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ABCD Core Part 5 Profile Picture, Image and Document Management Welcome to ABCD Part 5: Core. Total running time is 4 hours, 17 minutes. Lessons
Contents
Database Files
ResourcesPossible Future Upgrades
Learn MoreI need to start making a proper outline page for the ABCD parts like the Developer lessons. I'm posting this here for the time being: 1. Profile Picture (50:49) 2. Documents 1 (63:34) 3. Documents 2 (48:09) 4. Bug Fix HelperF (11:55) 5. Document 3 (31:22) 6. Documents 4 (40:46) Enroll Today!Enroll now you can watch the videos, download the databases, ask questions, and make suggestions! Pre-Requisites RequiredIn order to purchase any level of the ABCD, you MUST have purchased all previous levels. For example, you cannot buy only Level 5. You must first have Levels 1 through 4, then you can buy Level 5. Sorry, but this is a hard pre-requisite. VideosI am recording videos showing how the database is built, but mostly so that you can understand the construction and be better equipped to make any modifications or additions you may need on your own. This will be marketed as a finished database without the need for any enhancements, but, of course, one of the main reasons to use Access is so that you can make changes yourself. The videos will be a quick run-through of how each feature is built, as I'm building it. I will be using advanced features like SQL and VBA from the start, so you may want some SQL or VBA Developer Lessons under your belt if you're going to try to follow along. This is NOT a teaching database. Free Technical Support will NOT be offered. Tech SupportThere is NO free Technical Support provided on the ABCD if you have not taken ALL of my previous Developer lessons. There are a lot of very difficult, advanced programming concepts used in the construction of this database. I do not have the time to provide free support if you get stuck trying to make modifications. All I will do is point you to the appropriate Developer lesson(s) that cover the issue. There is a reason why (a) I say this is NOT a teaching database, and (b) there are pre-requisites. Feel free to ask questions, but I can't spend half an hour explaining concepts that are already covered in my other lessons. LicensingUnlike my other courses and seminars which provide you with royalty-free databases that you can modify and distribute yourself, the ABCD does NOT come with a royalty-free license. You may only customize the database for your business needs and for use within your organization. You may not resell or distribute it to others without express written permission. In addition, if you are using it in an organization with more than 10 users, you must purchase additional licenses. Contact me for additional information. I will post additional details when the Core database is completed. OrderingThere are two purchase options available for the ABCD.
Your FeedbackI will be releasing new Core features and modules on a regular basis. You can see the list of features that are scheduled for development on the Coming Soon page. I would very much like your feedback on what features you think should be available. If you have a specific interest for your business type, let me know.
IntroIn this lesson, you will learn how to add image and document management features to the Access, Business, and Contact Database (ABCD) using Microsoft Access. We will cover adding a profile picture field to the entity form, saving and displaying images from a designated system folder, and setting up a document management tab that lets you store, search, and manage multiple documents per record. You will also see how to add expiration dates, apply conditional formatting based on those dates, and improve document handling with filters and multi-document uploads. This is part 5.TranscriptWelcome to part five of the Access, Business, and Contact database brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.Today's part is going to focus on Image and Document Management. We are going to add a profile picture to the entity form. We will allow the user to browse and select a file and then have that file copied to the ABCD system folder. If you have it on your local desktop or across the network, you can specify where that file gets saved. The image itself does not get stored in the database. You do not want to store images in your database, as they get big and bloated and slow. We are going to store them in a system folder. Then we are going to create a Document Management tab under the entity form. For each entity, for each person, for each company, you can store an unlimited number of documents under their record. We are also going to add expiration dates if you store things like licenses or registration forms and you want to know when those items are expiring. You will be able to browse and add multiple documents at once, and of course, search and find any document by keywords, description, or whatever you want to use. This course follows ABCD Parts 1 through 4. You must purchase Parts 1 through 4 in order to get this one, unlike my other courses where you can just bounce around. The ABCD has to be purchased in successive order. I strongly recommend you take my beginner, expert, advanced, and developer classes at least up to about developer 1 at a minimum, so that you understand what is going on in this. Now, the ABCD does come with video lessons, but they are not teaching lessons. This is just so you can watch me develop the class to build the database, so that you understand how it was put together. I am not going to explain everything, but I will show you most things that I do step by step. The goal—the purpose for the videos—is to give you an understanding of how it is built so you can take it and run with it and make it your own. I am using Microsoft 365, which is roughly equivalent to Access 2019. 