>On the subject of database software, we are transitioning from Excel
>Spreadsheets to databases for our collections and indexing projects. (I
>don't know what made everyone here think that spreadsheets were databases.)

A spreadsheet can contain a set of data.  A database can also contain
a set of data.  As can a word processor.  The differences between
these different ways of storing data are the tools they provide for
manipulating that data.

I use a word processor to keep a list of books I have read.  This
database doesn't need much manipulation.  I can easily add to it,
edit it, and print it out.

I use Excel to manage lists of rooms.  These databases are small and
Excel allows me to sort and select and summarize as much as I need to
in manipulating this data.

I use the FileMaker database to manage larger lists where I have lots
to keep track of--like our list of projects or the list of rooms for
a really big museum project we did.  With FileMaker I have the tools
to sort, summarize, and format complex lists--but these take time to
make work well.

In the past, I have used Oracle and other SQL databases to manage
very large sets of data, but these needed expert programmers to make
them useful.

Some have argued that the World Wide Web is actually just a large
(and very unruly) database. We are still trying to make the tools to
make it useful.

That is all a very long way to say choosing the right tool for the
job is still the most important first step. It may be that Access is
not the best tool for what you are trying to do, especially if you
don't have the time to commit to learning it.  Access has all the
extraction tools you are likely to need, but the learning curve is
steep after the initial data input stage.  I would not look for
another query tool--you just add complexity, but might look at other
database options (FileMaker, particularly), or at other systems that
someone els may have already written.

Good luck.



------------------------------------------------------
Guy Hermann
8 1/2 Godfrey Street
Mystic, CT 06355

home: 860-536-2994
cell: 860-857-7363



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