Help with Programming a Form, Please!

[jake_haley]

I'm looking to create a very simple program using Microsoft Access and I'll give you guys the run down I just need a quick tutorial because I haven't ever used MA until today.

I already have the form designed with a list of labeled drop down boxes for a forklift inspection on my form and the format is as follows.

Engine Oil: (drop down box)
Radiator: (drop down box)
Hydraulic Oil: (drop down box)

and this continues for about 30 or so different components and the drop boxes have a choice of "OK" or "Faulty"

and then there are 4 text boxes for the Inspector Name, Hours of Inspection, Make & Model, and More Description of Problem

and then a date selector for the date and time.

So basically I just need to know the program to do the following things now that I have the form layed out.

1.) When I open the Access file I need the form to open immediately and be ready to be filled out.


(the people using this program aren't very computer literate so I need to have this program as fluent and easy as possible)
2.) a way to have a button to click that will save a PDF of the form to a folder on a drive without going through the "External Data -> Saved Exports -> my premade export that saves to the companies Public Drive folder". Remember, these people aren't computer literate so they don't know how to navigate file directories.
3.) when the file is saved it is saved under the the current date that is selected in the text box.
4.) after the pdf of the form is saved with the date the form returns to a blank, non-filled out form.

If you guys could help in any way that would be great! Thanks

[Dal Jeanis]

A) Is the information being input into the form being saved anywhere? The way you describe it, there would no way ever to find the last time a particular forklift had been inspected.

B) "When the file is saved, it is saved under the current date..." By that, do you mean a subdirectory for each date, or there will only be one PDF per day, or what?

Is there a reason to have the inspector selecting a date and time? You could use =Date() and =Time() in the default values for those dropdowns, and let them change the values if necessary. See this page for a list of functions available:
http://www.techonthenet.com/access/functions/

The default value is found under the Data tab of the Properties pane. If the properties pane is not visible, then right-click any control and select "properties", and the pane will become visible.

C) What version of Access are you on. 2010?

[jake_haley]

I've tinkered around with the program over the past few hours and I've realized all I need is something very simple. The operators are trying to do away with the old school paper records of inspection. They just asked me if I could find out a way to remove the clutter of the hundreds of sheets of paper that are sitting around in files for inspection and they showed me a similar program that an old employee used to do a similar task but with a different kind of inspection. So I opened up MA and began tinkering around with figuring it out and I have the format down now I just need a way to save the file I've created.

Basically, the form just has text boxes and drop down boxes.The function I need is VERY simple. I just need to take a "screenshot" of the information entered into the text boxes and drop down boxes or I need a text file of the information somehow to be saved into a file as a word doc or a pdf but everything I've tried doing with the buttons gives me error codes and reasons why I can't OutputTo a file under the button macros.

So at this point, I just need a way to save it and then when I reopen it, have a blank form so the next guy can do his inspection, check all the boxes that need to be, enter his information then click save and it puts it in this file and closes the program. And when the next mechanic comes around, repeat the process without much knowledge of computers.

[Dal Jeanis]

It sounds like you haven't created a file, you've created a form. It's not linked to a table, so you don't have anything that Access knows how to automatically output.

What happened is, you started at the wrong end of the design. Normally, an analyst would design and build the table, then pop a form over the top of it, and the linkages would be automatic. So, you're stuck trying to do a bunch of stuff manually that would be a gimme if you'd done it from the other end.

You can still get there. Create a table that has the fields you want to save. Then bind your form to that table. Then a report can pull data from the table, and get exactly what you want with a command button and a couple lines of code.

The Alternative is to put a command button on the form, and then put VBA code behind that button to create an output file based upon the fields in the form. Now, you'd have to do this line by line for each field, because, like I said, they aren't bound to anything.

Hmmm.... Or, I suppose you could code a "Report" that pulls its fields off the form, rather than from a table. I haven't done that before, but it should be possible.