Question : Web-enabling reports?

Hi

We have an Access 2002 database that hold details of jobs for various clients.

As an add-on value to our clients, we would like them to be able to log in to our website and view a report giving them an update on the current state of play of their jobs.
 
They would not be able to update any data, nor see other clients' reports  - but just to view their own report .

As we would be updating the data on a regular basis and the client may want to see their report at any time, a server generated HTML page would be required rather than a static version.

Does anyone know the steps that we would have to follow in order to accomplish this - eg what type of server, code, etc we would need? And whether we should have different version of the data - eg one we use and then copy that to our web hosting server?
Also is it easier to have the whole database (ie reports and data) in Access or whether we should store the data in mySQL?

Any clues / tips / links would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

xD

Answer : Web-enabling reports?

You can't "show" Access reports on a web page, if that's what you're asking. Access reports require the Access "shell" to display. You can certainly build standard HTML style "reports" based on data in the web database, but they won't really format like an Access report. Many other reporting engines (like Crystal reports, for example) do provide ActiveX controls that users can download and use in IE to display reports exactly as you design them, but this can get pretty pricey.

Basically, you'd use some sort of database - Access/Jet would work, if your userload is low. Regarding your data, I'd imagine that you would, occasionally, simply upload your data to the website (if you're using Jet) or build Update sprocs if using some other database. How you do this depends on who hosts your database, so this isn't really answerable. You'll need some form of interface langauge - if you're already using MS technology, most use ASP or ASP.NET with ADO or ADO.NET for connectivity. There are a plethora of different methods to use, of course, from Perl to PHP to whatever other acronym you can think of . You'll need a Windows-based server, if you use Access or MSSQL and/or ASP/ASP.NET ... there are tons of hosts out there, of course. As far as code, just Google on ASP and pick/choose from the thousands of items out there to do what you want ...

If you're going to host the server yourself, you could consider setting up a Windows 2000/2003 Server and using Terminal Services to provide this service ... if you have a broadband connection, and if your userload is fairly low, this works fine (I do the same basic thing with my projects many times). Of course, this can get kinda pricey, but in general it's a one-shot measure (except for upkeep/maintenance) so in the long run you may be better off with it.