automation question

[Ellen]

We recently lost our access expert and I know enough about access to open it
up and do some very basic functions. I received the following request from
an IT support area and I have no clue if this is possible.

Here's the questions he sent to me:

One of my customers is building some Access forms to allow for a user built
data entry system. I found out today she is planning to run 1 or more macros
to use the output from these forms to build an access table.

I've been asked to build an automated process to read this table, reformat
it as an output file and pass it to another area for processing every night.

I need to know what options are available for doing this. Is there a way to
automatically have Access run these macros when you open or close the DB, or
when you save data on one of the access forms? Can my VB application somehow
run the Macros? Would it make more sense to have my VB app read the output
files from the forms and build the table before I process it?

Any suggestions that I can pass on would be appreciated.

 

[Nikos Yannacopoulos]

Ellen,

See my comments below.

HTH,
Nikos

We recently lost our access expert and I know enough about access to open it
up and do some very basic functions. I received the following request from
an IT support area and I have no clue if this is possible.

Here's the questions he sent to me:

One of my customers is building some Access forms to allow for a user built
data entry system.

So far so good.

I found out today she is planning to run 1 or more macros
to use the output from these forms to build an access table.

Any chance you/she actually meant *populate* an Access table (or more)
from the forms? To "build" (as in "design") a table from forms doesn't
sound right.

I've been asked to build an automated process to read this table, reformat
it as an output file and pass it to another area for processing every night.

No problem with this.

I need to know what options are available for doing this. Is there a way to
automatically have Access run these macros when you open or close the DB,

Yes, both.

or when you save data on one of the access forms?

Again, yes.

Can my VB application somehow run the Macros?

Would that be a VB6.0 app or something? I mean, a non-Access app? Or are
you referring to VBA code within the Access app? In the latter case it's
a definite yes; in the former case, I'm sure a way can be found, though
I'm not an expert on VB6.0.

Would it make more sense to have my VB app read the output
files from the forms and build the table before I process it?

Now it looks more like you are indeed referring to a non-Access app.
Like I said, I'm not an expert on the subject, but I know for fact that
VB6.0 can read data directly from an Access back end. That said, you
probably don't need to export at all, just make your app read directly
from the mdb.

 

[Ellen]

Nikos,

Thank you for the information. I passed this onto the person who needs this
information and it answered the questions that he had.

Ellen