accessnewbie2009
AccessNewbie2009
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- Feb 23, 2009
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I’m a complete Access beginner with some rudimentary questions. I have done quite a bit of reading online and some basic tutorials, and am a bit overwhelmed with information. Any pointers to set me off in the right direction would be much appreciated.
What I aim to achieve with Access is, I think, relatively complicated. I understand that concept design is key to creating an effective DB, so I would like to outline my status and goals in the hope of receiving some ideas that will help me avoid obvious mistakes at this early stage.
BACKGROUND: HR DATABASE
My company uses Excel to collect employee data from international subsidiaries. This is mostly qualitative data such as name, work location, job title, language ability, training programs attended, future potential, etc. There is also a little quantitative data, like # of subordinates, years of service. In total there are/will be around 35 fields. We get this from each company separately as we do not have an international intranet or shared server.
My impression is that Access will be difficult to use via e-mail due to the likely file size. So I would like to find a way to consolidate all these Excel tables into Access to enable better searching/filtering/reporting, etc. The data in the Excel sheets would be updated 1/yr, and the new data will need to be synchronized into Access.
Data will be used for tracking purposes. For example, to generate reports on things such as employee responsibilities (e.g. # subordinates; P/L accountability), employee development (i.e. promotion through the ranks), turnover (e.g. who left the company, when and why), employee performance and future potential, etc.
BASIC INITIAL QUESTIONS
1. The data we want going forward is a bit different to what we have collected up to now. I guess we should not import any current data, and should instead design new Excel tables and the Access DB based around what we want for the future. Correct?
2. What problems might I encounter with importing data from multiple Excel files? Would there be additional issues if I want to break the data from one Excel sheet into several different tables in Access? (e.g. have personal details in one table, language skills in another, etc.)
3. The big one: Given the rough outline above, what might be the best way to approach the design/structure of the Access DB?
Any other tips would also be appreciated.
Many thanks.
What I aim to achieve with Access is, I think, relatively complicated. I understand that concept design is key to creating an effective DB, so I would like to outline my status and goals in the hope of receiving some ideas that will help me avoid obvious mistakes at this early stage.
BACKGROUND: HR DATABASE
My company uses Excel to collect employee data from international subsidiaries. This is mostly qualitative data such as name, work location, job title, language ability, training programs attended, future potential, etc. There is also a little quantitative data, like # of subordinates, years of service. In total there are/will be around 35 fields. We get this from each company separately as we do not have an international intranet or shared server.
My impression is that Access will be difficult to use via e-mail due to the likely file size. So I would like to find a way to consolidate all these Excel tables into Access to enable better searching/filtering/reporting, etc. The data in the Excel sheets would be updated 1/yr, and the new data will need to be synchronized into Access.
Data will be used for tracking purposes. For example, to generate reports on things such as employee responsibilities (e.g. # subordinates; P/L accountability), employee development (i.e. promotion through the ranks), turnover (e.g. who left the company, when and why), employee performance and future potential, etc.
BASIC INITIAL QUESTIONS
1. The data we want going forward is a bit different to what we have collected up to now. I guess we should not import any current data, and should instead design new Excel tables and the Access DB based around what we want for the future. Correct?
2. What problems might I encounter with importing data from multiple Excel files? Would there be additional issues if I want to break the data from one Excel sheet into several different tables in Access? (e.g. have personal details in one table, language skills in another, etc.)
3. The big one: Given the rough outline above, what might be the best way to approach the design/structure of the Access DB?
Any other tips would also be appreciated.
Many thanks.
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