2016 is almost exactly the same. If you have questions, post them down below in the comments section. Let's take a more detailed look at exactly what is covered in today's class. In lesson 1, we are going to add a profile picture to the entity form. This involves a lot of stuff. It is about a 40-minute lesson by itself. We are going to borrow a lot of this code that I have already written from my genealogy seminar, so we do not have to write it all from scratch. It is still 40 minutes long, but I am going to be showing you basically how everything works. We will make it so you can click on a box and a file dialog will open up. We are going to install the Microsoft Office 16 object library so we can use the file picker. Do not worry, it is part of Microsoft Office, so you do not have to worry about it being an external component. Then we will display that right on the entity form. In lesson 2, we are going to begin the document manager portion of the database. We are going to create the document table to store the information about each document, which will be the description, the document type, and obviously the file name of the document, as well as created and expiration dates for things like licenses and similar items. Then we will set up the subform inside the entity form, and we will do a preview on each record. In lesson 3, we are continuing with the document management system. I am going to switch the layout up a little bit. I was trying to go fancy in the last lesson, and I think this works better. I think we have a list of documents and then as you click through the documents, you can see the thumbnail change on the bottom. If that thumbnail is a picture, like a JPEG or a PNG file from the last lessons, then you will see the image, as you do with the profile picture. Otherwise, we will make some custom icons—our own images to display there. If it is a PDF, Word document, or Excel spreadsheet file, you can do whatever you want. You can make any kind you want and just put them in a folder. Then we will use the Open Other Program Summary code, the Shell Exec code, so you can click an open link and it will open up that document and display it. Lesson 4 is a quick fix for that bug we discovered in lesson 3, where when we open up the helper form, it is not working to return the value properly if the calling control is on a subform. So we are going to fix it by passing the control itself into a global variable and not the name of the control and the name of the form that it's on. We will get it fixed in about 10 minutes. In lesson 5, we are continuing with the Document Management section. We will add some conditional formatting to our expiration date. If it is expired, it will show up in red. If it is expiring soon, within 30 days, it will show up in yellow. Then we will take the document subform and, with a little tweak, we will make it also into a main document form so we can use the same form to see everybody's documents. This will allow us to do searches on the entire database of documents. We will show the Entity Combo box on the main form, but if we open that as part of a subform, we will hide it, since you are already inside the main entity form. Then we will add an expiration filter combo on the bottom, so we can drop the box down to see just show all, show expired, show expiring soon, show current documents, and show documents with no expiration date. That is all in lesson 5. In lesson 6, we are going to add the ability to add multiple documents in one shot. We can delete the file along with the record once the user wants to delete something. We will prompt them, of course. Then we will have an ability to open up the documents folder. Maybe you want to just browse around and see what files are in that user's folder. We will also do some work with updating the expiration date, all in lesson 6. QuizQ1. Why should you avoid storing images directly in your Access database according to the course?A. Images stored in the database are secure and compressed B. Databases cannot handle images C. Storing images in the database can make the database large, slow, and bloated D. Images cannot be retrieved from databases Q2. What is the recommended method for handling images in the ABCD system described in the video? A. Store image files in the database as OLE objects B. Convert images to text and save in the notes field C. Store the file path and keep images in a system folder D. Upload images to the internet and save the URL Q3. What is one of the main features added in lesson 1 of this part of the course? A. Adding user login functionality B. Adding a profile picture to the entity form C. Creating audit logs for changes D. Generating financial reports Q4. What Microsoft library is installed to use the file picker dialog for selecting profile images? A. Microsoft .NET Framework B. Microsoft Office 16 object library C. Windows Media Player library D. Microsoft SQL Server Tools Q5. How does the video recommend opening documents like PDFs or Word files from the database system? A. Embedding the documents into an Access form B. Printing the document directly from Access C. Using Shell Exec code to open the document with its default application D. Saving documents as plain text for viewing in Access Q6. Which field is specifically mentioned as being tracked for each document in the document table? A. Document size B. Number of downloads C. Description, document type, file name, created and expiration dates D. Document owner password Q7. How does the system visually indicate documents that have expired or are expiring soon? A. No visual indication is used B. Expired in blue, expiring soon in green C. Expired in red, expiring soon (within 30 days) in yellow D. Expired in bold, expiring soon in italic Q8. What functionality does the document subform gain by being adapted into a main form? A. It allows for image editing B. It enables company payroll processing C. It allows searches across all documents in the entire database D. It converts documents to PDF format Q9. What is the purpose of the expiration filter combo box added in the course? A. To highlight documents based on size B. To switch between different color schemes C. To filter documents by status such as all, expired, expiring soon, current, or with no expiration date D. To display only PDF documents Q10. What additional functionality is described in lesson 6 regarding document management? A. Generating random documents for testing B. Adding user avatars automatically