What’s the Best Way to Build a Database for Cataloguing Artifacts?

Honestly, you shouldn't rely on Excel for a database. It's just not designed for that kind of work. A proper DBMS like SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL would serve you way better. If you need to query Excel, you can use SQL with ODBC after installing the right driver, but I'd strongly recommend setting up a dedicated database instead.

While Excel isn’t structured like a database, it can function for smaller projects. But for true relational capabilities, I’d suggest installing PostgreSQL and migrating your Excel data into that. You'll be able to set primary and foreign keys, making queries much more functional. Check out some beginner videos on databases online for guidance!

Before jumping into programming, I'd ask what tasks your partner really needs to do. If it's simple data entry, Excel’s built-in features might suffice. But if she’s facing more complex tasks, consider using VBA macros. They’re quite powerful and can automate many tasks within Excel itself without needing to switch to another tool yet.

If you're looking at working with Excel, Python can help you read and write data to it, but be careful—it's easy to accidentally corrupt your data that way. I’d suggest opting for SQLite for a more stable storage solution until you can transition to a more robust database setup.

Managing several thousand artifacts can actually fit within Excel limits, but realistically, you should consider using a relational database like PostgreSQL. You could also create a simple web application with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to interact with it. That way, you'd have more flexibility with how you manage and display your data.