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Web Based Access Database

Anonymous
2021-12-05T00:47:06+00:00

I built a database in Microsoft Access to track sales revenue for my job. Now that it can take input, store data in tables, and generate reports for me, I'd like to take it to the next step and make it web-based so that I can both use it and/or edit it from any device or location.

I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that and I do not want to pay for it. Is there a free way to put this database online for these purposes?

Please remember, you're talking to a novice on this, so try and keep the jargon to layman's terms. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you can offer.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Access | For business | Windows

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  1. George Hepworth 22,680 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-12-05T01:28:21+00:00

    Short answer. No. There is no way to make it "web-enabled" and no free way to migrate it to a web-browser based application.

    Access is a Windows application that requires the Windows operating system to run. Therefore, it can only run on a desktop or laptop computer running a version of Windows.

    There ARE ways to make the DATA available remotely. All require some investment. Most require replacing or supplementing the interface (forms, etc,) with interface elements pertinent to those environments.

    One way is to use a Remote Desktop application to connect to your computer from a remote location via a laptop that can connect to your workplace via the internet. In your situation, where it sounds like you are the only user, that's probably the most cost-effective method. It won't work on a smart device, of course, but a tablet running Windows should support it.

    Another option would be to migrate the data to SharePoint or SQL Azure, which are "cloud" locations so that you can connect to the same data from your desktop or laptop running Windows with the Access accdb interface on it.

    The least feasible option--in this circumstance, at least--would be to replace Access with a web-browser based interface and a SQL Azure or hosted SQL Server database. That requires a whole different set of development skills in the relevant development format, e.g. Net.

    Still another option would be to migrate the data to SharePoint or SQL Azure and create a PowerApps application in MS 365 to do only the essential functions you need to do remotely, such as entering a new sale while in the customer's office. The heavy computing portion of the functionality is still done on the desktop via the Access interface.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-12-05T11:03:41+00:00

    The true answer, if the web was your target, then Access was the wrong tool from the start.

    The workaround answer, there are numerous ways you can make Access run on other devices, remote desktop, Citrix, ...

    If your other devices are capable of running Access (no good for mobile or iOS or Linux or ...) You could migrate the backend to Azure, or some other rdms (PostgreSQL, MySQL, ...). Or you could turn towards the new Dataverse connector.

    Do note, when trying to use Access over a WAN in such a manner, usually the design and coding is done in a manner to always minimize the data being pushed and pulled back. So no more binding forms to full tables, rather open them empty with some type of search mechanism that will return only a single record.

    But I come back to my original statement, there are ways to run Access on a WAN, but it truly isn't the right tool in the first place and you would be better served using proper web technologies like .net, PHP, ...

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  2. George Hepworth 22,680 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-12-05T02:52:01+00:00

    Dataverse is an interesting addition to the options available, but no panacea.

    I hosted a meeting with Michael Aldridge two nights ago in which he described the Dataverse connector for Access and related topics. The Youtube video of our session will be uploaded in a day or two. Michael also presented the same session to the Denver Access User Group a couple of weeks ago. The Youtube video of that is now up.

    In short, to greatly oversimplify it, Dataverse is a "no-code/lo-code" option for SQL Azure, but getting up to speed with that development environment is a new experience for most of us.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-12-05T02:14:56+00:00

    Thank you for the help. That's pretty much what I needed. It's not something I'm pursuing aggressively, but if the answer was "yes, it's easy" I might have looked into it further. But, it looks like it's either not possible or would take a lot more effort than I'm willing to put into it. But, that's what I needed to know, so thank you again for taking the time and responding in such detail. Really appreciated.

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-12-05T02:11:02+00:00

    So when you say “free”, you mean “my labor, and everyone else’s, is worthless”?

    OK, since your labor costs are 0, then one more option than GroverParkGeorge’s would be to learn PHP and MySQL and host your database on a WordPress site. Oh, and then there’s the whole WordPress shtick with HTML, CSS, maybe even throw in a little TypeScript.

    OR, you could hang on for a year or so and see what Microsoft comes up with. Daniel Pineault posted some interesting stuff about connecting Access to the Dataverse. See https://www.devhut.net/

    Poke around the internet …

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