Microsoft® Access Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft)) [Paperback]

Helen Feddema (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735612838 | ISBN-13: 978-0735612839 | Publication Date: January 5, 2002 | Edition: 1st

Conquer Access—from the inside out!Hey, you know your way around Access—so now dig into Version 2002 and really put your databases to work! This award-winning, supremely organized reference packs hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips, and handy workarounds in concise, fast-answer format—it’s all muscle and no fluff. Discover the best and fastest ways to perform everyday tasks, and challenge yourself to new levels of Access mastery.

• Build on what you already know about Access and quickly dive into what’s new
• Ace database design fundamentals and avoid common pitfalls
• Create custom forms, controls, and queries
• Link to data from other databases and Microsoft® Office applications
• Get more data-crunching power with code and add-ins
• Learn the tricks that bring your forms and reports to life
• Use data access pages and XML to deliver dynamic data on line
• Bolt your Access front end to an enterprise-strength back end, such as Microsoft SQL Server™
• Write your own code modules using Microsoft Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA)Learn from an award winner!

Microsoft Access Version 2002 Inside Out won the 2004 Referenceware Excellence Award in the category of Desktop and Office Applications at the Waterside 2004 conference. The award, sponsored by Books 24x7 and Waterside Productions, Inc., recognizes the book’s the quality of content organization, depth and quality of subject matter coverage, and graphics.

CD-ROM FEATURES:

• Intuitive HTML interface
• Extensive collection of Microsoft add-ins and third-party utilities, demos, and trials
• Sample databases and VBA code
• Complete eBook—easy to browse and print!
• Sample chapters from other INSIDE OUT Office XP books
• Web links to Microsoft Tools on the Web, online troubleshooters, and product support
• Microsoft Visio® auto-demos
• Interactive tutorials

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [e-mail].

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Helen Feddema grew up in New York City. She was ready for computers when she was 12, but computers were not ready for her yet, so she got a B.S. in philosophy from Columbia and an M.T.S. in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School, while working at various office jobs. It was at HDS that she got her first computer, an Osborne, and soon computers were her primary interest. She started with word processing and spreadsheets, went on to learn dBASE, and did dBASE development for six years, part of this time as a corporate developer. After being laid off in a flurry of corporate downsizing, she started doing independent consulting and development, using dBASE, ObjectVision, WordPerfect and Paradox. Always looking for something new and better, Helen beta tested Access 1.0 and soon recognized that this was the database she had been looking for ever since Windows 3.0 was introduced. Since that time, she has worked as a developer of Microsoft Office applications, concentrating on Access, Word, and Outlook. Helen coauthored Inside Microsoft Access, (New Riders, 1992), and wrote two books for Pinnacle's "The Pros Talk Access" series, Power Forms and Power Reports (1994). She also coauthored Access How-Tos for the Waite Group Press (1995), and more recently contributed to The Microsoft Outlook Handbook (Osborne-McGraw-Hill), Que's Special Edition: Using Microsoft Outlook 97 (1997), Office Annoyances (O'Reilly, 1997), and Outlook Annoyances (O'Reilly, 1998). She also contributed chapters to Que's Special Edition: Using Microsoft Project 98 (1997) and Teach Yourself Project (1998). Most recently, Helen co-authored Sybex' MCSD: Access 95 Study Guide (1998). She has also been a regular contributor to Pinnacle's Smart Access and Office Developer journals, Woody's Underground Office newsletter, PC Magazine's Undocumented Office and the MS Office and VBA Journal. She recently contributed articles on Menu Manager and Outlook Automation Access add-ins and Access-Word data merging to Smart Access, as well as writing the Access Archon column for the Woody's Office Watch e-zine. Helen sometimes beta tests seven or eight products at once, mostly Microsoft, but with some from other vendors as well. She lives in the mid-Hudson area of New York state, with three cats and three computers. Helen maintains a web page with a large selection of code samples concentrating on connecting Access, Outlook, Word, and Excel. She is an MVP on the WOPR Lounge, a threaded discussion group devoted to Microsoft Office.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1105 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 1st edition (January 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735612838
• ISBN-13: 978-0735612839
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars DON'T BUY IT, IF......, March 16, 2002

By 

Sandy (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft® Access Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

I was very disappointed in this book; perhaps I was expecting too much; perhaps Microsoft didn't allow Helen to "tell it like it is". In any case, this book focuses primarily on externals and may be fine if you are a true advanced user of the standard Access user interface, and you *don't* need to know how Access really works, or you *don't* need to worry about DB design principles, or in particular, you *don't* need to do moderate to heavy VBA programming in Access.

By the time I read thru the 5th chapter I could hardly take it anymore. Helen (or more probably Microsoft) takes the far too common approach of tediously stepping you thru screen shot after screen shot telling you just what button to push -- and this was for Wizards! (I thought the whole purpose of a wizard was that you didn't need someone to hold your hand!) I needed to know experienced specifics about VBA programming in Access. Helen devotes essentially only one chapter to VBA and even that is really nothing more than an rudimentary introduction to VBA programming in general. For example, nowhere does she mention why you might open a Recordset as Table type, or Shapshot, or Dynaset. I don't think she even explains these options, much less give a programmer hints as to why one might choose one over the other.

If you only plan to work with Access using its predefined user interface, this may be a fine book for you; but if you need to program in VBA to manipulate Access in a real application, look elsewhere.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique approach with plenty of support!, October 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Microsoft® Access Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

I have more books than I want to admit. This book is in my top 4 - one of two that pertain to Access. I think this is a must have if you want to do more than just build/use mediocre databases. Her approach is well thought out, her insight is fresh and unique, and she covers what needs to be covered - something most books do not do. While other books regurgitate the same information again and again, Helen shows you what you actually need to know. Plenty of VBA code, examples, & insight.

This is the first book that I have ever bought that has any real level of support. If you have not been to her web sites I encourage you to do so. They are searchable & as such it is easy to get the information you want, real examples for real situations. I have even had the author answer most of my e-mail questions - that is unusual in this day and age. She knows her stuff, she explains it well, & she supports her products.

If you are looking for a really well thought out & presented book covering the stuff you really need to know and the stuff you really will use, well then, buy this book today. I am sure you will be pleased with the purchase, I am.

85 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy It!, January 14, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft® Access Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

I have a little vice. I buy Access books at about the rate Imelda Marcos bought shoes.
This Access book is quite simply the best I've come across. Every time I dip into it, I find something really useful that makes my Access experience better. And Feddema writes with matchless clarity.
I liked this book enough to buy a second copy for a friend. He wanted to borrow it, and I didn't want to be without it, so I bought a second copy.
Mitzi in Maryland