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Getting started with Access?

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rjbull:
I shall shortly be expected to develop some databases in Microsoft Access, which I've never used before.  Can anyone recommend any good books and other resources, please?

TIA...

f0dder:
Ho humm, do you have any prior database knowledge/experience? Access itself is pretty darn easy to use, with all the clicky GUI goodness... but you obviously need some relational database knowledge in order to put the click-and-play goodness to good use.

Don't know of any resources, so this was just a "don't worry too much" heads-up :)

J-Mac:
IMO, it seems easy enough when you start setting up a database. However I always run into problems as soon as I actually try to start using a form or table. Inevitably a VB edit window opens and I am immediately lost. Or maybe just intimidated. But I never do well within the VB edit window. If I perform any editing there, I apparently mess something up enough to make the database not work well at all anymore. Of course if I do nothing in the VB Editor, then I cannot use the database again, because it insists on throwing me back in there until I do something.  And as I already said, if I DO anything...  On and on, a vicious cycle has then started and another database attempt is abandoned.

Odd thing is I used to work with dBase III+ fairly often and with much success back in the mid to late '80's.  But MS Access -- which granted has a much nicer UI and looks as if it will be a snap -- just seems to confound me, all because something always opens the VB Editor!

Really frustrating!!

Jim

Perry Mowbray:
As F0dder said, Access is pretty simple, but to do something specific that's not provided out-of-the-box, you'll generally need to write some code to automate forms, etc (which J-Mac seems to be having some issues with - I know I did when I first started with Access).

There's lots of stuff that's on-line that will be of use: you've probably already found those though...

Like most people here, I don't mind answering questions :) When I first started with Access I bought one of those Teach Yourself books:, that I wouldn't really recommend (well, if you buy a used one for $0.37 it's hard to go wrong - and at the very beginning it can be better to be reading from a physical book rather than the screen). I generally find them not much more than a reformatted help file... and I find that Google provides good enough answers.

PPLandry:
Access is an excellent environment. I've developped tons of applications with it. If you need any specific help, I too can help out with the VBA code that is required (as others have said, this is required)

But if you want a easier database, check out sqlnotes. As superboyac said, it is like access but made easy. And your data is stored the same database format, so Access can read it. Discussed here:

https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=10432.0

www.sqlnotes.net which is in DNS transfer state, so use the following IP for the next few days: http://98.130.34.115/default.aspx

Pierre

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