I was working on project for my company. The requirements are to create an excel report at the end.
The way I am currently coding/thinking.
Remote Server ---> Local Access table --> give user a UI to filter data however they want --> Export to excel.
However, one of my analysts asked me if we can stay away from access and use Excel only. So I was wondering, is there a way to create a "table" like access table in Excel? This way, when I import data from remote server, I can put it in a table (IN EXCEL), create a form for UI, and have everything contained in one file.
I can't paste the raw data into a sheet because of performance issues (however, I have not tried it. I just assume that it is a lot faster to query a 'real' table then to search through excel cells).
Can you think of a alternate solution?
One option is to use Microsoft Query to directly access the remote database. In this case, the users would need to use the UI of MS Query (which isn't the prettiest) for filtering, but it would get the job done without needing the intermediate database.
Here is a good reference from the Microsoft site.
Related
Helo I'm trying to create a calculation sheet in excel that I wanted to have a drop down cell where user could select one product name from a existing access database. I also wanted to retrieve in another excel cell the price of selected product that is also in the access database (like a procv command, but retrieving data from access). Does anybody know how to do it? I wanted to avoid to replicate source access table in excel. I wanted something more direct. I konw some basic VBA if needed.
Unfortunately, directly linking a control in Excel to an Access database isn't going to be possible. These products just weren't intended to work this way. Typically one would create a form in Access and on that form have the combo box reference the table there. Other user input could be added and calculations done etc, and then the final calculated values could be exported to Excel for further manipulation if needed/desired (that can easily be done in VBA).
That said, an indirect link could be done using VBA. You would add the "Microsoft Access 16.0 Object Library" reference library, create a connection, db and recordset objects. There are tons of resources via Google (or here) on how to do this.
With those in place you can conduct SQL queries against the database to pull the data over and update the combobox by clearing it's contents then re-adding from the query. You can put the code to update the combobox in any trigger you need.
Otherwise, the only other way would be to do what you said you didn't want to, replicate the database table in Excel.
I hope this points you in the right direction! Good luck!
Hello and thanks for any help. I'm a noob with Access but my company has asked a question about possibly importing some information for certain records in Access. Basically, I work for an insurance company and they have a claims system which was built in Access about a decade ago by someone who has left the company recently. The system works and is fine for current needs. However, we were recently asked to amend a field for certain records (claims). Because there are about 200-300 records, we are looking at a possible import solution.
The problem is, I have never done this before and am worried that it might affect other records or other fields in the records. The only thing that needs to change is one field and the rest must remain unchanged.
I know the Access table name & record numbers (RecordNo - textbox in Access) and the name of the field I want to change (Reference - textbox in Access) but am unsure how this can be imported, how the excel file needs to be prepared and how to make sure no new records are added but instead existing records are amended.
For instance, can I just have 2 columns, one called "RecordNo" and the other "Reference"? Or do I need to add blank columns to account for the extra columns in the Access table? Do I need to create a named range or an excel table or simply put the columns in Excel? Is there any specific formatting that I should be using (Text or General or something else - the Reference will be a text value as it has both numbers and letters)? When importing in Access using the import wizard, do I need to choose "Append a copy of the records to the table"? How will it know which record to amend as the Access table will contain thousands of records that I don't want changed in any way?
I also have access to the "Navigation Pane" in Access where I can find tables and queries etc and not sure if the records in question can be bulk amended on the table instead?
To make matters more complicated, the Access database is on the server and needs to be accessed by multiple users at the same time so I would ideally like to test this out on a separate copy. But copying it to my own computer does not sever the connection with the copy on the server and any changes are reflected in the original copy immediately.
I tried looking online but I can't seem to find anything that will quash my worries. I can find a few articles talking about importing issues, though not what I would be interested in, but they are all for previous versions of Access and really I can barely understand the current version. We are using Excel and Access 2013.
If possible, I would rather not use VBA as the current database has a lot of it anyway and its's difficult to manage and navigate. I also have no idea about Access VBA, just excel.
Thank you
To make matters more complicated, the Access database is on the server
and needs to be accessed by multiple users at the same time so I would
ideally like to test this out on a separate copy. But copying it to my
own computer does not sever the connection with the copy on the server
and any changes are reflected in the original copy immediately
That is because you are only copying the front end. There is somewhere a separate access file that is the back end. Or it could be a different database system like MS SQL Server or MySQL. So your first task it to find where the actual data is.
Beyond that, under no circumstances import an excel file directly into an existing table. Create an excel file with the necessary fields (record identifier and new value) and import it as a new table, then create an update query to effect the changes you need.
I work for a fairly large hospital in their Decision Support Department. We have several tools at our disposal for querying data, but our way of distributing the information could use some work.
We typically run our query and then copy and paste the data into Excel. From there we create graphs and crunch some numbers before sending the Excel file out via email.
We've recently been given access to our own Sharepoint site and so far it looks promising for document distribution. What I'm wondering though is this; what kind of functionality is built into Sharepoint for building reports that run automatically.
