Creating a database

[Chuck Wintle]

Hey,

I need/want to make a database for equipment used in a lab and was wondering how to go about it. I will use Access 2003 for the job and if someone could direct me to a good self-help/self-teach website that is intuitive enough to get a quick start in the subject.

thx,
chuck

[Jim Rimmer]

I took an 8 hour Saturday course at a local community college and then bought Access for Dummies and have been very successful at using it since then. Check your local community colleges - they may have night courses or weekend classes. I don't know if I could have had success with just the book; the course was very helpful. I googled a few on line things and most are for a fee and based on Access 2010.

[Bill Huber]

I have use Access and it is a very powerful database but I like File Maker Pro better, it is easy to get very nice looking menus and screens and can do everything Access can in most cases.
The screens and menus are made with a drag and drop type interface which is very easy to use. But if you have Access it will do the job, just a little harder to use IMHO

[Charles Wiggins]

Chuck,

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/access-2003-training-courses-HA001118951.aspx

Haven't used it, but it's straight from the horse's mouth.

Cheers,
Charles

[John Coloccia]

Hey,

I need/want to make a database for equipment used in a lab and was wondering how to go about it. I will use Access 2003 for the job and if someone could direct me to a good self-help/self-teach website that is intuitive enough to get a quick start in the subject.

thx,
chuck

What type of information do you want to track? Unless you're doing something very odd with your lab equipment, Excel is likely a far better and simpler choice. Most people just want to track what they have and when calibrations are due. Excel is a wonderful choice to track this kind of stuff.

[Greg Peterson]

If you are going to design a DB, you'll want to start by asking yourself what kind of information you want to get out of it.

[John Coloccia]

If you are going to design a DB, you'll want to start by asking yourself what kind of information you want to get out of it.

YES!!! Precisely. A database isn't for storing information. It's for retrieving information. Stated very elegantly, Greg.

[Brian Tymchak]

Hi Chuck,

Unless you are looking for the personal satisfaction of building your own db, you might consider some of the "template" databases that Microsoft offers. I have Access 2007 and it offers an "Assets" template. I downloaded that to take a quick look and it offers predefined Tables, Queries, Reports, Forms. Even popped up a window for Video Training. For Access 2003, I did a search and came up with an "Inventory Management" template (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT010142603.aspx?tl=2#ai:TC001018458|). I haven't looked at this but it most likely has canned queries and maybe forms to input the data and possibly even reports. Might be something to get you jumpstarted and it might easier to learn from an existing db than to start with a blank db.

Brian

[Chuck Wintle]

Hi Chuck,

Unless you are looking for the personal satisfaction of building your own db, you might consider some of the "template" databases that Microsoft offers. I have Access 2007 and it offers an "Assets" template. I downloaded that to take a quick look and it offers predefined Tables, Queries, Reports, Forms. Even popped up a window for Video Training. For Access 2003, I did a search and came up with an "Inventory Management" template (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT010142603.aspx?tl=2#ai:TC001018458|). I haven't looked at this but it most likely has canned queries and maybe forms to input the data and possibly even reports. Might be something to get you jumpstarted and it might easier to learn from an existing db than to start with a blank db.

Brian
that may be the route for me to take....i had kinda hoped making a database was something that would take an evening but its more complex than I realized.

[Ben Hatcher]

Chuck,
The Microsoft tutorial that Charles suggested is a good one. It will teach you most of what you need to know to make a basic database. I work with Access 2003 every day and would be glad to give you some tips or answer your questions should you get stuck. PM me and I'll send you my phone number if you're interested.

What you want to store is a good question to ask. That will help you determine if Access is even the right tool. Excel could be used as well and it has a much lower learning curve. You can use formulas like vlookup and named ranges to build forms that work very much like Access forms.

[Rich Engelhardt]

i had kinda hoped making a database was something that would take an evening but its more complex than I realized.
LOL!
(You're certainly not alone there!)

Yep...

On the surface - the db world looks shallow and easy. Scratch it a bit and you open up a gateway to a whole universe.
I was a DBA (MSSQL 2000/2005/2008) for the last 10 years of my career in IT & I'm the first to tell you, I only know a little about it.
After the first few weeks of studying SQL, I thought it was easy stuff to pick up.
After the tenth year, I realized how little I really knew.

[Prashun Patel]

I'm with John. Unless the number of records you're storing is greater than several thousand (65,000 to be exact) or you need to allow multiple people to access and edit the data simultaneously, then Excel is a way better choice. It's just more intuitive to design, input, and search for data on a 'small' scale.

The other nice thing is that if you decide in a couple years that you've outgrown excel, exporting the data from Excel to Access or a more powerful database is a snap.

If, like me, IT is a secondary hat for you to wear, then my advice is to KISS...