Sendkeys alternative? API or sendinput or setfocus then sendkeys?

[jThegr8]

I need to navigate thru various windows on outside application while populating fields using data stored in Access DB tables
I am able to do this via sendkeys but sendkeys is not a long term (or even short term) solution.
I have searched for at several days for an alternative to sendkeys but I cannot get anything to work.

I can use spy++ determine the actual windows/fields that I want to update - but I cannot figure out what to do from there (or if spy++ is even telling me what I need to know?)

Can anybody PLEASE make a suggestion?
I have copied countless pages of code from forum after forum but have had no luck

 

[MajP]

What are the applications? Can you use automation?

 

[jThegr8]

the application i am trying to send data to is called "GA - General Agnecy Management System". The ideal way to go about this would be to hit the tables directly via ODBC, but since so many modifications have been made to this house of cards - nobody really knows the impact of directly populating any of its 400+ tables by not going thru the GUI screens.
That is why i am going about this by trying to automate the population of data via GUI screens (which has proven to work - but with sendkeys).
Another thought would be to continue to use send keys, but come up with some sort of logic to extablish focus in/on the exact screen prior to executing the sendkeys.