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Title -  Access 2007: The Missing Manual
Author - Linda Q. Thede, GCPCUG Member
Category - Book
Subject - Database Programming
Date - April 2009

access_2007_missing.jpgIf you have been using Microsoft Access 97-2003, but your boss decides it is time to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007. You don’t worry until you open the new version of Access and find that despite all your knowledge about using prior versions of Access the interface makes it impossible to do the things you knew how to do with the older version. Muttering a few nasties about the perpetrator of this “ghastly” new interface you realize that you need help. This book provides it.

The book is liberally sprinkled with figures and tables to provide examples and structure to ideas. Divided into six parts and an appendix, the basics of table creation, filtering, and linking tables are in part one. Part two moves on to the use of queries to manipulate data, part three deals with reports, part four with forms, part five programming with both macros and Visual Basic, and part six with sharing data. The appendix deals with customizing the Quick Access Toolbar which can make it easier to use some of the features that use to be quickly available, but now require more key presses.

The first chapter explores the heart of a database, the table. The information in this chapter addresses creating a new database, as well as quickly creating a table on the fly. This is followed in the next chapter by detailed information on the types of table fields including tips for using them appropriately as well as customizing them. Combined with this information is database theory (in a palatable format) to guide the user in creating sound databases. Chapter 3 presents excellent information on finding specific data in a table—information that even some seasoned users may find helpful such as using the search feature to search the data in all fields at the same time. A very thorough discussion of setting field requirements to prevent bad data is the topic of chapter 4. This chapter also includes the best description and example of an empty (can contain a space, but no text) and a blank (absolutely no characters) field that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, when explaining how to create a lookup table for data entry by entering the acceptable data in the design view, the author fails to mention that if one taps the enter key instead of tab or the down arrow key to enter more than one choice, Access assumes that the necessary data has all been entered and moves to the next step. The last chapter in this section deals with relationships between tables. Not only is how to create relationships included in this chapter, but it is combined with good examples of using the various types of relationships.

The second section, explores the power of databases: queries. The first chapter in this section (Chapter 6) covers the basics of querying including inner and outer joins. “Essential query tricks” is the topic of the next chapter (7). This chapter includes helpful information on functions such as finding null values and using queries to format text. Chapter 8 addresses action queries. Given that this type of query creates permanent changes, the information provided about protecting data before executing is important. Chapter 9 explores crosstab and pivot queries.

Chapter 10, the first chapter in the reports section addresses basic reports. The bulk of the chapter, however, addresses creating a report with the layout view. The information about creating a report based on true user needs rather than a column report is sadly lacking. The focus is how to use the layout view. Although there is a box telling one that it is possible to create a report from a query, there are no instructions. Granted, seasoned users can figure out how to do this, but the book should have included this information. This chapter also includes information about exporting, conditional queries, and using reports to filter data. Chapter 11 expands on reporting features by discussing modifying properties, expressions and the use of groupings.

Forms, or a specially designed screen to make data entry easier, is the subject of part four. The first chapter in this section (12) does a thorough job of explaining basic forms, how to create them, and how to design a form to show only blank records, designated records, or all the records. Chapter 13 addresses designing advanced forms. Although very helpful, like the chapter on reports, it omits information that shows how to base a form on a query (use the properties window, select data, and select the query from there). It is, however, thorough in touching on many of the features such as control buttons, tab forms, control of the order of tabbing in a form, anchoring objects, and even sizing them, that make forms easier to use by data enterers. Navigation of database objects is the topic of chapter 14. The information includes how to customize the navigation panel as well as how to design a navigation switchboard. There is also a mention of considering the user’s workflow when designing navigation, a very important asset in database design.

Chapter 15 opens Part Five about programming Access and discusses macros, a feature that in the past has been somewhat downplayed by Microsoft, who previously suggested that they were inferior to Visual Basic code. In Access 2007 macros have received more attention and this chapter examines not only creating them, but explains debugging. There is also a good discussion of safe and unsafe macros. Included here is information about how to stop Access 2007 from constantly telling you that it has disabled potentially harmful content in your database, even though there is none (Office Logo Button, Access Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings, Trusted Locations).

Visual Basic (VB) is the topic of Chapters 16 & 17. There are too many hypothetical examples that are difficult to follow that make these chapters not helpful to a beginner in VB. Part 6 examines sharing Access with the world, or use by multiple users, importing and exporting data, and connecting Access to SQL servers or SharePoint.

The strengths of this text are the liberal use of illustrations together with explanations of what the illustration shows. The author makes it easy to find information about parts of a feature by using tables to list and explain the options for different features, such as navigation keys, data types, and safe and unsafe macros. The book makes excellent use of references to topics discussed in other places by providing the exact page number where this information can be found. This is a great help with many topics because there are functions that are needed in more than one feature. The book is also thoroughly indexed making it great as a reference text.

The weakest part of this book is the absence of any useful databases that allow users to explore the various options as they read. Yes, there are databases that one can download that are found on the “Missing CD site,” but they do not have enough data to make them useful. Instead of creating so many (at least 3 or 4), some cutesy, the author should have created one with at least 15 to 20 records that allowed for user experimentation. If one does not have one’s own data, or is not familiar with the Northwinds examples included with Access, this is a glaring omission. Because of this lack the author too often makes use of hypothetical situations to explain things, an explanation that too often gets lost in the hypotheses. Another helpful feature would be exercises at the end of each chapter that asked the reader to apply the techniques in the chapter using, of course, the supplied databases.

If I could make another wish for this book, as well as for the Northwinds database, it would be that it teaches the naming conventions of using prefixes for objects that designates the type of object such as “tbl” for table, and “rpt” for report. These conventions are used by all experienced database creators. The book does include solid information on many aspects of database theory; why not include this information as well?

Still, as a user of prior versions of Access I found this book very helpful in transitioning to the newer version. I would recommend it for anyone upgrading, or as a reference for Access 2007. Unless you are very experienced with Access there are bound to be many features that you use, but that you would find easier to use with some of the tips in this book.

Access 2007: The Missing Manual
Author: Matthew MacDonald
Publisher: Pogue Press / O’Reilly
December 2006
751 pages
$34.99 USD
ISBN-10-0-596-52760-8
ISBN-13: 978059627600

Discount of 35% for User Group members
Use code: DSUG
http://www.oreilly.com
 
 
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