Tracking Changes from an Imported Excel Document

[LanieB]

Hello to you all!!

I am starting fresh on a new project. The general overview is I have an fillable PDF, over 200 people are filling it out, emailing it back. I am Extracting that data into an excel document from the fillable PDF and importing into Access.... NOW. Here is what I am trying to figure out. I have to alert the field of major changes, SO I am wanting Access to compare the document I imported last with the one I imported just now.



Example. I change my contact information, I need a query to find that the information I submitted last time, is not the same as what I just submitted. My issue is, I cannot get a vision for this database. I can import these documents to a table BUT I cannot compare these line items with line items of the same table... so I just feel like I've hit a wall for ideas.

I was going to see if any of you would have a fresh perspective of a general idea for this database....

I would appreciate ANY input you would have

Kind regards,
Elaine

[ssanfu]

Great question! You've made me think about how I'm dealing with contact info changes. I don't keep a history of contact changes. I import the CSV file into a temp table. Loop through the temp table, the new contact info is compared to the current contact info. If they are different, I update the contact data in the employee table. Now I'm wondering if it will be faster to just write the imported contact data every time and not do a compare (contact info only - no name changes). I don't have to keep a history.
All of my changes are done using code.


Q 1) Using your example of contact info, are you keeping a history of changes? Or are you just wanting an alert if the data changes?

Q 2) Why are you extracting to Excel, then importing into Access? Why not go directly to access? (just curious)

[LanieB]

I have to keep a history, so really I need to keep one table with all information and then another with just new incoming information. If you are just doing contact changes you could submit that information through a 'Collect Data' option in Access and select the clients emails that way, whatever they enter into the 'Form' that is placed in your email automatically by your Access DB will then come back to your DB automatically when they respond. Will take away the CSV importing step anyways. But not everyone likes doing it that way, just one option

[LanieB]

How do you set up a query to use your most current information (our new incoming informatoin table) and allow you to select the row you want to compare it with in your (All information) table. Because some people will submit the thing multiple times in one week because they remember/forget something. So I don't ALWAYS want to compare it with the 'last received' prior to todays update. I hope that makes sense? haha.