Here's What's New...

New student assistant #1 is doing well, trained easily, and sufficiently dislikes her task of data entry, for which I cannot blame her. But somebody has to do it, right? That's why she gets paid the big bucks! New student helper #2 chose not to return, but sent her friend to interview for the position. Which she did, and I hired her, but she has yet to show up. Sigh. So in the meantime, I'm scanning and sorting/filing slides, along with all the other things that need to be done. The nice thing is that we have fewer and fewer slides to deal with, so I may just have assistant #2 do data entry instead of filing. What a relief to not have to train someone on the filing system again.

ITguy came over to look at my database conversion project and I think he was expecting something a little more basic. He assured me that if he couldn't do it, he'd get help from someone who could. So now there is a team of techies somewhere across campus working on my database, theoretically. He asked me when I needed it and when I told him this semester, he said "oh." Doesn't sound promising, but I will keep happy thoughts.

More later on the latest image-hosting developments, but for now, back to the grindstone.

Nugget.

Where Did Summer Go?

Classes start next Monday! That's just crazy-talk! As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to have my image database up and running (although I had no intention of populating it at this point), but I at least wanted to be able to say, "hey! look at what I did this summer!" and hit the ground running.

Well, it's close enough, I guess. Tables and fields are created, layout has been established. Just can't get those macros. I surrender! I give in for the reason I converted to Access: because I can get on-campus help. They are having an "open house" Thursday afternoon for faculty and staff to drop by for assistance or training. Thank goodness!

I will be glad to put this behind me so I can get back to the fun stuff: like training new student assistants! (just kidding!)

Back to scanning,
Nugget

Flippity-Flop

These days I just can't seem to make up my mind: FMP or Access. FMP Advanced has that groovy web-publishing thing now, which was enough to convince me that I should make our (temporary) Image Repository in that format. But of course there are compatablility issues, what with me being the ONLY person on campus that uses the software. No problem, I can publish it in kiosk mode. Sweet! Now my faculty can enjoy my database without the department investing in 900 gazillion license agreements. Oh yeah, without the server edition, only FIVE people can use it at once. That would be great if I could put everyone on a schedule, and I don't see that happening.

So Friday I had an epiphany: why not use Access? Really, most of the reasons I had against it were just personal preference. When I thought about it logically, it is the right choice for this project. Since this database will be shared, it's best to use a program that is supported on campus and that everyone basically has access to (he-he!).

Again, it's just a temporary solution, until we get a proper delivery system. So I will make the most of both worlds: I will keep my backend in FMP, and the "front end" in Access.

Now I just need to relearn Access. Ugh.

Nugget