Fixing Access Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Favorite Database

by Phil Mitchell, Evan Callahan

When an application is part of the Microsoft Office suite, it's sure to be a leader in its field. In the realm of desktop database management, Access is top dog with millions of users. But this is one dog that can bite. Although Access is a powerful, relational tool with the fetching talents of a Labrador, it's not an easy beast to train.Still, millions of users count on Access for everything from managing parts databases to running Web catalogs to working as a front end to mondo SQL databases. But Access is chockablock with annoyances---report hassles, query conundrums, VBA bugs, arcane error messages, and more.O'Reilly's Annoyances series offer real-world help, right now, and "Fixing Access Annoyances" continues tradition. You'll not only squash bugs and workaround Access' limits, but you'll learn how to use Access to the max, whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro. Coverage includes install/configuration annoyances, building better tables and queries, creating forms that work right, generating reliable and sophisticated reports, pulling in data from a variety of sources, crafting macros and VBA code to customize Access, and much more.You could grab those other books for help, but do they solve problems from page one? Meet a book of a different stripe. The authors come armed with knowledge of the program's quirks, design hurdles and interface snags. They provide you with battle plans in "Fixing Access Annoyances" to save you time and bouts of hair pulling.Stop information from spiraling out of control when working with Access and trying to make this #$@@#$ thing work! Don't let its quirks, bugs, and troublemaking features beat you. Who you gonna call for help? Instead of waiting on the line for tech support or searching for the answer on the Internet with its too many resources to find exactly what you need, take control of databases with "Fixing Access Annoyances," your partner on database adventures.

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Phil Mitchell is an author, musician, and teacher from Chicago. His book "A Bright New Morning, An America Story" is about growing up in Chicago, America, and faith. It has many interesting adventures as Phil drives a trolley downtown.

Reviews

[Mark]

It's not quite accurate to say that I'm "finished" with this book, since I don't think I'll be truly finished with it until I stop using MS Access (at least the 2002/3 -vintage version). It started teaching me valuable things even before I received it (via Amazon's look-inside feature), and it's already answered several questions I've had for years and haven't been able to find anything on. Amazing! Definitely going to be a frequently-consulted member of my business library.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best technical books I have ever read. I heartily recommend it for anyone who has bashed their head on their monitor whiling fighting with Access.