Hey all,
At work we current have a spreadsheet on a shared drive that is filled out whenever someone takes a call. Needless to say it gets messy. What I want to do is replace it with a web based form that writes all the info to a database that can be searched by an administrator.

How can I go about this? or alternatively are there and programs or scripts that can do this?

I suppose making it your own would be the best approach? That form looks rather simple, a one file php script with MySql database should do the trick.

how would I do that? I'm not really much of a code monkey

how would I do that? I'm not really much of a code monkey

You could hire someone from this forum (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33) and pay them some sort of fee (it wouldn't be much because what you're asking is rather simple). I know that I'd be willing to do this, but this thread isn't about hocking myself out to potential customers.

Even if your needs are simple, it's probably going to be easier and cheaper to use a tiny part of a standard application than to roll your own from scratch. Take a look at some of the groupware packages (http://php.opensourcecms.com/scripts/show.php?catid=4&cat=Groupware) demoed at opensourcecms.

Even if your needs are simple, it's probably going to be easier and cheaper to use a tiny part of a standard application than to roll your own from scratch. Take a look at some of the groupware packages (http://php.opensourcecms.com/scripts/show.php?catid=4&cat=Groupware) demoed at opensourcecms.

Nice resource. I'll also keep this in mind for future projects.

-mike (who usually self-codes such things)

Hey all,
At work we current have a spreadsheet on a shared drive that is filled out whenever someone takes a call. Needless to say it gets messy. What I want to do is replace it with a web based form that writes all the info to a database that can be searched by an administrator.

How can I go about this? or alternatively are there and programs or scripts that can do this?

The simplest solution might be MySQL + phpMyadmin?

What I want to do is replace it with a web based form ...


Are you sure that's a good idea?

Right now, all the info about all the calls is available to anyone who can view the spreadsheet.

The data can be sorted, so if one of the columns is the caller's name, the info about all the calls from that caller can be seen together.

And information can be cut and pasted from one call into another.

What exactly is the problem you want to solve?

how would I do that? I'm not really much of a code monkey
You can get a few articles here (http://www.php-mysql-tutorial.com/wikis/) to help you do that.

Are you sure that's a good idea?

Right now, all the info about all the calls is available to anyone who can view the spreadsheet.

The data can be sorted, so if one of the columns is the caller's name, the info about all the calls from that caller can be seen together.

And information can be cut and pasted from one call into another.

What exactly is the problem you want to solve?

Um...what's NOT the problem? Even if you can successfully manage file-locking so only one person can open the file for writing at a time, what happens when that guy accidentally leaves it open and then goes into a 4-hour meeting? Everyone else is stuck with read-only access?

Web-based solutions can be very elegant, and you have a lot of control over user access and any special functionality you need (such as the copy-and-pasting "advantage" above). At the same time, if you're not a "code monkey" and don't want to hire a programmer, you may find that an access database suits your needs just fine. That will certainly solve your multiple-user issue, and you don't have to go through the rigmarole of hiring/contracting someone.

Especially when you're dealing with client information, you don't want to just get it up on a website without having someone who is well versed in web application security. Your clients will not appreciate it if you accidentally publicize private information. I would not consider this a "DIY" project.

It sounds like you may need a Customer relationship management software (search google "crm") I would take a look at sugarcrm (http://www.sugarcrm.com)

A few other alternatives:
Top 10 Open-Source CRM Solutions (http://www.insidecrm.com/features/top-open-source-solutions-121307/)

let us know how it goes

Um...what's NOT the problem?

The OP has not said what the problem is.

For all we know, the requirement is to enforce some data validation.

Needless to say it gets messy. What I want to do is replace it with a web based form that writes all the info to a database that can be searched by an administrator.

Problems:

1. Data integrity
2. Restricting information viewing by user level.

I thought the OP was pretty clear about the problems...

Problems:

1. Data integrity
2. Restricting information viewing by user level.

I thought the OP was pretty clear about the problems...

Some responses here seemed to guess the problem was simultaneous access, but you've come up with some different guesses.

That's why we need the OP to state what the problem is.

sorry for the delay in replying.
the main problems were only one person being able to be in the spreadsheet at once and also the tidyness of it.

I had a look at some of the crm's but they all look to go WAY beyond what we need.

How about Google Docs?
http://docs.google.com

Spreadsheets - easily importable
Shared Access - you just need a Gmail account, and assign access as needed

A custom solution might be an overkill if what you want is just "Shared Spreadsheet".

:D

While google docs is a good solution to the simultaneous access problem, it doesn't help with the "messiness" of the contents, hence my original suggestion to use an Access database.

sorry for the delay in replying.
the main problems were only one person being able to be in the spreadsheet at once and also the tidyness of it.



What do you mean by "tidyness"?

Do the rows in the spreadsheet have any relation to each other, or is each row a distinct entity that can be viewed and updated independently of other rows; is the information about a call contained in a single row?

What kinds of updates do people make to the spreadsheet?

And what else do they use the spreadsheet for? Do you expect the web-based form to provide that function?

What are the searches you want the administrator to be able to carry out? Will that be web-based too?

You can do what you want with a web-based form and database; but how simple it is to do really depends on what you need to achieve.

A small custom app might work well for you. I would look around at the employment threads for developers looking for work.

I would think you could probably have a decent app designed for this for ~$500 - $750, maybe less with some of the low prices some offer here.

Good luck.

PS: It may be a good idea to have a server setup with wamp or just a small linux server to run this off with intranet access only, that way you are not risking data breach.

There are many options available to you, depending on whether you are willing to roll up your sleeves or not. Beyond developing an application yourself, or paying someone to do it, another option would be to look at outsourcing the entire thing - host the "application" elsewhere. There are a number of database-builder apps that offer a more familiar spreadsheet interface; depending on your requirements these may be workable.

One example is the well regarded Dabble DB -- http://dabbledb.com/ is quite powerful and you can try it for free (don't use sensitive data for this free view).

I suggest looking into filemaker pro.. i believe it would help you wonders.. very customizable.

I do understand you said a web-based database, this would work just as well.

Unless your workers are not in the same building and at home.. then it may be difficult, and a web based database would be much better.

At work we current have a spreadsheet on a shared drive that is filled out whenever someone takes a call. Needless to say it gets messy. What I want to do is replace it with a web based form that writes all the info to a database that can be searched by an administrator.

I'sugget looking at Google Docs (http://docs.google.com). They have some king of form IMHO.

thanks for the replies,
we've found someone to write something custom.