Newbie alert - TheUncannyScot

[TheUncannyScot]

Hi Folks,

I'm a QHSE Manager and I'm trying to use MS ACCESS to handle our data and help make our systems run more efficiently...
However, I am a total newbie to MS ACCESS.
I have training booked with a reputable provider so hopefully I will learn and improve as I go.

Plans are to have a system that allows us to create a Manufacturing Bill of Materials from our Inventory and Product Lists.
I'm playing around with an Inventory template at the moment.
Have a good understanding of Excel so I know how a flat database works, struggling to get my head around relational databases and all the linked tables etc.
So, apologies in advance if I make a nusciance of myself asking daft questions.

Interests and hobbies?
Outdoors - Hiking and wild camping in the wilds of my beloved Scotland with my dogs.
Reading - Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Comics
Music - Classic Rock / Prog / Metal
Lego... I still build...

Thanks in advance folks.

Oh and remember, in Scotland we don't ask why, we demand how... which explains our knack of inventing a lot of useful things!

 

[Jon]

Welcome to Access World! We're so happy to have you join us as a member of our community. As the most active Microsoft Access discussion forum on the internet, with posts dating back more than 20 years, we have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with you.

We're a friendly and helpful community, so don't hesitate to ask any questions you have or share your own experiences with Access. We're here to support you and help you get the most out of this powerful database program.

To get started, we recommend reading the post linked below. It contains important information for all new users of the forum:

https://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/threads/new-member-read-me-first.223250/

We hope you have a great time participating in the discussion and learning from other Access enthusiasts. We look forward to having you around!

 

[NauticalGent]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Jon]

Yesterday, I watched a really good video of some young lady rambling over what I think was Scotland. She spent 3 days there. Worth a watch!

 

[jdraw]

Welcome to AWF! There are lots of articles, links to videos in the Database Planning and Design link in my signature.

 

[GPGeorge]

First, I will offer the opinion that a Manufacturing Bill of Materials from your Inventory and Product Lists is jumping into the deep end of the pool for your first relational database application. BOM is one of the most (what is the right word here) "challenging" databases to get right. On the other hand, if you have previous experience with the subject matter, that will help a lot.

I suggest two templates as references before you start creating tables. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...emplates-e14f25e4-78b6-41de-8278-1afcfc91a9cb

Begin with the Starter Edition to get your feet wet. Then study the inventory module in the Developer Edition.

 

[TheUncannyScot]

Yesterday, I watched a really good video of some young lady rambling over what I think was Scotland. She spent 3 days there. Worth a watch!

Hi Jon,
Ah, Wild Beare (Claire), I watch some of her videos on YouTube. She mostly covers Wales, Snowdonia area.

If you want to see some good hiking videos of Scotland, check out Hounds Of Howgate, Shan Outdoors or A Scotsman Outdoors on YouTube

 

[The_Doc_Man]

First, welcome to the forums. If you have a specific question, create a new post in one of the topic forums. The forum software lets us know when new messages arrive. You'll figure it out.

I'm with GPGeorge on the difficulty of your first choice. Since you mentioned it, I'm going to offer advice. Since this is a database forum, you can do a search for topic "Normalization" - which will help you get out of the Excel flat-file mindset. But you can also do a general web search for help. If you do so, search for "Database Normalization" because you want to limit your responses. "Ordinary" normalization also applies to mathematics, chemistry, psychology, medicine, and international relations, to name a few options. Also, if you do a web search, start with the responses you see from the .EDU domain - only because you want to avoid the .COM domain where you might run into a lot more advertising than for .EDU domains. Once you get past the first few articles, you should be OK in the .COM domain as well.

Normalization will help you with parent/child relationships, which are crucial in most real-world applications. A BOM app will probably involve an invoice or shipping list where each line-item in the list should be part of a child table. Normalization helps you optimize the efficiency of your DB as well. We can say this with confidence because all modern general DB products are relational. The rules for relational DBs are derived from math - more precisely, set theory - which means ALL databases that claim to be relational will follow more or less the same rules. And therefore if you can become comfortable with normalization, your designs will become that much better.