed at http://www.outlookcode.com/d/database.htm useful.
 
Sue, thank you for the response; I highly respect your expertise and
experience. Let's start over.

We have an Access database that contains a 3-4 thousand contacts. We use
this Contact database to sort and send targeted newsletters, Christmas cards
and the like. The contacts in the Access database (in Outlook lingo) are
assigned to multiple categories. (Newsletter1, newsletter4, Christmas card)

Ultimately, I want to import the contact info (easy) into Outlook and import
the other fields into Outlook "Categories". Can I import Access fields into
Outlook Categories?

This is all starting to sound pretty difficult, since even fields on custom
forms are not show up for mapping.

Then I read I could use Outlook as a front end to an Access Database.

Preferably, I'd like to get the Access database imported to an Outlook
Contact and scrap the Access database; avoiding the mess you refer to
earlier. I have looked at the url you sent and found a link to contactgenie;
do you think this will accomplish the job?
 
You'll have to try ContactGenie to see if it does the job for you. Or use
one of the import/sync tools listed on the database.htm page I mentioned
earlier. Alternatively, write your own code to iterate your Access table or
query and create corresponding Outlook items. It sounds to me like this
might be the best approach since you may need to concatenate several Access
field values into the Categories field.

I haven't heard anything yet, though, to explain why you want to move away
from the Access database. Unless you're working in an Exchange environment,
if you put the data all in Outlook, it can't be shared, you know.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
I have an Exchange environment and would like to share the folder across the
enterprise. Give the dozen or so people who own the contacts access to it.
Allow a few administrative folks to keep the data scrubbed. They are all
Outlook users so it is a familiar application for them. Using Categories to
sort out a list is fairly trainable.

The standard Outlook Contact card works if I could import some of the Access
fields into the Outlook contact fields.

It's only 3-4 thousand; could do it the hard way. Import the standard
contact fields, create the Categories and manually assign.

I'm concerned if I commit this effort to Outlook, whether I'll be able to
export all the information out, should I want to change back in the future to
another database solution. Can I export the Category fields in Outlook
contacts? What are your thoughts?

For this reason I was thinking front ending Access with Outlook was a better
solution.

I'll try one of the import/sync tools and ContactGenie.

The database is so simple, no concatenation is needed. However, writing my
own code is not in the cards, but I easily move around creating custom
fields/forms.
 
In that scenario, I'd massage the data in Access, using a Make Table query
if necessary, until I got it to look exactly the way I wanted in Outlook. I
haven't tried importing from Access to Outlook's Categories field. Why don't
you try it and see for yourself?

Writing a front-end in OUtlook to hook into a database is a very complex
project.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
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