[AccessD] relationship documenter

Bob,

Even if it won't do what John needs, it sounds like it could be quite useful to me, if you don't mind sharing.

Bryan Carbonnell
bryan_carbonnell at cbc.ca


>>> rjhjr at cox.net 02-Sep-03 2:20:03 PM >>>
On Tue, Sep 02, 2003 at 12:46:38PM -0400, John Colby wrote:
> Has anyone ever seen / designed a documenter for relationships where the
> relationships are NOT specified in the database window?
> 
> I am going through a fairly complex "relational" database where there were
> no relationships established, defining the relationships.  In order to do
> that I am looking at all form's combos to determine the column(0) field and
> the field in the forms query that it is bound to.  I also examine the link
> child / master properties of all subforms on all forms.
> 
> Using this strategy I determine the fields in all tables that have manual
> data input methods.  As I discover each "relationship" I create a
> relationship in the relationship window of the FE.  This allows me to at
> least see the structure of the database as envisioned by the original
> designer.
> 
> It seems like a process that could be automated but I have never done so.
> Has anyone else ever seen a tool that does this?

I'm not sure what you're envisioning, but I've got an app that goes 
through a .dbm file and creates a database of relationships by 
examiming query SQL statements, subform child/parent relationships, 
form RecordSources, and control ControlSources. It generates two 
reports: a standard Access text report showing where each object 
gets its data, and a tree graph showing the flow of data from 
table via queries and forms to control. It needs some work to make 
it more useful for large .dbm files (1,000 or more objects), but I 
and a beta tester have used it on large files.

If this sounds close to what you're looking for, I'll put it on my 
web site and post download directions.