Access database to save word documents (2000)

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Hi,
Looking for some advice on a database here.
I need to make an access log type database which records certain data. This isn’t a problem.
But what I’d like to be able to do is have a control (or a some other way) that attaches a word document to the record. The reasoning behind this is that a folder is to be set up in a public drive where similar documents will be saved that relate to people. I’d like to record the details of each person, and when the document/documents arrive in the workplace. I can foresee a shed load of documents being stored in a folder with no particular order, hence the linking to the database.
Is this possible, and if so what is the best way to go about doing it?

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You can use a Hyperlink field to store the path of a Word document in an Access table. The user can use Insert | Hyperlink (or press Ctrl+K) to populate the field, and later on click the hyperlink to open the document. If you need to associate many Word docs with a single record in your main table, you will need to create a separate table linked to the main table in a many-to-one relationship.

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Is there anyway to automate this?
Being on a networked system, I suspect that many users will be unwilling to find the Hyperlink to the appropriate word document. Is it possible for the user to ‘attach’ a word document from a source, which is then saved in a specific folder, and then have a hyperlink created to this document?
I think I may be wishing here…………………..

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What do you mean by “attach a Word document from a source”?

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The documents will be emailed, although I suspect that attaching these will be impossible as their not saved.
The user will then save these either in My Documents, or a specific Folder on the Public Drive. What I’d like to do is attach theses by the way of a hyperlink to the database record. Similar to when you attach a file to an outgoing email, you search for the relevant file on the drive………….but do this from the database directly.
So, the user finds the relevant entry in access, clicks on a control (Attach document) that then allows them to search for the file to then attach a hyperlink to the record.

As you can probably tell, I’m not 100% sure how to approach this. My guidelines are to create a database where users can easily record details of files and attached documents to. I’m trying to avoid anything to complicated or indepth. The database will solely contain two tables, TblPeople and TblDocuments. TblPeople to record the details of the individuals, TblDocuments to record the date the document is received, and what it is titled. One to Many relationship.
I’d like to make sure that people have access to each document in relation to each record. Eventually the amount of word documents will enter into the hundreds, hence some form of easy access to them.

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It sounds like you are trying to create a document management system of some kind, and Access is not really suited to this.

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It would effectively be a document management system………………….oh poo

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It would effectively be a document management system………………….oh poo

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I found this thread via a search for help in setting up a document management system. My rather fuzzy plan was to establish an Access database for the purpose. Then I ran into your response to armitageshanks. If “Access is not really suited to this,” can you suggest another approach?

I’ll say up front that we’re not in a situation where we can purchase some off-the-shelf document management software. My situation is similar to the other fellow’s: Writers scattered across the American landscape, East coast and West; draft documents floating about as email attachments. However, I do not foresee a shed filled to the rafters

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Why would you create a database to keep track of half a dozen documents?

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Well…that’s a fair question. We recently finished one phase of a writing project, which involved five finished documents. The biggest piece finished out at 149 pages in .pdf. We experienced some turmoil in writing that document (and others, but I’ll use this as an example). At least four people wrote chunks of the document, each of whom started writing with a blank Word document. Formatting and paragraph numbering schemes were a mess, and almost no one could say with certainty which version of a document was the latest.

As we plan the next round, I propose to identify who will write which chapters, and I will design the template each writer will use. Each chapter will be a separate document (unless someone offers a better approach), and someone (perhaps I) will collect the individual chapters and assemble them into the whole document. While all this is going on, there’s editing, revising, and approval authorities to deal with. I simply want a system to keep track of who’s working on what, what revisions have been recommended, when the work is due and when it’s completed and who has the document at any given moment.

I hope that makes sense.

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It sounds like you are trying to create a document management system of some kind, and Access is not really suited to this.

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> clicks on a control (Attach document) that then allows them to search for the file to then attach a hyperlink to the record

This is precisely what the Insert | Hyperlink menu option (and its shortcut Ctrl+K) does. If you want to do this from a command button, you can set focus to the control bound to the hyperlink field, then use RunCommand acCmdInsertHyperlink in the On Click event procedure.

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> clicks on a control (Attach document) that then allows them to search for the file to then attach a hyperlink to the record

This is precisely what the Insert | Hyperlink menu option (and its shortcut Ctrl+K) does. If you want to do this from a command button, you can set focus to the control bound to the hyperlink field, then use RunCommand acCmdInsertHyperlink in the On Click event procedure.

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The documents will be emailed, although I suspect that attaching these will be impossible as their not saved.
The user will then save these either in My Documents, or a specific Folder on the Public Drive. What I’d like to do is attach theses by the way of a hyperlink to the database record. Similar to when you attach a file to an outgoing email, you search for the relevant file on the drive………….but do this from the database directly.
So, the user finds the relevant entry in access, clicks on a control (Attach document) that then allows them to search for the file to then attach a hyperlink to the record.

As you can probably tell, I’m not 100% sure how to approach this. My guidelines are to create a database where users can easily record details of files and attached documents to. I’m trying to avoid anything to complicated or indepth. The database will solely contain two tables, TblPeople and TblDocuments. TblPeople to record the details of the individuals, TblDocuments to record the date the document is received, and what it is titled. One to Many relationship.
I’d like to make sure that people have access to each document in relation to each record. Eventually the amount of word documents will enter into the hundreds, hence some form of easy access to them.

Reply | Quote

What do you mean by “attach a Word document from a source”?

Reply | Quote

Is there anyway to automate this?
Being on a networked system, I suspect that many users will be unwilling to find the Hyperlink to the appropriate word document. Is it possible for the user to ‘attach’ a word document from a source, which is then saved in a specific folder, and then have a hyperlink created to this document?
I think I may be wishing here…………………..

Reply | Quote

You can use a Hyperlink field to store the path of a Word document in an Access table. The user can use Insert | Hyperlink (or press Ctrl+K) to populate the field, and later on click the hyperlink to open the document. If you need to associate many Word docs with a single record in your main table, you will need to create a separate table linked to the main table in a many-to-one relationship.

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