Product Binder Database

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Author Message David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI Intermediate Member Username: David_axt Post Number: 121 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 01:54 pm:    Does anyone have their catalogs logged into a database? What program do you use? Microsoft Access? Sheldon Wolfe Junior Member Username: Sheldon_wolfe Post Number: 12 Registered: 01-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 03:33 pm:    I use Outlook, which works fairly well. The Outlook database is in the public part of our network, so everyone in our office (100 plus) has access to the contact information. You could customize the interface to show date of last visit or update, etc., but I just use the notes (content) area to record comments about when the rep was in, when catalogues were updated, pet's name, favorite liquor, and so on. David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI Advanced Member Username: David_axt Post Number: 122 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 04:30 pm:    Sheldon, I am curious about how you use Outlook. Where do you list products and last visit date? Please tell me more. Thanks. Right now we just have a HUGE table in Microsoft Word. The file is 4,578 kb and is VERY unwieldy. Sheldon Wolfe Member Username: Sheldon_wolfe Post Number: 13 Registered: 01-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 06:36 pm:    David: I'm responding by direct e-mail, as I want to include a number of screen captures. I tried to figure out how to put images into my response here, but I couldn't get it to work. I used to use a collection of Word files (one for each Division) but found it to be cumbersome. Using Outlook lets me send e-mail and faxes, schedule meetings, and store product information in one place. As noted, it's available to the whole office, so others can add and update information as it becomes available. If you're worried about someone messing it up, you can make the records read-only or allow specific people partial or full access. William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: Wpegues Post Number: 143 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 08:03 pm:    Sheldon, We use our office wide Outlook to hold the information too - but not as data put into Outlook directly. We have an Excel document that keeps track of all kinds of information about the catalog, local rep, last update or visit, manufacturer, contact phone number for local rep, email address of local rep, web site of company. We keep that Excel sheet in a public folder in out look that anyone in the office can open up and use. Mail and web sites are links that set up an email or summon the browser. This file is really a duplicate. The master file is on the workstation of the librarian with a backup on the file server in a secure location. When there is a change in the master file, a new version is put into the Outlook public folder. We do the same thing with our office phone list too. William Ralph Liebing Intermediate Member Username: Rliebing Post Number: 10 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 06:59 am:    What is the best or preferred way to set up the database-- by CSI Division? by product name alphabetically? by company alphabetcally? etc.? Also, what would the headings or column titles for a typical listing, look like? Thanks for your help! Richard HIrd (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 07:37 am:    Ralph: If you are using a data base program it does not make any difference because you can sort and search in any category without a heiarchy. Bur you must set up fields for every possible category you want to search. Here is the kicker, you have to load all the data in for such fields. I recommend you keep it simple, primarily because of the time it takes to load in the data. Just CSI 5 digit number for each product the Company name and its location binder or drawer. If it is simple you do not need a database program. You can use any spread sheet or word processing "table format" that "you" or "your assistant" is familiar with. You just have to learn how to use its sorting capablity. The only down side is that as you get a lot of data in the program it sorts much slower than a database program would. But you do not have to learn a new program. I once used a data base, D-Base IV, for a complex catalogue fiing system. Input time for all the complexity just killed me. So when I started our CSI chapter mailing list I just used Word Perfect 5.1 and never had a problem. It was getting slow when I got up to 2000 people but a new computer would have been fine if I had continued. Tracy Van Niel New member Username: Tracy_van_niel Post Number: 29 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 07:55 am:    David: Our catalog database is in Access. I have two tables, one for reps and one for the binders. The reps have a unique number assigned to them, which gets included as a field with the binders. By having the two separate tables, I can do a report that lists the reps and all the catalogs they support as a group. The information can be manipulated a lot of different ways, depending on what you're looking for (list of out-of-date catalogs, section numbers with catalogs assigned to that number, alpha rep listing, alpha catalog listing, and on and on). William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: Wpegues Post Number: 145 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 08:01 am:    We treat our spread sheet system as a flat database table. You can sort it by any field, which also includes division numbers. Or you can do a simple search command. William Sheldon Wolfe Intermediate Member Username: Sheldon_wolfe Post Number: 14 Registered: 01-2003 Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 01:32 pm:    William: I'm not sure what advantage there would be to keeping the information in Excel and accessing it through Outlook. Outlook is, after all, just a database with a built-in front end and query system. It's easy to modify the contact format to add fields for last visit, last binder update, and so on. The default fields for name, file as, phone number, etc., seem to be o.k., but can also be modified as needed. Using the various views makes it easy to show whatever information is needed, with built-in functions that work well for sorting without having to use a query. When queries are necessary, the "advanced find" function meets all of our needs. Working within Outlook makes it easy to create distribution lists, send e-mails and faxes, and even to dial the phone and keep track of how long your phone calls are (that feature doesn't work for everyone). One other thing that can be useful is the ability to send contact information by v-card. I'm not saying Outlook is the right answer for everyone; just curious what benefits you see in using it with a spreadsheet. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA Member Username: Bunzick Post Number: 92 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 04:49 pm:    David, You could probably relatively easily port your Word table into Excel and solve the unwieldiness problem. Excel can do so much more than Word tables, including nifty little built-in features like drop-down filters. Yes, Access could do it too, but I think that Excel is easier to use if you're not planning to construct some sort of nice-looking front end. We happen to use Lotus Notes for most of our databases, so that is the form that we use. William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: Wpegues Post Number: 148 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 05:28 pm:    Sheldon, >>> you said... I'm not sure what advantage there would be to keeping the information in Excel and accessing it through Outlook. Outlook is, after all, just a database with a built-in front end and query system. <<< ends. Portability, ease of maintenance, duplication of files for backup purposes. Also, ease of use - everyone seems to be familiar with Excel - and though outlook might be easier, for many its simply something new/different. We also have a professional librarian that maintains the file (once a week, and they provide service for a good number of engineering and architectural firms) and sometimes they use the file to make calls and contacts for updates and other information when they are not in our office. The choice for the spreadsheet was really the librarians, not ours. It is seldom used to make contact, it is only used for the library information. Most project managers maintain their own outlook files for all their contacts. Personally for myself, I have a fully integraded suite through Mac OSX of an addressbook that does all of what you have listed that also integrates with my 'Palm" device, and includes a calendar that lets me publish specific views of my calendar to a web site one of which keeps track of the schedule due dates for information due, printing dates, etc. for every project in the office - that any project manager can bring up any time to see if their moving a date is creating a conflict they have to work out. And it all backs up to a central remote server system where I keep my protable, my desktop at the office and my desktop at home all synchronized no matter where I may be connecting. But then, that's just me -grin!