Customer Reviews

Microsoft® Access Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft))

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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

In any book with over 1,100 pages, a few editing errors may be inevitable. If the book comes with a free CD, maybe it's nitpicking to expect perfection in every routine on the CD.

However, when I'm depending on the book and CD to teach me how to use computer software, editing oversights are especially frustrating. I follow the instructions and they don't work, so I fear that my software has a bug or I'm failing to understand what should be obvious.

To Helen's credit, when I emailed her about one of the errors (on page 554, the 0 should be a 1 in steps 3 and 5), she did respond with a thanks and said she'd file a report with Microsoft Press. (As I write this, the correction is still not posted at mspress.microsoft.com/support/search.htm, though.)

Many of the errors in the book are so obvious that you can make the correction yourself. Still, if they are that obvious, why didn't the editor catch them? Here's an example from page 228: "...only four events: Updated, Enter, Exit, Got Focus, and Lost Focus."

But all that is a minor nuisance in the context of a wonderfully informative and systematically written tome. As I worked through the text and activities, I felt that Helen really cared about her readers getting it all. Just notice how many times the word "simply" appears in the text.

I highly recommend this book, as long as you realize the mistakes you make may not be your own.

If you're new to Access, then I don't recommend this book. I used Access to perform queries and generate reports a few years ago, but had forgotten the details, and I had never made a database myself. Recently I needed to make a database and some reports from scratch. Since I thought I was not a "beginner" I purchased Microsoft Access Version 2002 Inside Out, which was a mistake. This book may be a suitable reference once you know the Access basics (and I'm not even sure it's that great a reference), but it didn't help me learn the basics. As some other reviews indicate, this book seems to fall into a zone that is neither "basic" nor "advanced". Therefore, I'm not certain who the appropriate reader might be. And it is slow going. For beginners and anybody else who just needs to use Access to make basic databases and reports I recommend Microsoft Access Step By Step (ISBN 0735612994).

I have spent the last several days with this book building a database for a list rental company. Being used to Access 97, I appreciated the chapter devoted to the differences in version. Compared to the Access Bible by Prague and Irwin, the language was easier for a novice to understand, less technical, more end user friendly. The step by step instructions are great because of the abundance of screen shots used. When I couldn't understand the words (like when you are trying to create a complex report), the pictures were priceless. The InsideOut text boxes kept me from a few pitfalls, like the advice on wrting SQL statements. I apprecited the explanations of how to perform tasks in more than one way, both suggestions in the same place, alleviating the search thru the index and table of contents. The only thing I haven't been able to find an explanation for is manually setting a primary key when you want it to AutoNumber, but with your own number. It's probably something really simple.
I've written a lot of tech bulletins, and I can appreciate the minute detail that went into the how-to's in this book.
I highly recommend this, intermediate to advanced DB Admin.

I found the book hard to follow along. Feddema goes into all of the features of Access 2002, but only gives them a cursory glance. I found it was not enough of a treatment to fully understand the features, or how to apply them in my own circumstances. Some explanations were easy to understand, but that had more to do with the simplicity of the feature and not her explanations. The sections on VBA coding have alot of code, but no explanations as to how the code can be constructed. I found myself refering back to Access Step-by-Step many times while trying to use this book. Eventually I had to get the Access 2002 Bible.

I would not recommend this book to anyone who finds the step-by-step format the most useful to follow. The CD is just a rehash of the book, so not really any more helpful either.

Rarely will you find one computer book that meets the majority of your needs. Access Inside&Out is no exception to this. I spent a day selectively weeding out all the various Access 2002 volumes available at Borders Bookstore. I looked for selective criteria such as complex expression usage, applied object properties, and general reader presentation/learning flow. The most organized, in-depth, and helpful I found were Access Inside & Out and Access 2002 Bible. Where one book skips over any area you're weak in the other typically goes into thorough detail and vice versus. The other honorable mention is QUE/Jennings Special Edition Using MS Access 2002. None are stand-alone volumes for either direct reference or learning the intricacies of Access yet together you should be well armed to accomplish some intermediate Access goals. Helen's website (www.helenfeddema.com) may help you determine whether to use her book as one of your Access companion books.

This book shows Access programming as it is: not an easy task.Programming has been my hobby now for 10 years, I'm not a pro.I've read many books about the subjects, mainly about Access, since Access 1.0.The problem is that Access is easy when you do tasks that can be done without the use of computers. When I have been enveloped with something that really needs the eficience of an engine, I have been in trouble. This book has the virtue to mention the problems, and suggest possible solutions, which have not been sufficient to get me out of all the troubles. When I have finished reading it I was not motivated to start programming in Access, same as when You have finished (If You have ever tried!) reading whatever Bible of...So I suggest for beginners to read first Microsoft Access V.2002 Step by Step, that is a book that will induce You to try to develop your programme. You will face difficulties. Some troubles You will find answers reading InsideOut, others You will not.It will depend on the difficulties You are enveloped in your project.If your project is too ambitious to your knowledge level, try to keep it at lower level. Good luck!

Microsoft Access Version 2002 Inside Out was written for readers new and old to Microsoft Access. The book introduces the user to appreciate using a database program that takes a steep learning curve to feel into capturing the interest to becoming acquainted with the program. It explains explicit details of every tool and technique that users can apply almost immediately from building a database to mastering it to work in some interesting ways. The reader can become a professional database master. I still use Access 2002 as my favorite program in the Microsoft Office XP Professional suite. It works nicely for me. That is why I do not find any need to upgrade to any thing new to replace the good programs that work just fine for me. I mention enthusiastically that making and using databases on my own can be fun and rewarding.