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Database design helps

Hello,

I need to create an Access database for a computer lab (30 computers).
It will be use to replace the manual students sign in/out each time they
use the lab computer. It will contain: L Name, F Name, Computer number,
Date, Sign in time, and Sign off time. I need to be able to save the
data.
I can think of two options and need recommendation which is the best for
this situation.
1) Create a database to put in one delicated computer so students can
sign on/off the database when they use the computer.
2) Create a database to be installed in a network on all 30 computers so
students can sign on/off at the computer station they are using.

* if option 2 is choosing, what programing code can I do to force
students to log on/off from the computer every time before they can
access the Windows screen (desktop).
Thanks for any help. GREATLY APPRECIATED
Cameron

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Nov 13 '05 #1
3 1300
Cam Hua wrote:
Hello,

I need to create an Access database for a computer lab (30 computers).
It will be use to replace the manual students sign in/out each time they
use the lab computer. It will contain: L Name, F Name, Computer number,
Date, Sign in time, and Sign off time. I need to be able to save the
data.
I can think of two options and need recommendation which is the best for
this situation.
1) Create a database to put in one delicated computer so students can
sign on/off the database when they use the computer.
2) Create a database to be installed in a network on all 30 computers so
students can sign on/off at the computer station they are using.

* if option 2 is choosing, what programing code can I do to force
students to log on/off from the computer every time before they can
access the Windows screen (desktop).
Thanks for any help. GREATLY APPRECIATED
Cameron

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!


One solution would be to have a program that executes and writes the
login name and date/time to a text file on the network when a person
logs in and when a person logs off.

Then each day you could run an append query to append the names,
login/logoff, and date/time to Access.

You can create the following. Goto Start/Run and enter Command

In Dos, enter
Edit Testing.Bat
then enter the following
Echo Off
Echo %Username%
Echo %Date%
Echo %Time%
Echo On
then save it.

From DOS, enter
Testing

You should see your name and the date and time. This assumes you have a
UserName environment variable

I remember you could generate a Txt file with the DOS command
COPY CON

I forget how close the Txt file with the F6 (required for copy con)
within the batch file. Been a few years...You might want to ask in a
DOS group that can tell you how to generate a text file on the fly with
COPY CON that would hold the above info.

You can then append the text file. Let's say you write the above data
to Single.Txt. You want to append it to Group.Txt. You could create a
batch file that does this
Copy Single.Txt+Group.Txt Total.Txt
Del Group.Txt
Ren Total.Txt Group.Txt

You would want the text file to exist, be appended, on the network.

Now how you can have the batch file execute upon logout...don't know.

Actually, this is something someone in a network newsgroup could help
you out on. In fact, if you talk to the network admin at your site, he
can probably help you on setting up a user log in/out file.

Doing something like this removes the user from the hassle of signing
in. He just needs to log into the network to have this file be created.

Nov 13 '05 #2
Salad,

Thanks for the advice, but it will not work on my case, because users do
not log on the computer with user account. The 30 computer workstation
is alway on with the desktop screen. The only reason for the tracking is
so to see how many users use the computer and for what purpose each
term.

Cameron

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!
Nov 13 '05 #3
Cam Hua,
There isn't anything easy in Access that will capture who logged on/off at a
given time. It is *much* easier to do if the machines in the lab are using
Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000, or Windows XP and you set the
machine(s) up so everyone has to log in. With the price of a network card
down around $25.00 list I'd make sure each machine has a NIC and is
networked together or networked to small Windows NT Server running a local
workgroup.
Basically there are easier/harder ways to do this. One is to have a logon
script run some simple Visual Basic code that would append to a data file
the logon name, etc. of a registered user. The code would also have to
include an exception handler for new users so they can be registered and
then log on. The other way to do this is to build your Access database so
it is a shell that runs the software available on that machine. Then
whenever someone starts the computer their user interface is your Access
database and they can only use the software supported by your database.
If this were my project I'd probably go with writing a small executible in
VB that logs signon/signoff to a file that my Access database could then
later process and import any new data.

"Cam Hua" <lu***********@novellus.com> wrote in message
news:41*********************@news.newsgroups.ws...
Hello,

I need to create an Access database for a computer lab (30 computers).
It will be use to replace the manual students sign in/out each time they
use the lab computer. It will contain: L Name, F Name, Computer number,
Date, Sign in time, and Sign off time. I need to be able to save the
data.
I can think of two options and need recommendation which is the best for
this situation.
1) Create a database to put in one delicated computer so students can
sign on/off the database when they use the computer.
2) Create a database to be installed in a network on all 30 computers so
students can sign on/off at the computer station they are using.

* if option 2 is choosing, what programing code can I do to force
students to log on/off from the computer every time before they can
access the Windows screen (desktop).
Thanks for any help. GREATLY APPRECIATED
Cameron

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!

Nov 13 '05 #4

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