Access 2007: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: property sheet, field list, input mask, Visual Basic, Boutique Fudge, Print Preview (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Compared to industrial-strength database products such as Microsoft's SQL Server, Access is a breeze to use. It runs on PCs rather than servers and is ideal for small- to mid-sized businesses and households. But Access is still intimidating to learn. It doesn't help that each new version crammed in yet another set of features; so many, in fact, that even the pros don't know where to find them all. Access 2007 breaks this pattern with some of the most dramatic changes users have seen since Office 95. Most obvious is the thoroughly redesigned user interface, with its tabbed toolbar (or "Ribbon") that makes features easy to locate and use. The features list also includes several long-awaited changes. One thing that hasn't improved is Microsoft's documentation. To learn the ins and outs of all the features in Access 2007, Microsoft merely offers online help.

Access 2007: The Missing Manual was written from the ground up for this redesigned application. You will learn how to design complete databases, maintain them, search for valuable nuggets of information, and build attractive forms for quick-and-easy data entry. You'll even delve into the black art of Access programming (including macros and Visual Basic), and pick up valuable tricks and techniques to automate common tasks -- even if you've never touched a line of code before. You will also learn all about the new prebuilt databases you can customize to fit your needs, and how the new complex data feature will simplify your life. With plenty of downloadable examples, this objective and witty book will turn an Access neophyte into a true master.

About the Author

Matthew MacDonald is a developer, author, and educator in all things Visual Basic and .NET. He's worked with Visual Basic and ASP since their initial versions, and written over a dozen books on the subject, including The Book of VB .NET (No Starch Press) and Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook (O'Reilly). He has also written Excel 2007:The Missing Manual, Excel 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual, Access 2007:The Missing Manual, and Access 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual, all from O'Reilly. His web site is www.prosetech.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 752 pages
• Publisher: Pogue Press; 1 edition (December 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596527608
• ISBN-13: 978-0596527600
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

130 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed information & instruction on the latest version of Access, January 11, 2007

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This book teaches you how to design and maintain databases, search them for information, and build attractive forms using the new version of Access. There's also material on Access programming for automating common tasks. Access 2007 is quite a bit different from previous versions, and has a brand new interface. Once you master Access's new style, you'll be able to build databases rather quickly. The problem is that with Office 2007, you get no printed user guide at all. To learn about the thousands of features included in the software, Microsoft expects you to read the online help. The Microsoft help screens are helpful if you're looking for a quick description of something. If you're seeking information more on the art than science of Access, such as chart creation, you'll find nothing of real use there. This book excels at teaching aspects of Access that involve more wisdom than dictionary definition. This book is divided into seven parts, each containing several chapters:

Part One: Storing Information in Tables. In this part, you'll build your first database and learn how to add and edit tables that store information. Then you'll pick up the skills you need to stop mistakes before they happen, browse around your database, and link tables together.
Chapter 1. Creating Your First Database
Chapter 2. Building Smarter Tables
Chapter 3. Mastering the Datasheet: Sorting, Searching, Filtering, and More
Chapter 4. Blocking Bad Data
Chapter 5. Linking Tables with Relationships

Part Two: Manipulating Data with Queries. In this part, you'll build queries, apply changes, and summarize vast amounts of information.
Chapter 6: Queries That Select Records
Chapter 7: Essential Query Tricks
Chapter 8: Queries That Update Records
Chapter 9: Analyzing Data with Crosstab Queries and Pivot Tables

Part Three: Printing Reports. This part shows you how to use reports to take the raw data in your tables and format it into attractive printouts, complete with fancy formatting and subtotals.
Chapter 10: Creating Reports
Chapter 11: Designing Advanced Reports

Part Four: Building a User Interface with Forms. In this part, you'll build forms, which are customized windows that make data entry easy, even for those new to Access.
Chapter 12: Creating Simple Forms
Chapter 13: Designing Advanced Forms
Chapter 14: Building a Navigation System

Part Five: Programming Access. Shows how to use macros and Visual Basic programming to automate complex tasks and solve common challenges.
Chapter 15: Automating Tasks with Macros
Chapter 16: Automating Tasks with Visual Basic
Chapter 17: Writing Smarter Code

Part Six: Sharing Access with the Rest of the World. In this part, you'll learn how exchange data between Access and files such as text documents and Excel spreadsheets. You'll also see how to use Access to interact with some of Microsoft's server software such as SQL Server and SharePoint Server.
Chapter 18: Sharing a Database with Multiple Users
Chapter 19: Importing and Exporting Data
Chapter 20: Connecting Access to SQL Server
Chapter 21: Connecting Access to SharePoint

Part Seven: Appendix. This book wraps up with an appendix that shows how to customize the Quick Access toolbar to get easy access to your favorite commands.

I found this manual to be head and shoulders above all of the cheap "shovelware" books on such subjects that often have all the information you need, but are disorganized. I haven't seen any of the new versions of the "Que" books that always come out on Access, but I haven't been that satisfied with them in the past. I recommend this book for anybody planning on using Access 2007.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand and written in an interesting manner., September 10, 2007

By	Judy L. (Marengo, Il. USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have a number of years of programming and system experience, but had not been exposed to Access. I decided to rewrite my business systems using Access to convert them from the Paradox system that I had used for years. Using this book and Microsoft Office Access(TM) 2007 Inside Out (Microsoft Office Access Inside Out), I have already rewritten more than half of my systems in a couple of weeks, working on them for a couple of hours each evening. Granted, I am still not an expert, but I have been able to write Virtual Basic macros, designed and completed a number of tables for my data base, forms using multiple subforms, selection boxes, and functional buttons, and a number of professional looking reports. The use of these two books has greatly shortened my learning curve and helped me to be productive in much less time than it would have taken without them.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Still missing, May 27, 2008

By	Planner, Book Lover (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I'm not a complete newbie to Access or to database design, but I would still qualify as a beginner. This manual spent too much time on things I already know how to do (like set up a table with basic relationships) and not enough on the things I have not quite figured out (like how to create subforms that pop up at helpful intervals).

I bought this Missing Manual after having a really good experience with the Missing Manual to Dreamweaver CS3, but while the Dreamweaver book had helpful step-by-step tutorials to cover concepts that would apply to a wide range of websites, this book seemed to only cover the specific case of building a customer/sales database.