Output individual records as PDF files

Anonymous
2019-10-29T19:10:56+00:00

My organization is using MS Word form to create a client questionnaire. Each Word doc form is saved as PDF file and stored in the Client's folder. I created a form in Access to capture and parse the questions but I cannot find a way to create and output a PDF file from Access. This requires me to repeat the entry process manually into the Word document.  My IT department won't let me roll this out to other employees because of A) the double entry issue and B) they fear other users apparently will have to learn and use VBA to output individual records.

My question is: Can Access output individual records as a printable PDF format and cannot it be done without VBA?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Access | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2019-12-04T04:17:58+00:00

I can answer the one question...  You can set two Primary Keys by highlighting both rows and then pressing Primary Key.

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Anonymous
2019-11-21T22:31:42+00:00

David,

Me <--no degree in Computer Science.

I did have a great teacher who was a co-worker.  I learned a lot for her but more from the great help I received in newsgroups as there were no forums at the time.  If I were a beginner now I would start with Crystal's book which is free...

http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

You can also go here for free Data models...

http://www.databaseanswers.org/data_models/

https://www.access-diva.com/tips.html#bmDataModels

Access is simple enough for non-technical Users but once you start getting *serious* you do need to do some reading.  And those hundreds of hours are over time with the help of the many Forums where free help is given including helping you create a data model.  So if you ever decide it's worth the time, we are here to help.

I also noticed you said you created a Form and tried to add fields from another table which sounded like it was unrelated to the record source of the Form.  Well, this can only be done when table is part of the record source.  You can create a query which can include multiple tables from which you need fields and build your form though most would just use a subform in a typical one-to-many scenario.

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  1. ScottGem 68,840 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-11-21T22:15:47+00:00

    So you took one negative response and took that as gospel. Yes there are people who don't like Access. But I would look to true professional developers for answers. I can't even find the quote, you posted. 

    I will try to make this 100% clear to you. A client may have multiple service items. Therefore the relationship is one (client) to Many (Service Items). The relationship is represented by the ClientID as a foreign key in the Service Items record. 

    Yes YOU were wasting your time with Access. You made no effort to learn what you needed to learn.

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  2. George Hepworth 23,120 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-11-21T22:07:16+00:00

    "I'm still not clear on the one to many relationship...."

    But, despite your lack of understanding, also this:

    "The more I learn about Access, the less value I see using it."

    So, the problem here is that you don't know what you're doing, but that's not your fault; it's the fault of the application you don't understand.

    And that sums it up pretty well, doesn't it?

    At this point, the best tactic probably  is to move back down to a platform (Excel) that is simple enough for you to understand and use.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-11-21T22:04:28+00:00

    Gina, I understand but short of having a degree in computer science, I don't know what a proper data model looks like. Nor to rank and file employees or small business owners. And there is not a single tutorial I've encountered that lays out what exactly a proper data model is.  

    The failing here is that Microsoft is famous for making, what should be simple, very complicated. They should package Access as stand alone platform as it has no business being packaged with Excel and Word.

    It is implied that non technical users can use Access. This is not true. You either have to A) have a deep background in database development, or B) invest several hundred hours to learn Access. Who has the time for that? 

    I went down the rabbit hole on this one when I should have jumped on a modern, cloud platform like Caspio or Kintone.

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