Hi All,
I have a database which has MS Access at the backend and Visual Basic as the front end.I want to import this database into a Lotus NOtes Database but I am not sure how to go about it. If i import all the data how is the front end going to be effected.Will I have to redesign the front end.Could someone please guide me how to start.
Max
Subject: Access and Lotus Notes
Thereis no tool out there or conversion or import wizard that will allow you to convert an Access database to Notes. That is simply not possible.
What you have to do is build the database all over in notes. Built the forms, tables(views in notes), and then the queries(views in notes).
In doing this you will need to keep the field names the same on you form data to make it easier to import.
If you just have records with text in them you can export the data to csv out of access and import it into notes. Look for help on importing and exporting records.
If you have records that contain file attachments then its going to get messy and may require data re-entry or some specific and very complex LS:DO programming to doa conversion which I would leave to a notes veteran.
Lotus is NOT a relational database, so don;t expect it to behave like SQL and Access and have fancy import and export wuizards. Also remember it is it’s OWN language, and will need a front end manually written. You can expect to import VB code and have it work in notes.
All that being said, whya re you moving from Access to Notes? If it is to utilize the http platform for web applications, you might be better off sticking with your VB and using dreamweaver with ASP and IIS.
Point: unless you are a skilled Notes developer as well as Access developer, this is going to be a bit of an undertaking for you, especially if you are dealing with mixed and a large quantity of records.
HTH
Subject: Access and Lotus Notes
There are links in the FAQ of FAQ and/or OLE FAQ that can get you started moving data between Notes and Access.
You can search this forum and the 4/5 forum for “Access and Notes” for more information.
There are lots of ways to handle the move, it depends on many factors including the number of records and how many times you’ll need to do the transfer. If it’s a one time deal, you may want to just export the Access data to a CSV and manually import into Notes.
Front end - if you want to keep using VB for the front end, you’ll have to rewrite it to talk to Notes rather than Access. If you want to just use Notes for the front end, you’ll need to build forms, views, agents, whatever to do the job.
If you’re not a Notes developer - you may want to think about getting some classes.
If you need this done quickly, you may want to hire someone for the job.
HTH
Doug