Originally Posted by
Ajax
it is possible but needs careful consideration
if the nature of what the field users are doing is just updating existing records which they have copied from the office master db before leaving, you can have a simple routine for access to export a text file of the updated records and email to the office. And in the office you would have a routine to parse through emails and update the master record with the changes.
if the users are always in the field they will need updates for new records, you can have a similar routine in reverse.
On the other hand if field users are creating new records, you will need something that identifies new records and treat them as an append rather than an update - you can do this with a separate text file. The difficulty is creating a unique ID. The way I handle this is that you need a field called say TempID that is completed at the field user end - it can't be an autonumber, but might be say a combination of userid and a timestamp. The alternative is to use what is called a replicationID rather than an incremental autonumber. If the former, this gets appended to the master db where an autonumber is created and then mailed back to the field user to update their records.
The upshot is that the both ends will need a variety of import/export routines which can be triggered with the click of a single 'refresh' button.