MS Access data to pretty HTML?
April 6, 2010 8:58 PM Subscribe
Is there something newer/better than XML/XLST Maker that will let me automate putting data from an Access database into a clean HTML page that can be edited?
Short summary...what are my best options here? Do I need to create something/buy something? I am willing to be creative/create something more or less from scratch if necessary, but given that I'm leaving in a couple of months, the ideal would be a solution they could get support with once I'm gone.
What they want me to do:
* Create a way for non-techie/database people to take data from an Access 2007 database and turn it into pretty HTML that can be pasted into the webpage template for the organization (If it matters, this is a library acquisitions management/publication tool)
* Ideally there would also be a way to run a query and have that turn into an e-mail merge (I think this is fairly trivial with Access and Outlook though, anyway, though I could be wrong)
Assets:
* I know XML/XLST; CSS; HTML; SQL, but the person who will be maintaining the project can just about handle Access and Outlook with very basic HTML. I have the time and energy to work at creating a solution, but whatever gets done has to be something that can be used by non-technical types after I'm gone. I'd been inclined towards a solution that was more web-based where I have some more experience, but the people who own the data are uncomfortable with that.
* I have a small budget to buy software to help with this.
Limitations I have NO control over:
* Yes, the data has to stay in Access
* The person who will be maintaining this after I leave does not want to learn any code
* Limited budget, though there is money there to buy software
Research I've done so far:
* It appears like in theory something like XML/XLST Maker does what I want here but it does not work with Access 2007 and appears to have some issues with the new version of the ASP framework
Short summary...what are my best options here? Do I need to create something/buy something? I am willing to be creative/create something more or less from scratch if necessary, but given that I'm leaving in a couple of months, the ideal would be a solution they could get support with once I'm gone.
What they want me to do:
* Create a way for non-techie/database people to take data from an Access 2007 database and turn it into pretty HTML that can be pasted into the webpage template for the organization (If it matters, this is a library acquisitions management/publication tool)
* Ideally there would also be a way to run a query and have that turn into an e-mail merge (I think this is fairly trivial with Access and Outlook though, anyway, though I could be wrong)
Assets:
* I know XML/XLST; CSS; HTML; SQL, but the person who will be maintaining the project can just about handle Access and Outlook with very basic HTML. I have the time and energy to work at creating a solution, but whatever gets done has to be something that can be used by non-technical types after I'm gone. I'd been inclined towards a solution that was more web-based where I have some more experience, but the people who own the data are uncomfortable with that.
* I have a small budget to buy software to help with this.
Limitations I have NO control over:
* Yes, the data has to stay in Access
* The person who will be maintaining this after I leave does not want to learn any code
* Limited budget, though there is money there to buy software
Research I've done so far:
* It appears like in theory something like XML/XLST Maker does what I want here but it does not work with Access 2007 and appears to have some issues with the new version of the ASP framework
Best answer: Any kind of database reporting software will work.
Also, it's mind numbingly easy to generate database table output with Visual Studio Express. (essentially setup the OBDC connection then drag a datagrid, follow the wizard and build).
posted by wongcorgi at 11:16 PM on April 6, 2010
Also, it's mind numbingly easy to generate database table output with Visual Studio Express. (essentially setup the OBDC connection then drag a datagrid, follow the wizard and build).
posted by wongcorgi at 11:16 PM on April 6, 2010
Response by poster: It sounds like I (though lack of experience) was making this more complicated than necessary. Database reporting software gave me the links I needed. Thank you muchly.
posted by eleanna at 4:35 PM on April 11, 2010
posted by eleanna at 4:35 PM on April 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by _dario at 9:42 PM on April 6, 2010