Suggestions for learning Access

[Barb Reinhardt]

I've used Access very little and am interested in learning more about it.
Could you recommend a good book or other source for me to use?

Thanks,
Barb Reinhardt

 

[Jeff Conrad [MSFT]]

Hi Barb,

You have lots of resources at your disposal to learn about Access. I would start by looking at my
Resources page here:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

You'll find links to hundreds of free resources concerning Access. Start there and see if you can
find all the information you need. There's no clear consensus on what is "best" because everyone
learns differently.

These forums are great for helping you learn about Access, but they're best geared towards asking
specific questions and much less towards very vague, open-ended questions. I personally learned a
great deal of my knowledge about Access right here in these groups. Don't forget to search these
groups because chances are, someone else has had the same issue as well.

Here are some other possible avenues of training besides looking at the links I mentioned:

1. See if there are any local Access user groups in your area and if there are, attend the meetings
and try to ask questions whenever possible.

2. You might check to see if your employer will pay for some in-class Access training courses. These
could be at a local college or a specific training service.

3. Access books are always a good resource. If you want to go this route, go down to your local
bookstore and spend some time thumbing through the various titles. Remember to try and match the
version to what you're using because there are differences. There are a broad range of styles,
topics, and knowledge levels so grab what seems "best for you" and feels right.

I have a large list of book resources here:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html#Books

4. There is also the possibility of CD/DVD training. If you want to go this route, make sure
you look around with different companies (just like with the books) and see what feels right. Most
of these companies have samples you can look at before buying.

5. The local Help files, Office Online, and MSDN can also provide good reference material for
learning about Access.

6. You might also consider hiring a personal tutor to do some one-on-one training.

Good luck and have fun with Access!
(you'll be hooked in no time....<sinister laugh>....)


--
Jeff Conrad - Access Junkie - MVP Alumni
SDET - XAS Services - Microsoft Corporation

Co-author - Microsoft Office Access 2007 Inside Out
Presenter - Microsoft Access 2007 Essentials
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie.html
Access 2007 Info: http://www.AccessJunkie.com

 

[Tom Wickerath]

Hi Barb,

Here are two links with lots of book recommendations:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html#Books
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/books.htm

A good book to get started with would be "Building Microsoft Access
Applications" and/or "Microsoft Office Access 2003". If you are using
Access 2007, then you'll want to start with "Microsoft Office Access 2007
Inside Out". These books were written by John Viescas (with Jeff Conrad
co-authoring the 2007 book). More info. here:
http://www.viescas.com/Info/books.htm#Access

Spend lots of time pouring over all the links at Jeff Conrad's site. You'll
discover lots of other web sites worth bookmarking by starting at Jeff's
Table of Contents:

http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

Take the time to learn database design, naming conventions and reserved
words as starters. Make sure that your PC is properly updated with service
packs for the operating system, Office, and the JET database engine:

How to keep a Jet 4.0 database in top working condition
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=303528

Read the 10 Commandments at the MVPS site, and bookmark this site as well:

The Ten Commandments of Access
http://www.mvps.org/access/tencommandments.htm

You are welcome to download the latest copy of a document that I call
"Access Links.doc". Here is a link to download this, as a .zip file:

http://home.comcast.net/~tutorme2/samples/accesslinks.zip

This document includes lots of useful information. For the present time,
concentrate on the information shown on the first four pages. This includes
two links in red font, on page 4, to help you configure Access to prevent
duplicate indexes, and to ensure that you will always have the very important
Option Explicit as the second line of code in all modules. Doing these things
will serve you well, because you'll avoid many problems that other's
routinely run into.

Good Luck!

Tom Wickerath
Microsoft Access MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Tom
http://www.access.qbuilt.com/html/expert_contributors.html
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