[AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net(was: Pollon Access2 007)

Darryl Collins Darryl.Collins at coles.com.au
Mon Jun 29 21:46:34 CDT 2009


Generally this is how I work these days.  The customer nearly always want an Excel based solution, but for security I usually store all the data in SQL Server and just pull into the workbook the recordset they want. Ideally you can just hook a Excel pivot table directly to a recordset if it is only reporting they are after.  This gives the best of both worlds.  The end user can present the data however they want, but your source data in nice and secure back in SQL Server where it cannot be tampered with easily.

Often I just build it this way and show the clients.  The clients are usually quick to see the advantages of this approach over the old way of doing things, especially when the Excel front end is secure, self repairing and their data cannot be lost, even if the workbook is totally destroyed.

cheers
Darryl.






-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Jim Lawrence
Sent: Tuesday, 30 June 2009 12:36 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net(was: Pollon Access2 007)

Hi William:

I have done a lot of graphics through spreadsheets... a number of my users
like excel and like to see a spreadsheet or two in which to play. There is
no harm in that as they are just results.

A couple of years ago I built a whole dynamic spreadsheet with a number of
forms and recordsets, with ranges instead of tables for a Real-estate
company back East. That was real hard work as apposed to Access as much of
the data had to be validated with each command as users could screw with the
data. As per emails there is some more work coming up...?

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of William Hindman
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 1:45 PM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net(was: Pollon Access2
007)

Jim

...the only Office automation I was ever guilty of was Word merges and 
e-mail which can be done with .net.

William

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Jim Lawrence" <accessd at shaw.ca>
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 4:16 PM
To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'" 
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net(was:	Pollon
Access2007)> Hi Rusty:
>
> Tough decision...build a stand-alone database in .Net and forget office
> automation or stick with a dying product to be able to provide that
> integration?
>
> If only MS would build .Net into Office and provide a temp fix, upgrade or
> conversion process. Now it is one or other.
>
> Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of
> rusty.hammond at cpiqpc.com
> Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 7:41 AM
> To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net (was: Pollon Access2
> 007)
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rusty Hammond
> Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 9:37 AM
> To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
> Subject: RE: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net (was: Pollon
> Access2007)
>
> I guess I don't see the upgrade costs to Access 2007 as a problem for the
> client.  With the 2007 runtime being a free download, I'm the only one 
> that
> needs to upgrade to Access 2007.
>
> I do agree there is a lot more cost to me in time spent getting up to 
> speed
> on/converting to 2007 and that's hard to go to the client and say "it took
> me X number of hours to figure out how to to do this in the new version, 
> so
> I'm going to bill you for that" when they already have a working 
> application
> in 2003.  So as a developer I have to decide where my time is best spent,
> learning .Net or Access 2007.
>
> Rusty
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dan Waters
> Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 9:21 AM
> To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net (was: Pollon
> Access2007)
>
> Hi William,
>
> A Retainer . . .  Excellent!  I could only wish.
>
> The argument of upgrade to VB.Net vs. upgrade to next version of Access is

> a
> good one.  I'm also finding that some of my customers who didn't 
> originally
> plan to expand beyond their LAN, now want other company branches to use 
> the
> system on their WAN.  So do we use Access on Citrix or Access/ADP or 
> VB.Net?
> My suggestion will be VB.Net to avoid future Access upgrade cost and also
> uncertainty of the Access changes that MS will be making.
>
> Thanks!
> Dan
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of William Hindman
> Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:23 AM
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Converting Customers to VB.Net (was: Poll on
> Access2007)
>
> Dan
>
> ...everyone is different ...look at the monster machines jc's clients pay
> him to play with :)
>
> ...my road to VS was through the web ...a major client wanted to convert 
> his
>
> website from static html to a data driven one using the data in his Access
> app ...I wanted no part of web work being perfectly happy working with
> Access, so I recruited another AccessD'r I knew did web work to do it 
> ...but
>
> then the client's ISP got real picky about some dlls that he wanted to use
> and the client got antsy about turning his data over to a third party 
> ...so
> I wound up doing it myself ...never again.
>
> ...I bought a 3rd party tool that was supposed to be the end all in Asp
> development ...big mistake ...I got the site running but just barely ...so
> in desperation I turned to the new VS5 Express tool that MS had just
> released ...it was free after all ...and I've never looked back ...the VS
> Web Developer Express Edition was a joy to use and .net turned out not to 
> be
>
> all that hard to learn even for an old codger like me ...and the client 
> was
> happy.
>
> ...as for Access app conversion to VS, you have to understand that I'm on
> retainer with most of my clients and pretty free to experiment ...so when 
> a
> client's office manager choked on the Office 2007 upgrade changes I 
> started
> moving his apps ...still on A2k3 with a lot of his stuff but the new stuff
> in VS has him smiling (and his office manager) ...then another client 
> wanted
>
> a major upgrade and I sold him on VS8 vs A2K7 and so far so good ...the
> majority of my work is still in A2k3 but now I can demo apps in both and 
> the
>
> sell on VS8 vs A2k7 is pretty easy
>
> ...I focus on the roi in VS and SQL Server Express vs the costs of 
> upgrading
>
> to 2007 ...a ten employee office upgrading to O2007 is looking at a lot of
> money invested in training and conversion costs (jc isn't exaggerating the
> screen real estate problems and training issues at all) ...and in my case,
> it doesn't cost them a great deal more to go the VS route and they end up
> with a lot more flexibility ...things they just could not do with Access 
> and
>
> Office are now just a matter of how badly do they want it.
>
> ...I'm a long way from being proficient in VS8 Pro or SQL Server but its
> like back in the days with Access 2 ...you look, you ask, you try and
> eventually something works ...and every so often the light bulb gets a dim
> glow :)
>
> ...hth
>
> William
>
>
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