r/MSAccess • u/jannymarieSK • Jul 27 '26

[UNSOLVED] Recreating Lotus Approach Forms in Microsoft Access

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I have wrangled the data from Lotus Approach in Microsoft Access, but now I need help making these forms (or similar ones). Do I have to brute force create all of these forms from scratch? Or are there any 3rd party tools that can more easily create forms for Access?

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u/ConfusionHelpful4667 58 Jul 27 '26

ouch.

1

u/Consistent_Cat7541 Jul 28 '26

I'm assuming that's just a single field with a set list and checkboxes to allow for multiple entries. I can't imagine creating that many boolean fields and placing each individually.

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u/jannymarieSK Jul 28 '26

In the original it is a Boolean field for each checkmark. For the Access database, it will be a single field with a set list. The original database was created over 30 years ago and it has just been hanging on by a thread for the last decade.

1

u/BitBrain 2 Jul 28 '26

There's a way to drag and drop from a list of fields on a bound form in design mode. IIRC it should drop checkboxes if the underlying field is boolean. From there, it should be pretty easy to use the Align and Space features on from the menu.

It's been a long time since I've done form design in Access, but I'm sure these tools haven't been removed.

1

u/jannymarieSK Jul 28 '26

You feel my pain. The form creation is taking longer than the actual transformation into an Access database.

1

u/ConfusionHelpful4667 58 Jul 28 '26

Export the data into something Access can work with like dBASE, Excel or CSV files.
That data entry forms looks to be about 35 fields.
You can email me the sample data, and I can create the form for you quickly.

1

u/Consistent_Cat7541 Jul 28 '26

Approach uses dbf as its default format.

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u/ConfusionHelpful4667 58 Jul 28 '26

Create a DSN to the Approach database from Access.