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Get this book and get on with the project. Don't waste your time with the on-line tutorials from Microsoft. Definitely worth the price.Access 2007: The Missing Manual Why can't Microsoft write manuals like this. This manual makes all the Microsoft assistance information seem even more useless than it really is. Wonderfully in-depth information, with background "why." so you can apply the knowledge to tasks done later in the project.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tone of the book is informative without taking itself too seriously, and there are even brief moments of wit (though not enough to detract from the overall progression). I wish now that I had chosen to learn some of the other programs I'm familiar with by using this series of guides. I was curious to see how an instruction manual for a database would read, and if I would be able to get through it. I'm halfway through at this point and am actually looking forward to reading the rest of the text.
Some of his summations are only entirely true if using linked tables or SQL Server Express, not unlinked tables. McDonald's strength is in object-oriented programming and interfaces so this natural. Although this takes the user from beginning to advanced topics, it lacks the middle that is provided by Balter. Somewhat like the included manual, Building Applications with Microsoft Access 97, it covers 60% of what is needed to take Access to higher levels. As an experienced user I will continue to find useful information (compact and at a cheap price) and no book or website I have seen substitutes for experience. A book by Allison Balter would provide 85% of what is needed, but she now only includes ADO code.
She says little about macros. This is probably the best book I have read at introducing Access. But this differs in being an introductory book that omits much of the DAO code that is justifiably endorsed. These are very useful for learning table design, queries, maintenance and relationships as well as providing for simple database management that the even developers may use.
So if your looking for an Access VB programming book, or looking specifically for a manual on SQL Server based Access Projects, you'll probably want to look elsewhere because it's beyond the scope of this book. It goes over nearly any basic task that you could want to accomplish in Access, even breifly delving into the land of VB programming and SQL Server Access Projects. The book is written in a fun, easy to read manner which caters to both absolute beginners as well as some of the more versed Access users. The "Missing Manual" title is quite fitting. I highly recommend it. Of course those topics don't go extremely in-depth because you could write another 700 page book on either of those, but it touches on them enough to give you a basic understanding and complete some basic tasks.
I have used Access for several years and have created multiple databases via Access, and I have learned a lot from this book. I must say that this is really an excellent book. This information should be provided with the product. For that, I gave the book only four stars, but I'd have given 4.5 if I could.
Good author, bad grammer. It's difficult, and tiring, to read a book in which you have to keep trying to figure out if the author means possession or a verb. BUT, I'd really like to have an electronic copy so I could change all 's to [space]is. Too, bad. The content of this book is great. The author knows his subject. His other books are the same.
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