[AccessD] Scroll button

Jim,

Many years ago I built an application that looked for specific controls on a web page (in IE) and 
then grabbed the data from those controls.  I did it to automate responding to job listings on one 
of the job sites.  I would search for jobs, then search the results, pulling data off the screen 
into a table, then filled out a word doc cover letter and emailed it out to the contact.

It worked pretty well, allowing me to automate responses and send out hundreds of letters in an 
organized fashion, logging who I replied to etc.

It seems that if I could find and get data out of a control on a web page, I should be able to find 
and insert data into a control on a web page.

Of course that was back when web pages were just html.

John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com

On 9/9/2010 3:27 PM, Jim Lawrence wrote:
> Hi John:
>
> It is all possible but it requires building automation to do this. I have
> had some experience with screen scrapping but what you want is the
> opposite...auto-screen data web entry.
>
> Because you have no access to the internals of the web site and the site is
> most likely setup to stop any data entry through a custom front end you
> would have to create a looping key logging type app. If you could capture
> all the keystrokes from the moment of website entry, through the form,
> populate the data, save record and loop until done.
>
> Many years ago I had a little command line app that would read from a text
> file and write to the keyboard buffer. I used the kludge technique to upload
> a series of invoices to a closed accounting application...it worked very
> well. If you are interested I can do some digging as the app is over 20
> years old but I am sure I stored it somewhere.
>
> Rather than re-write a screen key pad macro there are now a number of
> products out there that are already built... how good they are I have no
> idea but here is one: http://www.iopus.com/
>
> HTH
> Jim
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby
> Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 11:32 AM
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Scroll button
>
> Ken,
>
> I guess I wasn't clear.  The web site is from the state of Pennsylvania.  I
> didn't write it, nor do
> I get any input.
>
> So I get no input on the right way.  The bottom line is all I need is to
> send them a CSV or similar
> file.  But they don't even accept that.  Nope, every person in the state who
> wants to enter data
> into their system gets to spend hours every week poking data into a web
> form.  THOUSANDS of man
> hours monthly across the state, I am sure.
>
> This is the front end to being paid by the state of PA for all therapists
> and agencies that wish to
> bill the state for services to children (and maybe just services generally).
>
> Do you get a clue why medical costs are so high in this retarded place?
>
> Now for the wrong way.  Yep, it sucks but it has to be better than click /
> click / paste / repeat
> for hours on end.  And my app is at least SOMEWHAT automated.  I am sure
> most are manually TYPING
> the data into the state form.
>
> Asking thousands of people to enter their specific 10 pieces of information
> into 200 controls on a
> "one size fits all" web page, doing this over and over for hundreds of
> billing records every week is
> asinine!
>
> Do I sound irritated?  That would be because I AM irritated.  Stupidity
> irritates me.
>
> 8(
>
> Or maybe this is PA's equivalent of a "full employment" plan, to keep people
> off welfare?
>
> ;)
>
> All of this data is in my database.  I could just press a button, dump it to
> CSV file and email it
> or FTP it to the state, but no, my client hires people for hours every week
> to manually enter this
> into PA's web page.
>
> Sigh!
>
> John W. Colby
> www.ColbyConsulting.com