Database issue

[June]

Hi,

Wonder if anyone can help here.

At the moment all my products are in Actinic Developer 7, I do not have an external database as such to work on. This is becoming really unmanageable, and wondered how to export catalog as CSV file, then build on the information externally in excel before reimporting again. What columns could I delete (i.e. shipping, tax, stock) so I could use the info as the basis for the database. What info would I need to retain to reimport successfully. I obviously do not want to delete any vital inforamtion to reimport, but the database looks a tad unweildly when exported (if you get my drift)

Many thanks

June

[DaveT]

Could you do a lot of your data management directly in Access? This, I have found, can be a good solution as it behaves similarly to an Excel file, you have your rows and columns.

Actinic's own datafile is Access and you can find this (assuming you use Site1 as your site name) under:

C:\Program Files\Actinic 7\Sites\Site1\ActinicCatalog.mdb.

Opening it up, you'll see a bunch of tables, of which the 'Products' table is the one that stores product data.

If you have a look thru the columns, you'll soon work out which bit is which. Making changes here would save the whole import/export business which will soon drive you nuts.

Hope this suggestions helps.

[June]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your response. Do you know what version of Access Actinic uses as it says I can't make changes to the database as this was done in earlier version. When I go to tools to convert, it is greyed out.

Any ideas on this?

June

[garyhay]

June

you can change the data just not the structure of the database

[June]

Oops, thanks Gary....

[June]

Hi,

Have looked at the ActinicCatalog.mdb as suggested. As far as I can make out, there are various tables here which apply to all Actinic areas. Would I need to enter data into the product and section tables? Would I also need to insert data in each column relating to that item? This would seem very long winded, complicated & could mess the whole thing up if I made an error.

If I'm wrong on this, could you tell me where I enter the data for each new product/ section & which columns I would need to complete

Regards

June

[garyhay]

If you are not too into doing the changes in the database then use the uploaded file.

A very cut down version. Full version in C:\Program Files\Actinic v7\Original\Common

[mmjsc]

I have the same problem doing batch updates of prices. Using Access is OK for Products, but a bit of a nightmare for Components. Is ther perhaps a third-party utility you can buy which provides a user-friendly interface for doing this?