Searching a Database

[Guest]

I have a strange situation. I work for a Government Contractor, and the
people I work with arent very computer savey. We work on aircraft and have
to order a lot of parts. We currently have a card file with all the part
numbers, stock numbers, and other information to do this. They nominated me
to create a database in order to make ordering parts a faster process. I can
do this, in fact I have it half completed. I currently open Access, open the
database, select edit, click find, type in my search, and select what field
in order to search the database. My question is. Is there any way to
simplify this process for the other individuals I work with. I am looking
for the fastest, most simple way to search a database. The fewer the steps
or clicks the better. Any help would be appreciated. I can be reached by
e-mail at (e-mail address removed)

 

[james.igoe]

Create a form:

- combobox (drop down with field) containing fields from table
- textbox that takes value to search for
- button to execute query
- button to reset form

Set startup option to open form

 

[John Vinson]

I have a strange situation. I work for a Government Contractor, and the
people I work with arent very computer savey. We work on aircraft and have
to order a lot of parts. We currently have a card file with all the part
numbers, stock numbers, and other information to do this. They nominated me
to create a database in order to make ordering parts a faster process. I can
do this, in fact I have it half completed. I currently open Access, open the
database, select edit, click find, type in my search, and select what field
in order to search the database. My question is. Is there any way to
simplify this process for the other individuals I work with. I am looking
for the fastest, most simple way to search a database. The fewer the steps
or clicks the better. Any help would be appreciated. I can be reached by
e-mail at (e-mail address removed)

Certainly this can be made friendlier, probably much friendlier.

For one thing, users should probably NEVER see table datasheets, *at
all*. Forms are much more powerful, friendlier (if correctly
designed!), and safer for the data.

You can use the Combo Box Wizard on the form to put a combo to find a
particular part (for example). You can also use the "Query by Form"
technique to let the user search any field or combination of fields.

The "best" way to search depends very strongly on what kind of search
is required, on the structure of the database, on the skills of the
users, etc. etc. There will be tradeoffs: it's very easy to do a
"lookup search" on just one field (find a given part number); a
complex search involving many fields is more powerful, but
correspondingly less understandable. This is why good database
designers charge fees for their services...

Note that these newsgroups are intended for public discussion, and a
are staffed by unpaid volunteers like me. Private email support is
generally reserved for paying customers; and it's unwise to post your
email address, since spammers routinely harvest addresses from the
newsgroups.

Good luck, and feel free to post back (on the newsgroup) with some
more details if you have specific questions!

John W. Vinson[MVP]

 

[Guest]

mr moboy,

This is the type of situation that Query By Form (QBF) is designed for. I'm
not talking about the QBF that is built into Access; rather, I'm talking
about a custom QBF form where you use VBA code to build the WHERE portion of
a SQL statement on-the-fly.

I have a sample that I can send to you, if you'd like to receive it.


Tom Wickerath
Microsoft Access MVP

http://www.access.qbuilt.com/html/expert_contributors.html
http://www.access.qbuilt.com/html/search.html
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