Microsoft Access 2010 Plain & Simple
by Curtis D. Frye


I have been using Microsoft’s Access database management system (DBMS) for several years and have developed robust applications with it and it’s programming language, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Microsoft Access 2010 Plain & Simple is a beginning guide to the most recent version of Access and, while development is outside the scope of the book, there are an amazing number of things one can accomplish using just the Access interface!

Starting with a brief overview of the book from the author, the first three chapters are an introduction to Access 2010. The second chapter provides a nice tour of the 2010 interface and descriptions of some of the new features. This is followed by a chapter on application basics like opening, viewing and displaying database objects.

The next three chapters focus on how to create a database. We start with creating a new database, creating tables (the heart of a database), setting the primary key, establishing relationships between the tables and enforcing referential integrity. These are key database concepts. This is followed by instruction on how to customize fields which covers important database topics like data types, properties, and expressions. We then move on to how to customize tables, such as moving, inserting and deleting columns, modifying the appearance of columns and rows and filtering table records.

Often, you don't want to view your data in tabular format, but rather, like a form. Chapter 7 covers how to create forms so you can view, insert and edit your data in whatever order you prefer. We learn about form controls, such as command buttons, text boxes, check boxes, labels, images and even a date picker control. These are many of the same objects that programmers use.

If tables are the heart of the database, queries are the brain. Queries provide the ability to extract data, based on criteria you set. The chapter starts with a brief discussion of the various types of queries: select queries, parameter queries, action queries and cross-tab queries. We learn how to use the Data Wizard to create a query, how to create a summary query, and how to edit a query. There is also a brief introduction to operators, tools that allow us to calculate values, establish criteria and compare results.

Once your queries are written, you'll want to see the extracted data in a format that is easy to read and interpret. The next three chapters cover reports, how to create them, how to make them visually appealing and how to create and insert charts and graphs.

More advanced database topics are covered in the next two chapters. There's a chapter on how Access can interact with other programs such as Microsoft Office, as well as importing and exporting data from and to different file formats. The following chapter addresses the vital function of administering the database. Topics covered are securing the database with encryption, locking records so they can't be viewed, edited or deleted, and tools for documenting the database.

There's a brief chapter on how to customize your Access interface, including the quick access toolbar and the ribbon tab. The final chapter covers presenting table and query data dynamically, by creating and using a pivot table. Users of Excel will recognize this valuable and flexible tool.

The book is laid out nicely and progresses logically from one lesson to the next. It's printed in full color and is visually appealing with an abundance of screen shots. Beginner users of Access who work through Microsoft Access 2010 Plain & Simple will finish with an intermediate skill level using Access and a basic understanding of some relational database fundamentals. Experienced users in Access will find this an adequate quick reference book, but will want to investigate other titles if development is their goal.

Pros

1. Easy to follow instructions and clean formatting of content, accompanied with lots of screen shots.

2. Like most Access books, the samples are based on the Northwind database, a comprehensive, sample database that Microsoft provides with each copy of the application.

Cons

1. Key database concepts, such as primary keys, relationships, and referential integrity are covered, although briefly. Because these are key concepts to building solid databases, beginners may need to augment these topics with other books or articles from the web, to fully understand them and their importance.

2. I thought queries should have been covered in more depth. Insert and delete queries weren't even touched on. Also, while I appreciate that query language is outside the scope of this book, I wish the author had at least mentioned writing queries using query language and provided some samples.

Overall, Laserdog gives this book two wags of the tail - an acceptable rating.


The first edition of this book was published in June 2010 and has 288 pages. The price of the book is $16.49. Click here to buy the book.

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Lezly Harrison
Laserdog Productions - Code that Doesn't Bite