from the internet C. Allowing users to add multiple documents at once, delete files and records, and open the documents folder D. Exporting documents as Excel spreadsheets Answers: 1-C; 2-C; 3-B; 4-B; 5-C; 6-C; 7-C; 8-C; 9-C; 10-C DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks. SummaryToday's video from Access Learning Zone focuses on enhancing your Access, Business, and Contact database with robust image and document management features. In this segment, our primary goal is to allow users to add profile pictures to each entity, such as a person or a company, and manage documents linked to their records efficiently.We start by integrating a feature that lets users browse their computers to select an image file as a profile picture, which will then be copied to a designated folder within the ABCD system. By doing this, we avoid placing large image files directly inside the Access database, which helps maintain performance and avoids the slowdowns associated with storing images in tables. Next, we introduce a Document Management tab within the entity form. This enhancement enables users to attach as many documents as needed to a person's or company's record. It is especially useful for storing items like contracts, licenses, and other important files. To make document tracking smarter, we will implement expiration dates for documents that require periodic renewal, such as registrations or certifications. Users will also be able to search for documents using keywords, descriptions, or any other info associated with the file. This part of the course builds on skills and tools in ABCD Parts 1 through 4, which are prerequisites. Unlike many of my other courses, the ABCD series must be completed in order, and I recommend coming into it with a background up to at least Developer 1 level of my Access training series to best understand the techniques used. While video lessons are included, be aware these focus on showing the building process of the database rather than providing a deep explanation of each step. You'll see how everything is put together and gain insights so you can further customize your own projects. Throughout the course, I use Microsoft 365 (essentially matching Access 2019), but the content is fully applicable to Access 2016 as well. Here's how I break down the lessons in this session: In Lesson 1, we tackle the addition of profile pictures to the entity form. This is a fairly lengthy lesson, as it covers everything from using pre-written code to setting up the file selection dialog. The necessary Microsoft Office 16 object library is employed to access the file picker tool, which comes built-in with Office, so there are no external dependencies. The selected image is then displayed right on the entity form. Lesson 2 begins our implementation of the document management system. We create a dedicated table to store document-related information such as description, type, file name, and relevant date fields like creation and expiration dates. This is integrated as a subform in each entity's main record, allowing for document previews. Lesson 3 continues by improving the layout for document management. Instead of an overly elaborate design, we opt for a straightforward interface: a document list with a thumbnail display area beneath it. Image files like JPEG and PNG will show their actual thumbnails, while other document types, such as PDF or Word files, display custom icons. The subform also makes it easy to open files directly in their respective programs using Shell Exec functionality. Lesson 4 resolves a minor bug identified earlier, specifically an issue when opening a helper form from a subform, where the returned value was not recognized properly. The fix involves passing the control object to a global variable rather than using control names and form names, which solves the problem efficiently. In Lesson 5, we enhance the document management experience by applying conditional formatting to expiration dates. Expired documents show in red, those expiring within 30 days show in yellow, while current and non-expiring documents have neutral formatting. Additionally, the document subform is adapted for use as a main document form, allowing users to search across all stored documents, and the interface changes slightly depending on whether the form is opened standalone or from within an entity. Lesson 6 introduces multi-file document uploads, so users can add several documents at once. Deleting a document also removes its file, with appropriate confirmation prompts. We include a feature to open and review the document folder on disk, and update document expiration details as needed. For a full video tutorial with step-by-step walkthroughs of all these features, visit my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends. Topic ListAdding a profile picture to the entity formSetting up file browsing and selecting images Copying selected files to the system folder Displaying images on the entity form Installing and using Microsoft Office 16 object library for file picker Creating the document table for document management Adding document descriptions, types, and file names Creating fields for document creation and expiration dates Setting up a document management subform Previewing document thumbnails in the subform Using custom icons for non-image document types Implementing Shell Exec code to open documents Fixing subform bug with helper form and global variable Conditional formatting on document expiration dates Converting document subform into a main document form Implementing document searches across records Configuring the entity combo box display logic Adding an expiration filter combo box Adding multiple documents at once Deleting documents and files with user confirmation Enabling folder browsing for document locations Updating document expiration dates |
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| Keywords: access ABCD 05 part 05 core document management ms office 16 object library select profile picture filedialog file picker file exists folder exists filename from path select file helper data PermaLink Access Business & Contact Database Core Part 5 - Document Management |