It would be great to take a whack of our monthly query to Excel reports and set them up to run automatically via Sharepoint.
I did some reading about Sharepoint lists and that seems promising, but I thought I'd ask here for the best way to go about this - provided it's even possible.
I guess a good first step would be how to create a report in Sharepoint?
I'm going to assume you're using Sharepoint 2013 and Office 2013.
You have a couple options available to you with Excel and Access. Both methods I'll briefly describe can be automated. In either case, you will need Lists, as they can connect to Excel and Access as tables.
For the Excel route, simply choose the "Export to Excel" option in a SharePoint list. This will create an Excel version of your list, but it's more than a static workbook--that workbook retains a one-way link from SharePoint to Excel, so you can refresh the spreadsheet to reflect the most up-to-date version of your SharePoint list. Furthermore, you can link multiple Lists to a single workbook--you'll have to export each list to Excel individually, but each worksheet will still retain its link to its respective list after you consolidate the spreadsheets into a single workbook. You can save this workbook wherever you like, it'll still keep the link. I personally like to set my linked workbooks up with macros that automatically refresh the spreadsheet whenever file is opened, but that's just me. The reason you might consider this option would be to avoid having to recreate the work of creating graphs and whatever other analytics you're doing--you may well be able to set yourself up such that the graphs and analytics pull live from the table that's coming in from SharePoint.
*Do note that changes you make to list data in Excel isn't sent back to SharePoint--this is done to protect your list.
For the the Access route, you can import a list into Access as a table. This option creates a dynamic link to your SharePoint list the same way the Excel option does--the link is one-way and what you do in Access won't be sent back to SharePoint. You can create queries and reports as you normally would after the table is imported.
in a few words, I would like to use MS Excel together with MS Access, such that Excel is the front and backend, but Access provides the capability for relations between data and sql queries. Is that possible?
In a few words more, I would like to use MS Excel together with MS Access such that :
the 'raw data' is visible and accessible from Excel ((write, modify, delete data entries!)
I can use SQL queries to query my data via MS Access (and hence dynamically create different views on my data as excel sheets)
I can implement relations between the data via MS Access (for consistency checks, etc)
My own research got me here:
I know how to set up access to use an excel table as its data backend (both, linked to or copied from excel)
I know how to send SQL queries from Excel to an access database and display the results in excel sheets
However, here is what's missing:
in Access if I use tables that are linked to Excel, I cannot create relations between tables (access says it's not possible)
in Access if I use tables that are imported (copied) from Excel, I can create relations between tables, but after creating relations I cannot update my import anymore (access says it's not possible, I'd have to remove the relations before)
In any case I have to trigger updates manually ...
Background:
Excel is currently used for project management. The management process often involves 'exploring the data', e.g. assigning people different projects, adding people, adding projects, ... and then seeing how that affects other things. (Hence) it is required that Excel is kept as the platform. But it would be nice to have database feature like linked tables and queries, as data is getting too complex to manage with excel only tools. Also, this is not a large project, but I'm aiming for an easy and not complex solution.
Basically I want to keep excel and everything, I'd simply like some new features (e.g. relating tables, sql-like queries).
So, does anybody have an idea how to go about this?
Thanks a lot!
I have been using a lot Excel as Front-end and Access as Back-end.
Typically, my solutions involve UserForms or ActiveX Objects in Excel Sheets that manipulate and show data that is stored in an Access database. The Excel file and Access file are completely independent, which allows you to create and alter relationships in Access without restrictions. Just make sure you update your queries in Excel. There are even some cases that I use more than one Workbook to access the same Access database.
I make Excel communicate with Access via Excel VBA, using the ADODB. A quick Google search got me to this tutorial.
Cheers,
Tiago
I have office 2003, and i have develop a database from ms access 2003.
What i want is to link ms excel and ms access so as when am updating either of them both will be updated
I know that from within Access, you can add a "linked table" with an Excel worksheet as a data source. This will cause the data in the Excel sheet to show up as a table in Access. When you make changes to the data in Access, the data in the underlying Excel sheet will change. Also, if you open up the Excel sheet and change the values in one of the rows, the change will be reflected when the link in Access is refreshed.
However, there can be issues when trying to link Access and Excel together. You may not be able to edit the same document from Access and Excel at the same time. Also, if you add additional columns or rows to your source data in Excel, you may have to completely re-link the table in Access.
If you are the only user of both the Access application and Excel sheet, you can develop a fairly robust solution using this method. However, you have to be careful with trying to deploy a solution like this with multiple users because you may start to get issues with multiple people trying to edit the same document at one time. At this point, you may need to look at more robust solutions involving a database or SharePoint backend.
As Ben said in his answer it is possible but can easily lead to problems in a multi user environment. I would suggest keeping the data in access and pulling it from excel. Or revisiting if excel is needed at all to update the date (read only reports would be ok)