Tina Norris Fields
tinanfields at torchlake.com
Mon Aug 26 14:07:53 CDT 2013
Very enjoyable and informative response. Thanks a bunch. TNF Tina Norris Fields tinanfields-at-torchlake-dot-com 231-322-2787 On 8/26/2013 1:53 PM, Charlotte Foust wrote: > If you need a Word document, then by all means use Word. I've built Notice > of Action letters (health insurance language) in Access because I didn't > want to have the hassle of integrating a Word document into something that > required boiler plate interspersed with variable detail information and > variable lookup information. It was extremely complex and resulted in 2 > back to back letters to each recipient, one in English and then one in > Spanish. The number of total pages depended on the number of detail items, > the county of service, the particular medical benefits plan involved, and > the specific reasons for denial or payment by line item. The result was > usually about 8 pages of mixed boiler plate and individual and customized > data. We ran them in batches of 250 - 500 at a time printed to PDF. We > also had to be able to go back and enter a claim number and reprint any of > the letters on demand. > > I built it in Access because I could nest subreports, group several times > on a single value (i.e., language), and handle the variables in Access > easier than I could in Word. I had subreports nested 4 deep. Each > subreport could grow and shrink, as could the groups they were in. They > weren't required to be perfect Word documents, so the wrapping was largely > controlled by the ffixed width of the control it appeared in. No automatic > hyphens, etc., but acceptable. > > Access may well be the hard way for what you're doing, but it isn't because > the report generator is clunky, it's because it is extremely powerful. As > with dot net, once you learn the essentials and the scope of possibilities, > everything looks like an Access report. ;-} > > Charlotte > > > On Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 5:59 PM, Tina Norris Fields < > tinanfields at torchlake.com> wrote: > >> Hi Charlotte, >> >> Maybe I was doing the wrong things. Both you and Susan have supported the >> concept of making this into an embedded Access report. >> >> My experience was that the contents of the merge fields varied in size and >> the text of my "letter" didn't wrap well, so I didn't get the kind of >> paragraph spacing and formatting that I get with Word. When I found I >> could not add postal bar codes to my Access labels, but it was a snap with >> Word, I took these experiences together and said "forget it." Ever since, >> I have set up the data source in Access and the form letters and labels in >> Word. >> >> I'm willing to learn. >> >> Best, >> >> TNF >> >> Tina Norris Fields >> tinanfields-at-torchlake-dot-**com >> 231-322-2787 >> >> On 8/25/2013 4:19 PM, Charlotte Foust wrote: >> >>> I've built incredibly complex reports in Access and never found it >>> "clunky". I would be interested to know what "clunky" behaviors you have >>> had problems with. >>> >>> Charlotte >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 10:24 AM, Tina Norris Fields < >>> tinanfields at torchlake.com> wrote: >>> >>> Susan - :-) >>>> For number one - I did, and it didn't work - they still moved it - in >>>> fact, they didn't even realize that they were moving it. "Hey, I'm just >>>> editing it to bring it up-to-date, and I'll keep it here where I can >>>> easily >>>> find it again next year. I'm not moving it, I'm just updating it!" >>>> >>>> For number two - yeah, except that the Access report writer is so clunky >>>> - >>>> still, you may be right. I'll noodle on that one for a while. The >>>> executive director will want to update it periodically, which will >>>> require >>>> my assistance, but I can live with that. >>>> >>>> >>>> TNF >>>> >>>> >>>> >> -- >> AccessD mailing list >> AccessD at databaseadvisors.com >> http://databaseadvisors.com/**mailman/listinfo/accessd<http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd> >> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.**com<http://www.databaseadvisors.com> >>