Rumor is that you are not subscribed, so I have copied when I replied to
the list
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
We are looking for an inexpensive way to have a master database,
operating in the background during our regular office hours; from
which we can search on a last name (or phone number) when a phone call
comes in. If we already have a record for the calling party, display
their record in an easy to read form i.e. name, address, phone,
E-mail, etc. along witha list of the trips that customer has taken
over the past years and has already reserved in the future.
You do not comment on what a Master Database is, but if you are looking
for a multi-user solution, you need to know that like MS Access, if you
create your data and store it in a Base document, then everything is
stored in this single document. I am guessing that this means that you
will not have the best multi-user support.
You can, however, install something like MySQL or PostGRE as your main
database and then access this using Base. (Note that both of these are
industrial strength proven systems, but they are not as easy to use as a
native Base document).
With OOo, you can choose to save the data in the Base document itself,
or in an external database system an then simply attach to it. You then
can use the nice Forms and such in OpenOffice.org to perform your access.
*Questions:*
--Is open office BASE capable of being programmed to do these things?
You can access BASE using Basic, Java, C++, Python, etc...
--Are there enough Help Screens/Wizards/other instructional aides that
someone who has been preparing databases and spreadsheets for the past
20 years can successfully prepare such a system?
Some will be easy, some not.
--Can the master db reside in a shared folder on a MS Home LAN
hardwired between our two office computers running Windows XP; and be
updated from either machine? Can the db and associated routines, be
easily up/down loaded to/from the laptop for those infrequent times
when we shut down the office, hit the road in our R-V, and by means of
a cell phone, voice mail, and E-mail, continue to accept calls and
take reservations, even though we are away from our office?
Certainly, if everything is stored in a single document then you can
move things around as you desire. THis would be more difficult using
something like MySQL, but I am not a database person so i could be
wrong. You could certainly write some scripts to synchronize the data
back and forth but I have not used this.
Finally, can a routine be written which will prompt a 'data back-up'
on a regular basis?
Most people write a simply SQL statement to dump the contents to disk.
If the answer to these questions are YES, then we are ready to change
to BASE. And do you have any kind of customer support for when we get
stuck trying to format the reports, and the input screens, and the
links between the multiple sub-db and the master db?
If you want guaranteed support, then you probably want to purchase
StarOffice. It is essentially the same product, but.... Sun adds in some
extras that do not come with OpenOffice.org. In some respects, you can
therefore argue that StarOffice is actually the better product. One of
the things that you can get with StarOffice, is support from Sun.
--
Andrew Pitonyak
My Macro Document: http://www.pitonyak.org/AndrewMacro.sxw
My Book: http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/oome.htm
Info: http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php
See Also: http://documentation.openoffice.org/HOW_TO/index.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
