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| Thread ID: 64080 | 2005-12-02 09:03:00 | Access Database | Stu927 (9347) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 409410 | 2005-12-02 09:03:00 | Access Database Experts: I would appreciate advice regarding whether or not MS Access Database can easily send the same message to a interest group - some of which have email and the rest of which need the same stuff mailed by snail mail. I am about to start learning the MS Access programme and would prefer to know up front if I will be wasting my time with this key requirement. My job is runing a membership group (club) -some of the members still use the 45 cent envelope and the mailman. Thanks for any help or references of where to go for more info. Is there user group for MS Access on this forum somewhere? Stu |
Stu927 (9347) | ||
| 409411 | 2005-12-02 09:39:00 | Hi Stu and welcome to Press F1 What you are asking for can easily be handled by Access. If some of the users want snail mail then they will get a report (this is the standard Access way of producing letters, reports, graphs etc). If others want an e-mail, then they should have an e-mail field in the relevant table and Access can easily send them an e-mail instead. As far as I'm aware there isn't a special Access group here. If you are looking for one then there is an Access forum over at MrExcel (www.mrexcel.com) - although some of the users here are the same as some of the users over there so hey, it's all the same to us..... In any case, a useful support centre is the MS support website (office.microsoft.com) - I often find things I need using their search facility. Lastly, if you are new to Access have a read of this webpage (datamodel.org) on data normalisation. Lastly, Access is a great tool if you take the time to learn to use it properly. I would also recommend a book or two to help you get started. Whilst it is rewarding, don't let the learning curve put you off. If you have any specific questions, just post a reply or make a new thread! Andrew |
andrew93 (249) | ||
| 409412 | 2005-12-02 10:39:00 | Hi Stu, I agree with Andrews comments especially regarding getting yourself a book on Access. You should be able to pick up something cheap or from your local library. In regards to forums, its best to use a site that is specific to the subject. This is quite a wide ranging forum but its main focus is on PC issues rather than a particular app. I have found Utter Access (www.utteraccess.com) to be very good and theres loads of information there. A book will give you the basic grounding and then forums in general will get you specific answers that supplement what you have learned. hth |
Parry (5696) | ||
| 409413 | 2005-12-02 10:59:00 | Hi Graham I was going to mention the Utter Access forum but I find it really hard to navigate my way around when trying to find things, so I stuck to the one we use. Another Access forum is Access World Forums (www.access-programmers.co.uk) - although some of the contributors aren't quite as friendly as they could be.....make sure you read the FAQ's Stu before posting a topic there. As Graham mentioned, the internet is a wealth of information. To get you started, there are some good sites here (www.mvps.org), here (www.fontstuff.com) and also here. (http://www.helenfeddema.com/) Lastly, (and this is more Parry's forte than mine), make sure you aren't using a sledgehammer to crack a nut Stu. What I mean is that sometimes Excel will do the job just as well, for example Excel can do letters using the mail merge functionality with MS Word. Hopefully this is all good food for thought.... A |
andrew93 (249) | ||
| 409414 | 2005-12-02 20:27:00 | Thanks Andrew, hadn't heard of Access World Forums so will check it out. Good point about mail merge where you have a few options. You can actually mail merge from Word to both email & letters so you can store your data in Access (or Excel if you dont want to store as a relational set of data) then use Word to create your letters and email messages. | Parry (5696) | ||
| 409415 | 2005-12-02 20:51:00 | Hi Stu. You didn't say what it was that you were going to send out to your club members - or how big the club mailing list. A Word Table database will handle a fairly comprehensive membership list with a variety of feilds of interest and will form the base document for a subsequent Mail Merge without ever leaving Word. All the best. | Scouse (83) | ||
| 409416 | 2005-12-02 22:44:00 | If you want to learn Access anyway, this would be a good project to get some skills. Bear in mind, though, it locks you to MS Office Professional. Also there are many ways to skin a cat (no animals where harmed in the uttering of this cliche). I would use Access because a/ I prefer it to Excel b/ it is a relational database which means to have a good basis for adding extra functionality c/ the standard template databases may provide a good basis for the database already. As for emailing, Access could use an email "object" to send the emails. You could use it via Outlook or see if you can find a self contained email component for Access (which avoids the use of Outlook). |
dolby digital (5073) | ||
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