6.01.01 Creating a Microsoft Access (default) Database

Microsoft Access ® databases are the default database-type used by Quick Bid and require no additional software.  By default, Access databases are stored at C:\OCS Documents\Quick Bid although this location may be changed by setting a new "Database Folder" location in Tools > Options > Folders.

• Access databases must NOT be shared or stored on a network drive.

See Creating a Microsoft SQL Server Database for instructions on creating a Microsoft SQL-type database.

Creating an Access Database

Quick Bid makes creating new databases very easy.  The program does all the hard work for you.

• Click File > New > Database, click the New icon drop down and click Database or right-click anywhere in the Bid window and select New > Database - the New Database Type dialog opens

• Select Microsoft Access and click OK - the Database Properties (Access) dialog displays

• Enter a Name for the database,
• • To create the database in the default location, just type in the name in the File Name box
  • To create the database in a location other than the default location, click the Lookup button and browse to the desired location and enter a file name for the database - the full file location pathway is displayed in the File name field

• Database names must not contain special characters such as the following symbols: \ / : * ? ’ ; < > ";  only standard alpha-numeric English characters should be used.

• The "Requires login" option is only available after the database is created.  To make the database password protected, follow these steps to create it, add appropriate Estimators to the database,  then come back to Database Properties and check the box for this feature.  See Logging into a Database for more information.

• In the Measure mode field, select either Imperial or Metric as the system of measurement to use, see Units of Measurement (UOM) for more information.  All UOM boxes in the application are based on this setting - Imperial bids must be stored in an Imperial database, metric Bids in a Metric database.  See, Units of Measurement (UOM) for more information.

• Select how often the Auto-backup utility should make a backup copy of the database and indicate the number of backups to retain. At the scheduled time, Quick Bid performs the auto-backup upon application close (after prompting).  See Database Maintenance - Backup and Restore for more information.  (Default = Once a Week)

• Set the number of backup copies of the database to be stored in the No. of Backups field - once this number is reached, Quick Bid begins overwriting the oldest backup copy of the database.  (Default = 2)
• Select how often the Auto-Compress utility should compress the contents of the database to save hard disk space.
• Click OK.

The Default Backup settings only backup your database once a week and only store the two (2) most recent copies of the database.  You may want to increase the frequency and number of backups.  

The database is now available and listed in the Bid Navigator.

Units of Measurement (UOM)

You can skip right to Creating Bids at this point as many database settings can be built 'on-the-fly' although we recommend you take your time and learn about properly setting up Payroll Settings, Program Defaults, and Bid Markups & Indirect Expenses before continuing.