newbie-where to start

[Peter]

Hi all,
I need to know where to start with ms-access.
I spent most of yesterday reading this list. (It blew my brains.)
So i searched for tutorials ( couldn`t find any)
Then i went to the local library for one of those `dummie` books. (not a
single book on access available)
Can someone please guide me to some online tutorials that i can work through
to understand the basics of working with access database?
many thanks.
Here`s hoping today is a better day.

 

[Bret Hilton]

Book recommendation:
Microsoft Access 2002 Step By Step ISBN 0735612994

The Step By Step series of books from Microsoft are
excellent. They show you, click-by-click, exactly what to
do. I also have the Frontpage SBS book.

I don't know of any online tutorials. Hopefully someone
else will chime in with some places to look.

Good luck!

Bret

 

[Tom Wickerath]

Hi Peter,

Here is one site that you can start at for learning Access:

http://www.simply-access.com/

You should spend some time gaining an understanding of database design and normalization
before attempting to build something in Access (or any RDBMS software for that matter).
Here are some links to get you started. Don't underestimate the importance of gaining a
good understanding of database design. Brew a good pot of coffee and enjoy reading!

http://www.datatexcg.com/Downloads/DatabaseDesignTips1997.pdf

http://www.eade.com/AccessSIG/downloads.htm
(See the last download titled "Understanding Normalization")

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=234208


Since you are new at this game, now would be a good time to commit yourself to using
naming conventions. They're not that hard to learn. You will be able to avoid errors
that others encounter if you use naming conventions.

http://www.mvps.org/access/general/gen0012.htm


Tom
______________________________________


Hi all,
I need to know where to start with ms-access.
I spent most of yesterday reading this list. (It blew my brains.)
So i searched for tutorials ( couldn`t find any)
Then i went to the local library for one of those `dummie` books. (not a
single book on access available)
Can someone please guide me to some online tutorials that i can work through
to understand the basics of working with access database?
many thanks.
Here`s hoping today is a better day.

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

Microsoft have some on-line tutorials at the following URL ...

http://office.microsoft.com/training/courselist.aspx?CategoryID=CR061829401033

 

[Fred Boer]

Dear Peter:

Well, this kind of repeats Tom's excellent advice, but I just posted this
somewhere else, it was still on my clipboard, and it seems applicable to
your question, so I'll self-plagiarise! <g>

Good luck with your application development! Working with Access can be a
whole lot of fun! However, I hope you don't mind a small piece of advice,
from someone who started from scratch in Access a couple of years ago: try
not to be too impatient" as you go about learning. If I had only taken the
time to nail down the basics when I started trying to create an application
in Access (way back when!), I would have had to spend *so* much less time
fixing things up later on! I am *still* fixing problems which stem from my
improperly designed tables and relationships two years later... Also, I
made many istakes in not using a consistent naming convention in my
application, and not understanding and implementing error handling...
and...well, the list goes on! Of course, I'm not suggesting that *you* will
make these mistakes, but making sure you get it right at the beginning will
allow you to fly much faster and further in the long term...

You might want to use the following as a checklist:
http://www.mvps.org/access/tencommandments.htm

HTH
Fred Boer

 

[Walter Donavan]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;289533

This URL leads to numerous interesting places. It is intended for novices.

 

[Peter]

Sincere thanks to all that replied.
Looks like my adventure is just beginning.
Peter.

 

[Tom Wickerath]

Thanks Fred.

Peter,
There are LOTS of free articles, including "How to" information, in the Microsoft
Knowledge base. Most of the information is pretty good. Point your browser (IE
preferred) to http://support.microsoft.com, and click on Search the Knowledge Base. In
the Select a Microsoft Product, pick your version of Access. Note: There seem to be many
more articles available for Access 2000 versus either 2002 or 2003. Most of the time an
article that is applicable to Access 2000 applies to the later versions equally well.
Here is one KB article that you should become familiar with:

Reserved Words in Microsoft Access
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=286335

Make sure to scroll to the bottom of this page, where it reads "The following symbols
should not be used as part of a field name". Many beginning Access books violate this
advice from Microsoft, including the book that was picked for me to use at a local
community college when I taught there (Access 2002 New Perspectives, Adamski & Finnegan,
published by Course Technology).

The MSDN site also offers a lot of good information.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...us/dnanchor/html/odc_ancaccess.asp?frame=true


Tom
_____________________________________

Dear Peter:

Well, this kind of repeats Tom's excellent advice, but I just posted this
somewhere else, it was still on my clipboard, and it seems applicable to
your question, so I'll self-plagiarise! <g>

Good luck with your application development! Working with Access can be a
whole lot of fun! However, I hope you don't mind a small piece of advice,
from someone who started from scratch in Access a couple of years ago: try
not to be too impatient" as you go about learning. If I had only taken the
time to nail down the basics when I started trying to create an application
in Access (way back when!), I would have had to spend *so* much less time
fixing things up later on! I am *still* fixing problems which stem from my
improperly designed tables and relationships two years later... Also, I
made many istakes in not using a consistent naming convention in my
application, and not understanding and implementing error handling...
and...well, the list goes on! Of course, I'm not suggesting that *you* will
make these mistakes, but making sure you get it right at the beginning will
allow you to fly much faster and further in the long term...

You might want to use the following as a checklist:
http://www.mvps.org/access/tencommandments.htm

HTH
Fred Boer