Access database using Internet Explorer

[Steven Stewart]

I have a database with an Employees table and a DataRecords table. It
is a one-to-many relationship.

Would it be possible to allow the Employees to enter their own records
via the web using internet explorer? In fact, ideally they would need
to login with some sort of EmployeeID and password (would this be stored
in the Employees table?) and then they would have certain access rights
(i.e. able to add a record, view/print certain reports). It would also
be necessary for a manager/administrator to have full access.

This would be ideal because it would save on having 50 employees fill
out sheets and hand them in to another employee who has to enter 250
records every month. It would also allow the employee to view their own
reports, or their team's reports, without having to make calls or send
e-mails, etc...they could just login and view what they want.

Well, this is uncharted territory for me, but I have been asked about
the possiblity of doing this. What options are there? Thanks!

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[Rich P]

Access can be used with Internet Explorer through ASP (Active Server
Pages), but you have to have a server that is running Internet
Information Server (IIS - this server comes standard with any Microsoft
Server).

The only problem with Access on the Web is that if more than one or two
people access it at the same time, Access will crash. A more reliable
solution would be Sql Server which is designed for multi-user use on the
web. One option with Access though, is that you could add an ASP which
would only allow one user at a time to access Access.

Coding in ASP is a little bit more sophisticated than VBA. This means
that it is not as intuitive, not as easily picked up on the fly like VBA
where you have dropdown lists for everything. For 50 employees to use
Access on the web, I may question the reliability. If it were like 5
employees, Access would probably be an OK solution. But 50, hmmm.
Rich

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[Lyle Fairfield]

Rich P <rp*****@aol.com> wrote in news:3fc5146f$0$88385$75868355
@news.frii.net:

Access can be used with Internet Explorer through ASP (Active Server
Pages), but you have to have a server that is running Internet
Information Server (IIS - this server comes standard with any Microsoft
Server).

The only problem with Access on the Web is that if more than one or two
people access it at the same time, Access will crash. A more reliable
solution would be Sql Server which is designed for multi-user use on the
web. One option with Access though, is that you could add an ASP which
would only allow one user at a time to access Access.

Coding in ASP is a little bit more sophisticated than VBA. This means
that it is not as intuitive, not as easily picked up on the fly like VBA
where you have dropdown lists for everything. For 50 employees to use
Access on the web, I may question the reliability. If it were like 5
employees, Access would probably be an OK solution. But 50, hmmm.

Rich

I know of many ASP-JET applications where thousands of users may be
connected to the web server at one time. They do not crash. Of course, they
are designed to minimize time of connection to the database. So who can say
how many concurrent db users there are?

If one uses Visual Interdev, (and I suspect many other development
platforms), Intellisense is fully implemented for ASP, VBScript, ADO,
JScript and Javascript.

I am a huge fan of SQL-Server but I see its main value as far as small
Internet enabled applications go as being the base for ADPs.

--
Lyle
(for e-mail refer to http://ffdba.com/contacts.htm)

[rkc]

"Rich P" <rp*****@aol.com> wrote in message
news:3f***********************@news.frii.net...

Access can be used with Internet Explorer through ASP (Active Server
Pages), but you have to have a server that is running Internet
Information Server (IIS - this server comes standard with any Microsoft
Server).

The only problem with Access on the Web is that if more than one or two
people access it at the same time, Access will crash. A more reliable
solution would be Sql Server which is designed for multi-user use on the
web. One option with Access though, is that you could add an ASP which
would only allow one user at a time to access Access.

So you're saying that if there is a need to add 250 records a month to a
Jet database via a web interface there is an imminent danger of the Jet
Engine burting into flames?

I'd wager Jet could handle 250 inserts from 50 different "users" in a
60 second span of a single day. That's assuming they could each fill
out 5 forms and submit them in that time span.

With a web interface you are not entering data into a bound form that
requires a connection to the database. The connection to the database
is established when the form is submitted and is held for the few seconds
it takes to insert the data.

The question is not whether Jet is an O.K. solution. The question is what
makes up the rest of the solution. Dabling in ASP is an option depending
on the skills base of the dabler and how soon a solution is desired.

[Rich P]

Truth be told, I have never experimented with Access this way. I have
used Access(97 and 2K) on the web, but only for classes. This one
Instructor for a javascript class I took (a PhD maniac, and he was a
maniac) said Access would die as I had described. I had not thought
about ADP, but I am sure ADP would be fine. The original post was about
Access, not an ADP. I guess I could have suggested ADP before Sql
Server, but I am mainly a Sql Server guy now, although my roots are in
Access (DBase3+ actually, but then I went on haitus for 10 years and got
back on the Access wagon just as Access2 was leaving the scene).

Rich

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