Drawing graphics in Access

[myndzi]

I would like to create and print a production worksheet, and store certain information from past jobs in the database for easy reference and duplication. Access seems like a simple way to accomplish this, but I also need to generate and draw an image (a preview of a file) and be able to display and alter it at the user's control.

We have Access 2000, but upgrading is not out of the question. I can't, however, find much in the way of VBA functionality to accomplish this last goal. The Line method, if it's not prohibitive to draw anywhere from 5k-30k lines, would suffice but the help file says it only applies to reports. I need to be able to draw some or all of the file as the user is entering the information (to properly assign color values to certain parts of the image).

Is this just outside of the proper scope of Access, or is it feasible? If so, can someone point me in the right direction of how to accomplish this?

[ADezii]

To the best of my knowledge, in Access as far as Graphics go, you are pretty much restricted to drawing: Lines, Rectangles, Circles, Arcs, and Ellipses. These Graphics Methods can only be used in a Report within the Print() Event. Don't quote me on all this, since I seldom use this functionality. To see what I mean, place the following code in the Print() Event of a Blank Report, then Open it:

Private Sub Detail_Print(Cancel As Integer, PrintCount As Integer)
Const conPI = 3.14159265359
Dim sngHCtr As Single, sngVCtr As Single
Dim sngRadius As Single
Dim sngStart As Single, sngEnd As Single
 
sngHCtr = Me.ScaleWidth / 2      ' Horizontal center.
sngVCtr = Me.ScaleHeight / 3
sngRadius = Me.ScaleHeight / 3   ' Circle radius.
 
' Draw circle.
Me.Circle (sngHCtr, sngVCtr), sngRadius
sngStart = -0.00000001             ' Start of pie slice.
sngEnd = -2 * conPI / 3            ' End of pie slice.
Me.FillColor = RGB(255, 0, 0)      ' Color pie slice red.
Me.FillStyle = 0                   ' Fill pie slice.
 
' Draw pie slice within circle.
Me.Circle (sngHCtr, sngVCtr), sngRadius, , sngStart, sngEnd
 
Me.FillColor = RGB(0, 0, 255)       'Blue fill for Rectangle (Box)
' Draw line as a box.
Me.Line (500, 6000)-(Me.ScaleWidth - 1000, 7000), vbBlue, B
End Sub

[youmike]

I think what you seek to do is really outside Access territory - it just is not good for complicated graphics of any sort. Where my user have needed such reporting I tend to export relevant data to Excel and let the users present in the format they need.

CorelDraw has VBA capability and I wonder whether that might be a more appropriate tool. I've never tried the Corel implementation of VBA, so I can't give any more guidance on precisely what to do.

[Stewart Ross]

I agree with YouMike here. Rather than a vector drawing package however, to me your requirement is very much in AutoCad territory - 30k lines would be just a small meal for AutoCad. It's not in the scope of Access at all, I reckon.

-Stewart

[myndzi]

Ah, I was afraid of that. I should mention that there's no real need to do anything but pile the lines on top of each other, I'm not manipulating them in any fashion (so AutoCAD for example is overkill). 30k is on the extreme end, but I think it wouldn't take unreasonably long.

The other important part is retention of the info, so I guess I'll have to learn how to do some database stuff in a programming language and go from there. I still have yet to do any real Windows programming, so this looks like it will be a learning experience on multiple fronts.

Thanks for the feedback.

[ADezii]

Ah, I was afraid of that. I should mention that there's no real need to do anything but pile the lines on top of each other, I'm not manipulating them in any fashion (so AutoCAD for example is overkill). 30k is on the extreme end, but I think it wouldn't take unreasonably long.

The other important part is retention of the info, so I guess I'll have to learn how to do some database stuff in a programming language and go from there. I still have yet to do any real Windows programming, so this looks like it will be a learning experience on multiple fronts.

Thanks for the feedback.

In order to retain the information, in this case X and Y coordinates, you can save these Values as Fields in a Table, something like:

Dim X_1 As Integer
Dim X_2 As Integer
Dim Y_1 As Integer
Dim Y_2 As Integer
 
X_1 = 3600
X_2 = 3600
Y_1 = 0
Y_2 = 8000
 
Me.Line (X_1, Y_1)-(X_2, Y_2), rgBlue
 

[youmike]

I suggested CorelDraw without registering the need for 30k lines properly. Don't use AutoCad myself, but I have a son who does - his expertise is sea-bed mapping, which poses similar problems. I haven't asked him this specific question, but I know he would support that route. As Adrian says, if the need is just record simple line parameters, a table within Access might be a solution. It depends on what subsequent manipulation is needed.