Access basics

V

vishu

I don’t know anything about Access. But I want learn from basic things and
use it in my official report.
Can any please tell me that from where I can learn easily and fastly?
 
H

Huntergatherer

I used the Northwind database as an example, and set about constructing a new
database using information gleaned from Northwind. Just trial and error, and
searching for "how to" when you get stuck. Probably not the correct
respoonse, but a sharp and interereting learning curve!

Good luck - you will need it at 2am when you cant sleep trying to solve a
problem!

Peter
 
V

vishu

thanks...but can you please tell me where can i get Northwind
database...please help me
 
J

Jeff Conrad

For some Access learning, you may want to check my Access Tutorial
links posted here:

http://www.ltcomputerdesigns.com/JCReferences.html#Tutorial

A good Access book would certainly help as well:

http://www.ltcomputerdesigns.com/JCReferences.html#Books

There should be plenty of other stuff on that page to keep you busy.

You can download the Northwind 2000 Sample Database from here:

http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Nwind2K.aspx

or here:

http://www.downloaddatabase.com/dat...utorial-northwind-traders-sample-database.htm

Location of the Northwind sample files in Access 2002:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/276376

Location of the Northwind sample files in Access 2003:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824265

Good luck,
--
Jeff Conrad
Access Junkie
Bend, Oregon

in message:
 
J

John Vinson

I don’t know anything about Access. But I want learn from basic things and
use it in my official report.
Can any please tell me that from where I can learn easily and fastly?
Click to expand...

See the extensive references Jeff has compiled from his message
elsewhere in this thread.

Just be aware - Access is a complex product with a steep learning
curve. You wouldn't expect to take Excel out of the shrinkwrap and be
an expert in 24 hours; Access is *harder* to get started with than
Excel. It's important to learn some basics about relational database
design and normalization, and a good grounding in Boolean logic helps
too.

If you're hoping that you can just toss together something for a
report, and use Access to make the process quicker, you may be in for
a shock. Access is a very powerful and very useful program for
managing and organizing information - but the power comes at a price!

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
C

CyberTaz

Hi vishu-

I'm not an MVP, so my opinion may not carry much weight, but I have been
training people to use Access for over 10 years.

I _strongly_ agree with John's post & suggest that anyone with a serious
need for Access get at least some professional training before they waste
their time and energy building a house of cards. If they don't have a serious
need for Access there are any number of structured programs that are
"ready-to-go" right out of the box and are much easier to use.

I can't begin to tell you how many experienced database developers I've
worked with who tried to go it on their own, wound up taking a class and
walked away saying "If I had only known this X months ago!".

LOL |:>)
 
D

Dirk Goldgar

CyberTaz said:
Hi vishu-

I'm not an MVP, so my opinion may not carry much weight, but I have
been training people to use Access for over 10 years.
Click to expand...

Those sound like credentials to me!
I _strongly_ agree with John's post & suggest that anyone with a
serious need for Access get at least some professional training
before they waste their time and energy building a house of cards.

I can't begin to tell you how many experienced database developers
I've worked with who tried to go it on their own, wound up taking a
class and walked away saying "If I had only known this X months ago!".
Click to expand...

While I tend to agree, I don't know if I'd go quite that far. I do
think some study of the product and the principles behind it --
relational database design, for example -- is really necessary for
anything more than simple "lists of stuff", but I don't know if
professional training is required (though I'm certain it would be very
valuable). I'd say reading the help files and one or two decent books
should be enough to set a person on the right path to make something
truly useful with Access, if that person already understands something
about programming and design.

I learned to use Access mostly by reading the help files and the
newsgroups, but I have to admit that I had already been programming
professionally for many years, and had previously read up on relational
database theory. And I also have to admit that I've learned a lot more
by trial and error as the years have gone by, so I sympathize with those
developers saying "I wish I'd known this years ago." But my point is
that Access may be more or less difficult to learn depending on where
you start from.
 
J

Jeff Conrad

in message:
Hi vishu-

I'm not an MVP, so my opinion may not carry much weight, but I have been
training people to use Access for over 10 years.

I _strongly_ agree with John's post & suggest that anyone with a serious
need for Access get at least some professional training before they waste
their time and energy building a house of cards. If they don't have a serious
need for Access there are any number of structured programs that are
"ready-to-go" right out of the box and are much easier to use.

I can't begin to tell you how many experienced database developers I've
worked with who tried to go it on their own, wound up taking a class and
walked away saying "If I had only known this X months ago!".
Click to expand...

I'll agree with most of that as well, but just like Yoda (Dirk), I do not think
that it is absolutely necessary to attend a professional class to make an Access
application "work." One of the amazing things about Access is that through
the power of the wizards and built-in templates a person with no knowledge
can actually make a database. Will it be perfect, maybe not. Will it adhere to
all sound database relational theories, possibly not. But will it *do* what the
person wants? Very possible. I can speak from my own experience on this.

Our company was getting rid of an old Clipper-based program that handled
all of the office functions for our restaurant locations. We were spending truckloads
of money on other new separate programs that would take the place of that
old system. No one bothered to consider one important puzzle piece of
that puzzle: basic employee information and reports. So I took it upon myself
to buy a very simple Access book (a Microsoft Press one I believe) and spent
a little time making an Access database to handle this. Our company could not
afford to send me to a class (or even a book for that matter) so I did this on
my own. I made it work and put in on every storesite location through PcAnywhere.
Was it a beautiful thing? Heck no, but it worked.

Remember that the poorly designed databases by not-so-knowledgeable are
the ones that keep food on the table for the experts. <g>

I have sense acquired all of my Access knowledge through my Access Jedi Master
Yoda and by reading additional books.
 
J

John Vinson

While I tend to agree, I don't know if I'd go quite that far. I do
think some study of the product and the principles behind it --
relational database design, for example -- is really necessary for
anything more than simple "lists of stuff", but I don't know if
professional training is required (though I'm certain it would be very
valuable).
Click to expand...

Just FWIW, I've never had any "professional training" in Access
myself. I've had one course (a very valuable one!) on relational
theory, in conjunction with implementing a big Oracle database at a
previous employer, but other than that I've "learned by doing" and
(more) from some good books and these newsgroups.

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
L

Larry Daugherty

Apparently many of us went to the same school. We were probably
blessed in that we knew that we didn't know so we had to read and dig
and practice and test; and buy a lot of books! That insight into
relational systems and the normal forms is so vital. The earlier it
comes, the better.
 
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