Access 97 One Step at a Time (One Step at a Time S.) - Softcover

Use Access 97 to make your real job easier.
My intention while writing this book was to make a complex subject -- relational databases -- as easy as possible to understand. After you understand what relational databases are, and when you would (or wouldn't) want to use them, you learn how to use Access 97 to do your real job.

Using a practice database for a small business, you learn how to create tables to store data efficiently, and techniques to make data entry faster and as error-proof as possible. You learn to create forms that make data access easier, and to create queries that extract, or pull out, precisely the data you want from your multiple tables. You learn how to create reports to present data in an easy-to-read format, and how to create forms and reports the easy way, by letting the Access 97 wizards do the initial grunt work and then tweaking the wizard's product to get what you really want.

In addition to the basics of forms, queries, and reports, you learn how to create forms with subforms that are truly functional (in other words, subforms you can use to enter data, not just display it), and how to automate your databases with simple macros and custom toolbars and menus, so that others who may not be proficient in Access can use your database with minimal distress.

The book's lessons guide you as you build a single database, making the database progressively more complex and useful in each lesson. The database is provided at four stages of completion, so you can jump into the book at several different points and begin using a practice database that's been completed to that point, or you can open and study the finished database.

This book isn't intended to be an encyclopedic compendium of everything anyone might want to know about Access 97; rather, my intention is to teach you what you need to know to get up and running as fast as possible. (BTW, when I need to find esoteric information, I consult my favorite Access encyclopedia, the Access Bible, by Cary Prague... I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an encyclo! pedic compendium of Access lore.) The folks who turned my book into CD-based tutorial files did a terrific job, and if you like learning on-line, I think you'll like them. Happy computing!

Teach Yourself Access 97 with the Software that Talks You Through Every Step On Demand See It! Watch short, movie–style demos of over 100 key tasks Try It! Two friendly experts guide you through every step of a specific task in an interactive simulation Do It! Listen to the instructions and follow the steps while working in your own Access databases Learn Access 97 and get your work done at the same time! Access 97 One Step at a Time introduces brand new interactive, sound–enhanced software that allows you to call up the book's step–by–step lessons right from your own Access databases. At home, at work, or in the classroom, this unique, all–in–one book/software package is the perfect resource for first–time learning or quick, on–the–fly refreshers. http://www.idgbooks.com System Requirements: IBM–compatible 386 or higher/Windows 95, or NT 4.0/8MB RAM recommended/150MB hard disk space (for full/network install)/sound card