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.
About the Author: Phil Mitchell is an Access wiz and instructor. He's been a software developer for a dozen years, focusing on data modeling and developing database applications. He also has a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and a passion for design usability.
Evan Callahan is President of Callahan Software Solutions, a consultancy focusing on database and other software solutions and technical communications. Clients have included Microsoft, General Dynamics, Online Training Solutions, and a variety of accounting, real estate, and environmental firms. He is the author of Troubleshooting Your Web Page and Microsoft Access Visual Basic for Applications Step by Step, published by Microsoft Press. Evan worked for Microsoft Corporation from 1989 to 1995, where he created documentation and sample applications for Microsoft Access and Visual Basic. His background includes extensive experience in database design, technical communications, web-based marketing, and management.
