Friday, April 8, 2016

What Are People Looking For?

My website, www.gpcdata.com, has been active for years. I offer a lot of free, fully functional, sample Access databases and code examples. Recently, I was reviewing statistics on what people look for when finding me, and what they download when they get there.
 
As you'd guess, "Free Access Database" is a popular search term, usually accompanied with a specific version or category. Students seem to be popular. Lots of school staff and teachers out there looking for a way to track their classes or schools.
 
However, the most popular download, by a narrow margin, is "contacts". The version I have available is mostly aimed at tracking simple, client/contact related information, along with meetings and phone calls with those contacts.
 
Currently, there are two versions. The newest one is an accdb designed with Access 2013. It ought to run in Access 2010 and even 2007, although I haven't checked the latter recently. The other is the venerable mdb originally designed with Access 2003. I debated pulling the mdb out of the download, but after some recent conversations on www.UtterAccess.com, I decided to let it ride. Lots of people seem to be sticking with the older versions still, even Access 97 despite it's being two decades old.
 
In second place is an older version of my project and work tracking tool. I actually built it for my own use and have made many modifications to it over the years. The version I use every day is now modified to run under Access 2013/2016, with a custom Ribbon. It connects to SQL Azure tables now. That allows me to carry a copy of the Front End on my laptop and update work hours from any location without having to worry about resynching Access BEs.
 
Actually, there are three versions of Working Tracking, one for Access 2007, one for 2010 and newer, and one for 2003 (the mdb format). Interestingly enough, the 2007 version has proven slightly more popular over the years and still is in the most recent reporting period.
 
I'm mulling over the implications of this history of contacts and work tracking.
 
What do you think?