Hands-On Microsoft Access

Description

Access is one of the most widely used pieces of software. Perhaps more so

than any other common program, such as Word or Excel, though, many of its

users find it more vexing to really understand and use well. This is because you

can't use Access successfully without a framework in your head of how a

relational database management system works, and almost none of us have that

training. While there are many books on Access, most of them are either

introductory tutorials on how to use Access's features, or big comprehensive

references. None of them give a good solid grounding in basic database design

principles. This book fills that need; there really is no other book on Access like

it on the market. The author has written for on Access for more than seven

years, and knows how to present complicated principles clearly and in an easyto-

understand way.

Back Cover
Praise for Hands-On Microsoft Access

“Bob has distilled the essence of database design and Access development into a highly valuable and easily understandable resource that I wish was available when I first started out.”

“If you’ve been using Access with that typical uncertainty, asking yourself 'Just how could I do that?' or 'Why isn’t this working?', if you’d like to know what you’re doing before you hit the wall, this book is probably perfect for you.”

“Life at the cutting edge of Access development is exciting and very challenging. The knowledge and experience gained over many years of research and trial-and-error has been hard won. But Bob's new book encapsulates the knowledge we now take for granted, and for the first time the beginner is afforded the opportunity to bypass all that hard work. In this his latest work, Bob has distilled the essence of database design and Access development into a highly valuable and easily understandable resource that I wish was available when I first started out.”

“This is an excellent book for beginners, with an easy reading style. It is now on my recommended list of books that I hand out in every Access class that I teach.”

“If you've been using Access with that typical uncertainty, asking yourself 'Just how could I do that?' or 'Why isn't this working?', or if you'd like to know what you're doing before you hit the wall, this book is perfect for you. Access is a tremendous product and a database is created using a few clicks; but without at least some theoretical background you're bound to encounter problems soon. I wish a book like this one would've been available when I started getting deeper into working with Access some ten years ago.”

“This book is for any level DB developer/user. It is packed full of real-world examples and solutions that are not the normal Northwind database that most Access books use. The examples and the technical content surrounding them are the real strength of the book. Schneider uses real-world scenarios that make for excellent reading. It made me want to go and redo a lot of my older Access DBs that were not written as well as they could have been. This book taught me different approaches to doing some routine tasks.”

“While a very powerful application (or perhaps because of its power), Microsoft Access does have a steep learning curve and can be intimidating to new users. Bob Schneider has managed to write a book that's both understandable and enjoyable to read. His examples should be understandable to all readers, and he extends them in a logical manner. This book should leave the reader well equipped to make use of what many consider to be the best desktop database product available.”

“The author takes what is potentially a very dry subject and adds fantastic color through entertaining analogies and metaphors. For instance, his examples using the NBA, the Beatles, and Donald Rumsfeld help us 'get it' without realizing we have just traversed what could be very stale database theory. Brilliant!”

Millions of people use Microsoft Access, but only a small fraction of them are really comfortable with it. If you're ready to go “beyond the wizards”—and become a confident, highly effective Access user—Hands-On Microsoft Access was written for you.

In plain English, Bob Schneider helps you master crucial principles for building flexible, powerful databases. Discover how to enter data more easily, retrieve it more freely, manipulate it more successfully, analyze it with greater sophistication, and share it more effectively. Schneider's dozens of hands-on examples thoroughly demystify Access, and his friendly, conversational style makes it more approachable than ever before.

Hands-On Microsoft Access presents solutions for the challenges you're most likely to encounter, including

Written for Access 2003, this book also contains special instructions for Access 2002 users and extensive coverage of issues relevant to Access 95, 97, and 2000.

Contents

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

1. Getting Started.

Key Terms

Data Types

Primary Keys

It's About Nothing: Null Values and Zero-Length Strings

Conclusion

2. Database Design.

Learning About Database Design

Getting Started

Midchapter Review

Relational Database Principles

Organizing Fields into Tables

Refine the Fields

Keys

Multivalue Fields

Conclusion

3. Understanding Relationships.

The Primacy of Primary Keys

One-to-Many Relationships

Many-to-Many Relationships

Final List of Fields and Relationships

Exclusive Identification

Refining Field Names

Table Types

What Is Normalization?

Conclusion

4. Establishing Relationships.

Viewing and Creating Relationships

Referential Integrity

Overriding Referential Integrity

The Mechanics of the Relationship Window

Test Data and Conclusion

5. Building Tables.

Understanding Lookup Fields

Creating Access Tables

Creating Fields

Assigning Field Properties

Making Changes to Tables and Fields

Table Properties

Conclusion

6. Entering, Editing, and Displaying Data.

Tables Are the Center of the Access Universe

Data Entry in Table, Form, and Query Datasheets

How Form Controls Inherit Field Characteristics

Data Entry Methods

Data Entry: Form Versus Substance

Conclusion

7. Find and Filter.

Find and Replace

Filters

Filters in Reports

Expressions

Conclusion

8. Queries.

The Nature of Queries

Building Queries

Adding Calculated Fields

Top Values Property

Multitable Queries

Relationships Versus Joins

Inner Versus Outer Joins

SQL

Updating Records in a Query

Find Duplicates Query Wizard

Conclusion

9. Queries, Part II.

Parameter Queries

Totals Queries

Crosstab Queries

Action Queries

Conclusion

10. Reports.

Learning How to Create Reports

The Asia Database

Begin the Report by Creating a Query

Beginning a Report in Design View

Detail Section

Page Header and Footer

Using Concatenation

Report Header and Footer

Creating a Report Using the Report Wizard

Comparing the From-Scratch and From-Wizard Reports

Conclusion

11. Forms/Subforms.

Form Overview

Exploring Form Tools

Using the Form Wizard

Refining Your Form

Conclusion

12. Form/Report Design Elements.

Adding Pictures and Other Objects

Visual Elements and Tools

Manipulating Controls

Macros

Multipage Forms

Switchboard Manager

Other Report Types

Conclusion

13. Importing and Exporting.

Import/Export Overview

Move Access Data to a Word Processor or Text Editor

Move Access Data to Excel

E-mail an Access Object

Import Access Data into Outlook

Importing Data into Access

Importing Access Data

Linking Versus Importing

Conclusion

14. Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts.

Getting Started with Pivot Tables

Pivot Tables Using Queries

Pivot Table Properties

Creating Pivot Charts

Conclusion

Glossary.

Index.

Features

The perfect book for the many Access users who feel that they still don't "get" how the program works.

° Helps readers build better Access databases by teaching just enough database design principles

° Explains commonly used Access features that can be difficult to grasp

° Fills a missing niche in the Access book market, between introductions and soup to nuts references

° Written in relaxed, conversational style with lots of hands-on examples and just enough humor

Author

Bob Schneider has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years. Since 2001, he has been writing about Access for Smart Computing, one of the nations leading computer magazines. For three years he served as editor-in-chief of Working Smarter with Microsoft Access, a biweekly newsletter that helps office staff use Access more productively. Prior to that, he was development editor for Access 95, 97, and 2000 textbooks published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. He is based in San Francisco, CA.