[AccessD] Automating Outlook from Access

[jimdettman at verizon.net]

John,


 
  Since you areselling something, and taking orders and payments on-line, it's an e-com site. 


 
  Maybe not in thetraditional sense your thinking of with a site being totally about sales (likeAmazon),  but any site that sellssomething on-line falls into the "e-com" site category.


 
  That's true eventhough you are creating your own custom site and not using someone else'splatform like Big Commerce's.


 
Jim.

-----Original Message-----

From: AccessD On Behalf OfJohn Colby

Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 11:43 AM

To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving <accessd at databaseadvisors.com>

Subject: Re: [AccessD] Automating Outlook from Access


 
Jim, I am not "getting orders from an e-commercewebsite" I am getting

orders from my own custom written website.


 
On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:27 AM Jim Dettman via AccessD<

accessd at databaseadvisors.com>wrote:


 
> John,

>
 
> <<I don't understand the fascination withPolling.  >>

>
 
>    It's not afascination with polling.  Pollinganything is inefficient

> and should be avoided.  As you know, it's far better to have a push

> notification, which of course is what you aregetting with the e-mail.

>
 
>    But gettingthose e-mails relies on a lot of additional layers and

> processes, where you could be going direct to theserver. With e-mails,

> there's just a lot more opportunity for things to gowrong.   A simple

> example; your anti-virus updates and now youre-mails go to your junk

> folder.

>
 
>    I'd be verysurprised if your web site doesn't have a database

> associated with it. Almost any e-com site does these days. If that is the

> case, why would I want to rely on all the additionalthings associated with

> sending/receiving e-mails and scrape the data, whenI could go direct to

> the source and get the data strictly defined?  That's my point.

>
 
>    As far aspush vs poll, the way e-com sites handle that now is that you

> subscribe to a "feed", which gives you apush notification when data is

> available. Then you jump out and get it.  Soyou are not stuck with

> polling.   Butif your site doesn't have that functionality, then you'd be

> stuck with a poll situation.   I don't think that would be the end of the

> world though and well worth it rather than relyingon an e-mail process.

>  With thatlevel of ordering, a poll every five or ten minutes is certainly

> not going to kill a server.  Plus you get the added benefit of knowing the

> web site is up and reachable.

>
 
>    With allthat said, since you are in control of things, the e-mail

> approach will be workable.   But it's not the approach I'd be taking if I

> had a choice getting order data from a web site.

>
 
> Jim.

>
 
> -----Original Message-----

> From: AccessD On BehalfOf John Colby

> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2021 4:12 PM

> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving<

> accessd at databaseadvisors.com>

> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Automating Outlook fromAccess

>
 
> This is not an Amazon site selling 100K pieces ofjunk a week.  This is a

> custom written app for a very specific market, withvery specific

> professionals buying it.  The app is very specific and solvesregulatory

> requirements for these professionals.

>
 
> The total market size is under 100K.  I expect an upside down bathtub sales

> curve.  Once aperson buys one, it will auto renew, and / or emails

> soliciting renewal.

>
 
> I want the whole thing to be email driven.  All the professionals use

> Microsoft Office, that is a known.  I expect to email an attached database

> initially, with an email license extension key whenthey renew.  I expect

> to automate Outlook on their end as well such thatthe key comes in, I

> intercept it and process the key.

>
 
> I will "poll" a server if I must but Idon't see that as an attractive

> design.  Sofar, Outlook automation has worked a treat. Emails come in, an

> event is raised by Outlook, it is hooked by Access,and everything relative

> to that order just happens.  Within seconds of pressing buy on the sales

> server an email is on the way.  Outlook collects it's mail periodically (is

> that polling?)

>
 
> I don't understand the fascination withPolling.  We (citizens) get dozens

> or hundreds of emails every single day.  Email is a known, old, well oiled

> technology. Our company owns the sales server, I personally own (wrote)

> the dedicated email receiver program processing theorders, we own the

> dedicated email address, we own the custom app thatis being sold.

>
 
> If what I am doing works, then 98% of sales will behandled entirely

> automatically, programmatically.  Shipping is by email attachment.  License

> renewals is by email.  Sales is via the web site.

>
 
> So tell me why Polling is superior?  So far every single person replying

> has suggested polling.

> There must be some reason it is the preferredstrategy.  I'm baffled.🤔

>
 
>
 
> On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 10:52 AM Jim Dettman viaAccessD <

> accessd at databaseadvisors.com>wrote:

>
 
> > << Yep. Until the web site goes down, the database corrupts, gets

> > hacked, or

> > a million other problems that web siteshave.>>

> >

> >  Well ifany of that is true, you probably are not going to get an e-mail

> > anyway.

> >

> >  I don'tthink I'd be relying on receiving an e-mail.  But that's me and

> > as you say, there are a bunch of ways to dothis.

> >

> > Jim.

> >

> <<snip>>

>
 
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>
 

 

 
-- 

John W. Colby

Colby Consulting

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