[Dropped] Vehicle Tracking Base

[awickes]

Hey everyone, completely new here. I am about to be a supervisor at a emergency vehicle upfitter shop. Basically, we build police cars. Lights, sirens, metal, etc...Anyway, we are opening a new location beginning of March and I am going to be running the show there. I am trying to create a database that will track all my vehicles and move them around in the database.

What I am looking for is tracking,
Department Name
Make
Model
Last 6 of VIN
Date arrived
Damage upon arrival

I am also looking for it to move the entries around depending on the status. I am trying to track when it moves from the lot outside to getting pulled into the shop then when it's completed. I really do not know much about this database thing, so I am turning here.

[awickes]

In the long run, what I would like to do is update whatever table, or form or whatever with a new vehicle's information. That update should go to a table/form that's labeled "On Ground" or "In lot" something that boils down to the vehicle has been received and we logged it in. Then, when the car gets pulled into the shop, we can update it with the date it gets pulled in and moves it to an "In Progress" status in another table/form. Then, once the vehicle has been built, update again with the completion date and then that car gets moved from the "In Progress" table/form to the "Completed" table/form.

I would also like to be able to pull up a report at the end of the day or the end of the week to show what is on the lot, what is currently being worked on and what has been completed and needs to be picked up.

[MrProgrammer]

I really do not know much about this database thing, so I am turning here.

We have tutorials in Board index → Getting started → Tutorials → Base.

A database has many advantages since it ensures that data is entered and updated correctly. However creating a database is not an easy task for a beginner. Perhaps you can find some examples in the tutorials which you can use as a starting point. You may be in a position to trade skills with a talented high school student who would build a database for you in exchange for gaining experience with automotive repair in your shop. A guidance counselor at the high school may know of someone appropriate to ask.

If you are the only person working with this data, an alternative is to use a spreadsheet as a faux database. It will not have the safety of a database but is much, much easier to create. I've attached an example that I built in a few minutes. Safety is less of a concern if you are the only person making updates. Be sure to make regular backups. Read about that in 6. Saving your data and making backups of the first link below. If you start with a spreadsheet you can refine your needs and decide what fields are necessary for your business. That design, and the spreadsheet data, is easily ported to a database later.

202402181111.ods

(11.96 KiB) Downloaded 62 times

[Tutorial] Ten concepts that every Calc user should know
Calc as a Simple Database

I am also looking for it to move the entries around depending on the status. I am trying to track when it moves from the lot outside to getting pulled into the shop then when it's completed.

Just update the Status field and related dates in the spreadsheet. You could apply Data → Validity to column D (Status) so the cells operate as a dropdown.

I would also like to be able to pull up a report at the end of the day or the end of the week to show what is on the lot, what is currently being worked on and what has been completed and needs to be picked up.

Data → Filter → Standard Filter → Field name → Status → Condition → = → Value → Your choice

You can get reports by month or by status using a Pivot table.
Calc Guide Chapter 8 - Using a Pivot Table   (formerly called Data Pilot)

If this solved your problem please go to your first post use the Edit ☐ button and add [Solved] to the start of the Subject field. Select the green checkmark icon at the same time.

[awickes]

I looked in the tutorials, looked in the examples. There is nothing like what I trying to do here. It's very niche. Vehicle makes, models, VIN numbers, etc. All very niche. Always had that problem with trying to do anything software related. I will be the only one using this since it will be on my laptop versus a shop laptop. What's the Status field and where do I find it? I really know nothing in regard to setting up a database.

[awickes]

How do you do a drop down box? Trying to get a form to have drop boxes to select my departments, make, model, etc....Nothing works. There's no tutorial. Tried making a form then editing it with a combo box thingy, didn't work. The box that the wizard creates stays there and you can't use any drop down arrows...Also, the software keeps crashing about every 10 mins. Kind of a piece of shit.

[RoryOF]

Try this thread

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3533

[awickes]

Tried that. Doesn't work. It sticks the drop down box under the field that the form wizard creates and makes it unusable.

[Nick N,]

Hi,

Beg you to Please refrain from anger.

Made a test file for you. Hope you enjoy.

Regards

Nick

[RoryOF]

Tried that. Doesn't work. It sticks the drop down box under the field that the form wizard creates and makes it unusable.

Note that, in an OpenOffice document, at /Tools /Macros /Organise Macros /OpenOffice Basic /OpenOffice Macros /Tools /Listbox is a set of macros dealing with Listboxes. Under the same path changed to ... /Tools /Strings is a bubblesort macro.

These may help your work on ListBoxes.

[awickes]

Nick, that is more or less what I am looking for. How did you do it? I can't find anything that makes sense of how to do those kind of things.

Rory, found those macros you were talking about. That makes zero sense to me. There's no explanation on what those do.

[DiGro]

Maybe you should have a look here:
https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Docume ... _with_Base

[Nick N,]

Hello Awickes,

It may sound mind blowing to you, but if you leave your rage apart and gently read the basics of a Relational Database Management System. you can progress in know how and keep control of the software.

By now you can use small base project and get acquainted with the stuff.

We are here to help each other...

Regards

Nick

Edit: Feel free to post further queries