Andy Lacey
andy at minstersystems.co.uk
Sun Dec 14 10:31:21 CST 2003
Martin Well Gustav originally said: >>We have the same need. As it is close to impossible to create and maintain a set of demo-data that mimics real life, we >>pick a copy of a relevant client's data and "anonymise" these by renaming all customers and other identifiable data (like >>employees' names and project names) to fantasy names." I took that a little further with: >>At the moment I like your idea Gustav of deliberately "corrupting" the rest of the data so that it's there but >>unrecognisable. If I did that to selected fields (names, addresses, phone nos, email addresses and so - not too many I >> don't think) I think that would do nicely. I guess I could even do it by encryption so that it's reversible. That way my >>on-the-road salesperson could "corrupt" all but one customer, then un-corrupt all after first meeting and re-corrupt all >>but a second customer when they get to the next place." Andy > -----Original Message----- > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Martin Reid > Sent: 14 December 2003 14:37 > To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > Andy > > I missed that post. Just out of interest can you explain how > it would work? > > Martin > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Andy Lacey" <andy at minstersystems.co.uk> > To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'" > <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2003 4:41 AM > Subject: RE: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > Hi Susan and Martin > > > > Actually I'm really happy with Gustav's suggestion to scramble the > > other data, so there's no rewite involved but to clarify. > > > > To access the main customer screen with the customer's > basic details > > one needs to identify the customer. Ok you can enter his > unique code > > but who's going to remember all of those? No, what you do > is pull down > > the combo, enter the start the start of his name and > navigate to the > > right entry. And being as a single customer name (imagine a large > > conglomerate) may appear many times because each subsidiary is a > > customer you need to be looking > out > > for the right company name and location. > > > > Then customers have orders, they have projects, they have invoices, > > they have contact names, quotations, contracts, > manufacturing jobs and > > so on > and > > so on and so on. So, to give an example, to display a contract's > > details (without going via the main customer screen which > you can do > > but don't hve > > to) one can, if one knows it, enter a contract number, but > no-one does, so > > what the user does is pull down a combo which again shows > customer and > > enough details to identify the contract. And this kind of > exercise is > > repeated over and over again in order to give users rapid > access to the > > screens and/or reports they want. And the info on the combos varies > > according to the type of data being sought (financial, production, > quality, > > distribution....). > > > > So it ain't easy - but I think a variation on Gustav's approach > (encrypting > > and de-encrypting the data) will work great, and thanks to everyone > > who contributed their ideas. > > > > Cheers > > > > Andy Lacey > > http://www.minstersystems.co.uk > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > > > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Martin > > > Reid > > > Sent: 14 December 2003 09:05 > > > To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving > > > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > > > > > > Could you drop the combo and have them key in the company > name then > > > do a filter? > > > > > > Open a blank form? > > > > > > Just bouncing ideas to avoid a rewrite > > > > > > Martin > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Andy Lacey" <andy at minstersystems.co.uk> > > > To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'" > > > <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > > > Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2003 7:41 AM > > > Subject: RE: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > > > > > > > No Martin that's just not so in this case. How, for example, do > > > > you use a combo to select something without displaying the > > > records around > > > > the one > > > you > > > > need? It's not a training issue. > > > > > > > > Andy > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > > > > > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of > > > > > Martin Reid > > > > > Sent: 13 December 2003 15:26 > > > > > To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving > > > > > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Of course the simple appraoch is to train up the users. > > > > > > > > > > Martin > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > From: "Andy Lacey" <andy at minstersystems.co.uk> > > > > > To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'" > > > > > <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > > > > > Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2003 5:44 AM > > > > > Subject: RE: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > No, but if I encrypt (ie scramble in a structured way) > > > then I can > > > > > unencrypt > > > > > > that one and encrypt another customer afterwards. > > > > > > > > > > > > Andy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > > > > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On > Behalf Of > > > > > > > Gustav Brock > > > > > > > Sent: 13 December 2003 12:02 > > > > > > > To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving > > > > > > > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi Andy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I see. But my idea wouldn't work if the sales person was > > > > > > > visiting several clients per day - except if all > > > customers were > > > > > scrambled and > > > > > > > he brings a list telling which real customer, > say, "McAllen > > > > > > > & Daughters Ltd." represents. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > /gustav > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Not sure what you mean by "mixed up" Gustav. Take one of > > > > > > > many screens. > > > > > > > > Here you can select a financial period and > year; select a > > > > > > > customer or > > > > > > > > a customer group or leave blank for all customers, hit > > > > > Print and a > > > > > > > > report will show the orders for those criteria, a > > > summary of > > > > > > > > expenditure, render it into GBP if it was export and so > > > > > > > > on. > > > > > > > And that's > > > > > > > > just one of many, many examples. Now the pitfalls are > > > > > that a) the > > > > > > > > sales person may/will drop down the combo to choose the > > > > > customer, > > > > > > > > thereby showing other customers or b) may inadvertently > > > > > select the > > > > > > > > wrong customer and print the report (and hand it > > > over to his > > > > > > > > client before he realises his mistake - aargh!) > or c) hit > > > > > > > > Print without selecting a customer and therefore list > > > > > activity for all > > > > > > > > customers. This is the sort of thing I'm talking > > > about. And as > > > > > > > > I > > > > > > > stressed right > > > > > > > > from the start there are oodles of such situations in > > > > > the system > > > > > > > > so attacking each one individually is not an option. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > At the moment I like your idea Gustav of deliberately > > > > > > > "corrupting" the > > > > > > > > rest of the data so that it's there but > unrecognisable. If > > > > > > > I did that > > > > > > > > to selected fields (names, addresses, phone nos, email > > > > > > > addresses and > > > > > > > > so - not too many I don't think) I think that would do > > > > > > > nicely. I guess > > > > > > > > I could even do it by encryption so that it's > reversible. > > > > > > > That way my > > > > > > > > on-the-road salesperson could "corrupt" all but one > > > > > customer, then > > > > > > > > un-corrupt all after first meeting and re-corrupt all > > > > > but a second > > > > > > > > customer when they get to the next place. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > Andy Lacey > > > > > > > > http://www.minstersystems.co.uk > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------- Original Message -------- > > > > > > > > From: "Access Developers discussion and problem > solving" > > > > > > > > <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > > > > > > > > To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" > > > > > > > > <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > > > > > > > > Subject: Re: [AccessD] Sort of like a filter only not > > > > > > > > Date: 12/12/03 13:44 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi Andy > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hmmm ... but why are the data initially mixed up? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > > > AccessD mailing list > > > > > > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/a> ccessd > > > > > > > Website: > > > > > > > http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > > AccessD mailing list > > > > > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > > > > > > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > AccessD mailing list > > > > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > > > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/a> ccessd > > > > > Website: > > > > > http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > AccessD mailing list > > > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > > > > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > AccessD mailing list > > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/a> ccessd > > > Website: > > > http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > AccessD mailing list > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > AccessD mailing list > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/a> ccessd > Website: > http://www.databaseadvisors.com > >