Migrating from Access Advice…

[Adrian Share]

Good Morning,

I am currently using windows 10, and running microsoft access, I intend to switch to a Mac next month and was looking for a suitable database. I wonder if somebody could answer a couple of questions for me :-

1. In Tap Forms, can I create my own database from scratch, that is define my own fields, and design my own forms ?

2. Is Tap Forms suitable for organizing large photo collections ?

The reason I ask is all that I have read about Tap Firms, seems to indicate that the software will supply you with template databases, and these may not be suitable for my needs

Many Thanks for any advice

Regards

Adrian

[Daniel Leu]

There are templates that you can use to build your databases, but you can start from scratch as well defining all your fields, relationships, etc.

I use TapForm to handle all my photo archive and it works well!

You can download an evaluation version (limited to 30 days I think) to give it a try.

[Adrian Share]

Many Thanks for the comments Daniel, I think that’s the best bet is to try the trial, and within the 30 days see if I can build the databases that i need.

Best Regards

Adrian

[Brendan]

Hi Adrian,

Just to clarify, the trial version is for 10 days.

You can download it from here:

https://vendors.paddle.com/download/product/503174

And yes, as Daniel replied, you can start from scratch or even open a template form and customize it to your needs.

Thanks!

Brendan

[T.L. Ford]

As a long-time Access dev, I can say that Tap Forms is the closest database I’ve found for a native Mac platform, and I really like it. There’s some “adjusting” to do to learn how to make relationships (linked fields) as it is a no-sql database, and scripting is via JavaScript, not VBA (but the “there are objects/properties/methods” is the same). If you are importing relational data, you can expect to go through a bit of a learning curve for making the fields link in the converted data. Form design is different than in Access and I’ve just gotten used to using the defaults. Notably: Form == Table in Tap Forms, so you can find both the form and the table design together. Multi-user security is not as robust as Access. Photos (and other “extended” field types) are much nicer in Tap Forms.

[Adrian Share]

Many Thanks for all the replies Gentlemen

I am looking at the Mac Mini M1 2020, for delivery last week in March, to give me time to gather all my photos, spreadsheets, and databases and get them onto a external drive. I have never used a mac before, always, always been dos / windows, but I cannnot wait to get away from microsoft…

Best Regards

Adrian

[Anthony Davies]

I did the same some 5/6 years ago, moved away from windows and went Mac. One of my biggest concerns I had was a custom access database I had built and had about 15 years worth of customers data and service records in it. I’m no db guru, however I had managed to customise a standard access db into quite a complicated relationship database covering many forms of data. I did the research as you are doing now, found Tapforms, had a play, went through a bit of a leaning curve to get a feel, then boom, went Mac & Tapforms. After getting a better understanding of TF, I was able to build a TF db and import all my access data into it. Sometime later as my TF experience developed, I have rewritten the DB to a whole new level, that’s modern easy to use and captures a wider variety of information. 5 years on, TF on ipad, iphone and Mac, synced across all devices. Absolutely brilliant bit of software, easy to use, very, very versatile, lots of application. I’ve built several TF DB’s for friends and families now for lots of different applications. I love Tapforms, probably the best bit of software you can get for MacOS,iOS and iPadOS.

[Brendan]

That’s a pretty awesome testimonial Anthony! Thanks very much and I’m thrilled you’re enjoying Tap Forms!

Brendan

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