[AccessD] Cross referencing records - ideas

Hi Bruce

Though it probably won't help you much, what you're describing is
pretty much how Lotus Organizer works. Information of many kinds -
notes, addresses, calendar entries, to-do list, etc. - can easily be
linked or chained to each other and these links act as hyperlinks.

But perhaps you can get some ideas for the GUI ...

/gustav


> I am after the concept for a solution.  I guess I'm having as much
> trouble describing it as conceiving it.  However, you have created a
> germ of an idea here.   Lets see if I can explain it more clearly.

> A part of the (much) larger job quoting/pricing system involves
> 'actioning' pricing on parts.  That is, once they have figured out a
> configuration to suit the customers needs of a machine, they search
> around for the best component supply price both locally and on the web.
> This actioning may take several days and involve several different
> people in several different offices.  As they traipse around doing this,
> they enter notes regarding the component supply for the job.  To do
> this, we use a popup form off the jobcard form into which the user
> enters his notes.  When they close the popup, the note is appended to
> the "job_history" field on the job card.  (In fact, its prepended so
> they appear in reverse order.)  

> For example, Joe rings his mate at ShonkyPCParts and gets a quote for
> $98 for a mini-keyboard.  He opens the job card form up and clicks the
> "ADD a note" command button.  Up comes the popup and he enters "Spoke to
> Fred down at Shonky's, they can give us the kbds at $98 if we can use
> 250 of them" and closes the form.  The job card job_history is updated
> and now reads:
> "19 Jul - Joe Bloe - Spoke to Fred down at Shonky's, they can give us
> the kbds at $98 if we can use 250 of them
>  18 Jul - Sam Snoe - some prior comment by Sam ...... Etc"

> Now, lets say Ben Crow also needs mini keyboards for another job, he and
> Joe can make up a need for a total of 280 of them.  Joe adds a new note
> to the file.  The history now reads:
> "19 Jul - Joe Bloe - Ben C can help us make up the kbd order for his POS
> job for Bigbank
>  19 Jul - Joe Bloe - Spoke to Fred down at Shonky's, they can give us
> the kbds at $98 if we can use 250 of them
>  18 Jul - Sam Snoe - some prior comment by Sam ...... Etc"

> This is where the issue lies.  What they would like, is some way to
> easily link Joe's job with Ben's job and vv.  Now, there is no natural
> key for the job cards - we excluded this on purpose in the design.  You
> can see one of the ways a jobcard may be referenced above: (broker=Ben,
> client=Bigbank, jobtitle=...POS...).  This is a typical (not the only)
> way these guys refer to a job.  Now Ben, over the course of time, may do
> more than one POS job for Bigbank, but usually only one is active at a
> time, if there were more than one they would call them differently.

> What the germ of the idea is, is this.  

> There must be some way of letting them create a hyperlink to the job and
> attaching the hyperlink to the referencing phrase.  That is, in the
> above hstory : "POS job for Bigbank" would be the link text and the
> hyperlink would be to the PK for Ben's job card.  

> The question now becomes, "How feasible is this?

> I could easliy add a cmdbutton on the ADD a note popup to open a search
> for other jobs.  I can use selstart etc to position the link.  I can
> build the html easily enough.  What I would need to do is change the
> textbox for note entry to some sort of edittable html control.  Any
> ideas?  And change the history display textbox on the jobcard form to a
> webcontrol (as its not directly edittable).

> Is this clearer?  What do ou think of the solution?  Should I go back to
> gardening?