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I thought that the easiest way to organize the "song list" would be to create a database in Microsoft Access, and then tell Access to export the data into an easy-to-read text file.

I have two problems:

a) Access won't do what I want. What I *want* is a field where I can check or uncheck albums. Thus far, my test database has a separate table entry for each album and a yes/no tag (which is almost as good), except that I can't figure out how to get it to only *report* yeses and ignore nos.

b) I can't figure out how to export data. Oh, I can export DATABASE data, alright; I just can't figure out how to get it to convert the database data into, say, a text file of a format I specify. It must surely have this functionality, right?


What's frustrating me, I should note, is that I could do this in fifth grade in whatever shitty Mac database app we were using at the time. Seriously...we would make a "report" sheet, could add checkboxes and fields, and then have it report everything out to a text file at the end for our presentation. Maybe Access is too "serious" of an application for such trifle...but I'm having problems finding a replacement application in these days of freeware-dearth.

Xenu wrote:a) Access won't do what I want. What I *want* is a field where I can check or uncheck albums. Thus far, my test database has a separate table entry for each album and a yes/no tag (which is almost as good), except that I can't figure out how to get it to only *report* yeses and ignore nos.

I'm sure you must've tried something like this already, but doesn't Access do SQL syntax?

Something like SELECT * FROM Albums WHERE YesNoField LIKE '%es' should probably come back with a restricted set of results.

b) I can't figure out how to export data. Oh, I can export DATABASE data, alright; I just can't figure out how to get it to convert the database data into, say, a text file of a format I specify. It must surely have this functionality, right?

Well, a query such as the above should come back with a set of results in plain text (or there should be an option to make it do so). But I've not used Access in quite a while/much at all.

As a 'side-step' alternative there's MSDE, the free (though with M$ there's always the risk of "free as in free beer") desktop version of SQL Server. I've used it a couple times at work, works fine. For best results borrow someone's copy of SQL Server and install the Client Tools; that way you get the Enterprise Manager console and the Query Analyzer tool, which are handy.

Here- http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... layLang=en

Hope that helps some

Is SQL...difficult to use?

I dislike that a goal so simple should be so hard to realize in this day and age.

Access can use SQL commands with no problem. It has a couple of mild eccentricities, but nothing worse than any other platform. It's totally inappropriate for any sort of back-end multiuser scenario, but it sounds fine for what you're doing.

Once you get used to SQL syntax, you'll find that it makes most any sort of database task a snap. There are tons of tutorials on the web.

Ryan

So I should hunt those down, I guess. Bah.

Use FileMaker.

Do tell?

FileMaker is easy to learn, easy to use, and will do what you want in an intuitive way, without learning a lick of SQL.

I've never liked Access, although I got a little better with it from having to use it in my last job.