:?: Need advice on how to create searchable database :?:

[sandrina]

Hello everyone,

My name is Debi and I am an Administrative assistant with a large
company in their sourcing department. I was hired one month ago, and
walked in to a HUGE filing nightmare. My boss requires a paper copy
of everything to be saved and filed. The vendors we purchase from
produce hundreds of different products, with enough paper to
sometimes fill half a filing cabinet on their own.

Anyway, after discussing everything and realizing their catagory based
filing system wasn't working (" this e-mail talks about both product a
and product b, where does it get filed?"), we decided to go with an
indexed based system, kinda like a beginning version of your library.
Every piece of documentation is assigned a number and filed under that
number. An index is kept, so if my boss wants costing on a lamp, I go
to the database, type in what I need, and it brings it up.

This is where the problem lies. We initially tried Excel, but found
the search engine lacking. I'm trying acess now, but I can't find a
way to query the whole database to bring me a list of every record
that has the word (words, sometimes) I'm looking for.

For example, I have records:

File #: 23
Vendor: Company B
Type of Document: Cost Sheet
Type of Item: Lamp
Description: Standing floor lamp with fringes and a red shade.
File # 45
Vendor: Company B
Type of Document: Cost Sheet
Type of Item: Table Lamp
Description: 2 ft table lamp, brass fixtures, blue handpainted shade.
If I have those two records, I need to be able to find the first
record if I search for "company B lamp", or if I search for "stand
floor lamp red shade" or "cost sheet floor lamp". With queries it
seems like that unless I type "standing floor lamp with fringes and a
red shade", that it won't bring me the record. I also may need to find
just lamps, whether they be table or standing or whatnot.

Can access help me with this, and if access won't, could Filemaker?
HELP!!!

[Trevor Best]

sandrina wrote:

If I have those two records, I need to be able to find the first
record if I search for "company B lamp", or if I search for "stand
floor lamp red shade" or "cost sheet floor lamp". With queries it
seems like that unless I type "standing floor lamp with fringes and a
red shade", that it won't bring me the record. I also may need to find
just lamps, whether they be table or standing or whatnot.

Can access help me with this, and if access won't, could Filemaker?
HELP!!!

Where description like "*lamp*"

[Lyle Fairfield]

de*************@vcf-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (sandrina) wrote in
news:ZK********************@giganews.com:

Can access help me with this, and if access won't, could Filemaker?
HELP!!!

Yes it can, but, IMO, it is not the preferred solution. Indexing Service is
available on Windows Based systems. It costs nothing. It indexes the
documents on a local computer or on a server. It has a very sophisticated
Search Tool.

**** From Windows XP Help ****
Indexing Service

You can use Indexing Service to index documents and document properties on
your disks and store the information in a catalog. You can also use
Indexing Service to search for documents, either through Search on the
Start menu or through a Web browser.

To start using Indexing Service, do any of the following:

Open Indexing Service. (Click)
Open Indexing Service Help. (Click)
**** End ****

Perhaps Indexing Service has not been used to its best advantage. Perhaps
that is because its documentation is less than simple and its search
language arcane. Nevertheless, it is extremely powerful and, IMO, will blow
away any Access application. One of its great advantages is that the
Service maintains the catalog(s)/indexes. You have only to start the
Service, specify the Directories to be indexed, and query the Catalog.

You can do this with the Indexing Service utility, with a program such as
Access, or other program. You can even use the Windows Search utility
prefacing your search string with "!".

****

If you don't have time to learn and to implement Indexing Service then you
might also consider a Desktop Search Engine, such as Google, or Yahoo. My
favourite is Copernic. These are all free, although more powerful versions
may be sold.

****

MSDN Indexing Service Start Page is:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...l=/library/en-
us/indexsrv/html/indexingservicestartpage_6td1.asp

****

Hmmm, what did I forget? Oh yes, Indexing Service Searches are
instantaneous. And Indexing Searches can be much more powerful than SQL
Searches with less work, eg "red head" or "redhead" and ("telephone
number" near 905) and intelligent not tall.
--
Lyle Fairfield

[Phil Latio]

If you're not up to creating a database use something like Google
Desktop Search.
I find it rather good.
Just my 2 penneth!

Phil

sandrina wrote:

Hello everyone,

My name is Debi and I am an Administrative assistant with a large
company in their sourcing department. I was hired one month ago, and
walked in to a HUGE filing nightmare. My boss requires a paper copy
of everything to be saved and filed. The vendors we purchase from
produce hundreds of different products, with enough paper to
sometimes fill half a filing cabinet on their own.

Anyway, after discussing everything and realizing their catagory based
filing system wasn't working (" this e-mail talks about both product a
and product b, where does it get filed?"), we decided to go with an
indexed based system, kinda like a beginning version of your library.
Every piece of documentation is assigned a number and filed under that
number. An index is kept, so if my boss wants costing on a lamp, I go
to the database, type in what I need, and it brings it up.

This is where the problem lies. We initially tried Excel, but found
the search engine lacking. I'm trying acess now, but I can't find a
way to query the whole database to bring me a list of every record
that has the word (words, sometimes) I'm looking for.

For example, I have records:

File #: 23
Vendor: Company B
Type of Document: Cost Sheet
Type of Item: Lamp
Description: Standing floor lamp with fringes and a red shade.
File # 45
Vendor: Company B
Type of Document: Cost Sheet
Type of Item: Table Lamp
Description: 2 ft table lamp, brass fixtures, blue handpainted shade.
If I have those two records, I need to be able to find the first
record if I search for "company B lamp", or if I search for "stand
floor lamp red shade" or "cost sheet floor lamp". With queries it
seems like that unless I type "standing floor lamp with fringes and a
red shade", that it won't bring me the record. I also may need to find
just lamps, whether they be table or standing or whatnot.

Can access help me with this, and if access won't, could Filemaker?
HELP!!!