access2asp getting started tutorial





 


Double click the file access2asp40.mde to open the program in ms access.

Create a folder called contactDb ( or a name of your choice )

*this folder should be a folder enabled by IIS or personal web server

Select the folder that you lovingly created above...



select the database you want to convert... (for the purposes of our tutorial
we are going to use a simple contact database which is included in the support
material at the end of this tutorial.)


select how many records per page you want to see on your list screens...

Choose wether you want to include the function to makeUrlsLive on memo fields.
(full version only.)
(click here for a fuller explanation of this function)

Choose wether you want to have order by links on list screens - this means the titles
of the columns that you choose for your list screens will be clickable... clicking one
will reload the page and order it ascending ( eg from a-z or 1-1000....).

Choose wether to create an image library in the administration area - for a full explanation / tutorial on the asp image library that access2asp can create for you
then click here.


Choose wether you want to have drop down paging ( e.g hotmail ) on your list screens.

Choose wether you want to display scripts/html on the front end detail screens
(click here for a more in depth explanation).

Choose wether you want to alternate row colors on list screens.

Choose wether you would like a WYSIWYG editor for your memo fields
( currently asp only ) - for more information on the WYSIWYG editor click here

Choose wether you would like header and footer includes.
Checking this option - will create the files header.asp and footer.asp in the root folder and your admin folder - at the top of each screen you will have
<!-- #include file=header.asp -->
and at the bottom
<!-- #include file=footer.asp -->
This can be useful for having say your menu system in the header file and contact info at the bottom of each page ....

Choose wether you want the option to download the current recordset as an excel spreadsheet.

Choose which css style you would like for your site. ( uncheck the css style checkbox for no css ) click here for more on css with access2asp

Now choose which tables you want to convert ( hold the Ctrl key to select individual tables )
(All tables are selected by default) * free trial version converts first 2 tables automatically

Choose the username and password for the administration area

Choose which language you would like to generate.

Click 'generate asp'


Now for each table choose which fields you would like to appear on your list screen



Now ( if you have checked 'I want a search box at the top of this list screen') choose the fields you would like to search by and the search operator. For an explanation of the search function click here



If you checked 'WYSIWYG for memo fields' then choose which fields you would like the editor for.




Next you will see the 'Default order by field for [your_table]' Screen ...
( currently 'classic' asp only )



Choose which field you would like to order by for instance if you wanted to order with cities going from A-Z then select City.

If you would like to order simply by the last record added then you can check the box below the list of fields. ( your unique id has to be an autonumber for this to work )

    Thats it!

    The above dialogs will be repeated for each table.

    If you have chosen to generate asp.net then make sure that the folder you chose ( and the admin folder if you chose password protection ) is configured in IIS as an application click here to read how to do this.

    Make sure the folder 'db' has write permissions for IUSR_[MACHINENAME]
    Do'nt use IIS to do this.
    open windows explorer
    right click the db folder
    click properties
    click on security
    click add
    click on IUSR_[MACHINENAME]
    make sure this has write / modify permissions
    click OK

    Browse to http://localhost/contactDemo/default.asp ( if you generated asp)
    Browse to http://localhost/contactDemo/default.aspx ( if you generated asp.net)






    If you dont see the menu then make sure pws\iis is started and the folder
    you created the asp files in has permission to run scripts!

    click on contacts you should see something like this...



    now go to
    http://localhost/contactDb/admin/default.asp ( if you generated asp )
    http://localhost/contactDb/admin/default.aspx ( if you generated asp.net )

    Click on one of the table's and go to the list screen - click on one of the links and
    you should see something like this...



    see it here! ( note! - this has had NO html modifications to it at all - this took 3 minutes to get this demo from being an access db to being fully online!)


    Have a play with the admin section - try adding,editing and deleting records.


    See the 'front end' change to reflect your changes

    what you have now is the backbone of a dynamic site which would have
    taken many hours or even days to hand code!!!

    next step - change fonts,colors plug your own graphics\html in etc etc

    next step - buy the full version! - and convert as many tables as you like at the
    click of a button , the full version has many other features such as WYSIWYG editing for memo fields.

    click here to see how you can use the access2asp image Library to upload and easily display pictures on your site - with no serverside components required!

    HAPPY CODING!

    *************************************************************
    explanation of the function makeUrlsLive on memo fields
    heres an example...
    ArticleDescription

    say you enter the above text in the admin section for a news database.
    when this appears on the 'front end' it will appear like this ..


    I found a great tool
    you can check it out at http://www.access2asp.com - pretty cool!

    the link will be 'live' or clickable due to the function makeUrlsLive.


    classic asp generation converts hyperlinks , asp.net generation will make hyperlinks AND email addresses clickable on the front end.
    *************************************************************
    explanation of the search function
    During the generation of your asp files you can choose wether or not you would like to be able to search certain text fields from that table from a search box which will appear at the top of your list screen.

    You can see the asp generated within the listScreen.asp , so for example in the above example ( note the trial version doesnt produce the search code , it just demonstrates the search input ... )
    take a look at contactsList.asp you will see a sql statement something like if you chose the OR operator...

    strsql="select * from [contacts] where CompanyName like '%" & replace(request("search"),"'","''") & "%' OR ContactTitle like '%" & replace(request("search"),"'","''") & "%' OR City like '%" & replace(request("search"),"'","''") & "%' "

    and with the AND operator

    strsql="select * from [contacts] where CompanyName like '%" & replace(request("search"),"'","''") & "%' AND ContactTitle like '%" & replace(request("search"),"'","''") & "%' AND City like '%" & replace(request("search"),"'","''") & "%' "

    You can of course modify the sql search criteria on this line to sit your needs.

    The generated code even preserves the paging , so if you search for 'smith' and the results return 300 people with surname smith, the paging will 'remember' that you have searched for smith, also there is a 'list all' button available once you have made a search to enable you to reset the results so you can list all again ...
    *************************************************************
    explanation of the display Html/Script function
    In most situations the administration forms will be located within the administration section where the site admin will be inputting data - and this may sometimes be html or javascript...for instance if you have a memo field - and administrator may simply make something bold by entering <b>this is important!!</b> in the admin section - this will then be displayed as bold text this is important!! on the 'front end'. This is the same with javascript too - an administrator may even enter javascript in the admin section.
    There are situations though where you may not want the script or html to actually execute when displayed on the front end - for instance if you use access2asp to generate a form that you place on the 'front end' then for security reasons you may not want people to be able to enter scripts that will execute on when displayed on the front end... Or you may be writing html or javascript tutorials in your admin and want to display the html as normal text on the front end.


    download the files for this tutorial - including the free trial version of access2asp.


    *trial version converts 2 tables

see the contact database online here!