Excel/Access expertise needed
 

Here's the deal. I'm gathering a group of ~30-50 parts and throwing them into a box. I am scanning each part into an excel spreadsheet and labeling each worksheet with a three-digit box number. The worksheets will only have one column, just part numbers. Easy so far.

I now need to create a separate .txt file (ms-dos txt formatting) containing just what's in each individual box, and the .txt file needs to be named 'box#-mm-dd-yy.txt', with today's date. The group of text files then needs to be emailed to a distribution list.

I want to automate the creation of these .txt files so that: 1. It's not such a repetitive process for processing 30+ boxes in a one hour timeframe and 2. a warehouse person, temp included, doesn't have to have file manipulation skills to get the process correct. If part of the automation process could email the files to the dist list, that would be even better.

I'd like to just be able to do it within excel, if possible. I do have access, as well, but would prefer to not use it if I don't need to.

Halp?

If I were doing this...I'd print labels for the boxes that matched the txt file name. So your box label would read: box1-03-03-2010

then i'd just open notepad.

scan the label first so the name of the box was the header, then scan all the parts. You'd just have to hit enter after each.

Then when you save the file, scan the box label again and hit save.


it's crude but it would work. Just save all the files into monthly folders.

+1 brainizzle. Can anyone tell by now that I like to over complicate things?

I think I'm going to just have the warehouse guy scan the parts and save the files manually as .txt files right in notepad. Aside, as a bonus, the scan gun has the option of issuing a carriage return after it scans an item, it's set like that and it works.

Then the guy will just send those .txt files to the distro list via email, easy. I can always import the text files into excel if I need to work on them separately, which I may not even need to do.

Thanks. You are King.

Someone like Urban Soot could easily write you a simple web based program that would make it automated...I'm not that skilled (or have the ambition).