Training for MS Access, guidance please

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Tonkolili

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After a few months of deliberation, I have decided that MS Access is the right database programme for my purposes. The next step is to find a person or firm that offers high quality training in how to use MS Access. Please recommend a person or a firm if you know them. I would appreciate any guidance. I am based in Jo'burg but we do the training online quite easily I guess.

Also, if you *really* think MS Access is a bad choice *and* you have good reasons then I'd also be happy to hear them. FWIW, I chose it based mainly on the reports function. I am not an experience database software kinda person but I reckon I need to become one.
 
99% of Access is actually Visual Basic (or VB) and 1% is making pretty forms and validations.

I did a fair amount in Access and was all self taught and looking at code that others had assembled. With no code experience (other than Basic back in the 80's) I was able to do what I needed in Access. Almost every time I looked up something, someone had already done a similar project. You quickly pick up what the code does and you get a collection of bits of code that you can call on to do something more complicated.

here is a simple example of appending a table with next week's dates if they don't exist. just by reading up a bit I understand what each part of the code does.

Private Sub Button_Next_Click()

Me![Date1] = ([Date1] - (DatePart("w", [Date1], 3) - 1)) + 7
Me![Date2] = ([Date1] - (DatePart("w", [Date1], 3) - 1)) + 6


Dim rst1 As DAO.Recordset
Dim d As Date

Set db = DBEngine(0)(0)

Set rst1 = db.OpenRecordset("T_Milk", dbOpenDynaset, dbAppendOnly)

On Error Resume Next
For d = [Date1] To [Date2]

If d = DateAdd("d", DateDiff("d", 1, d), 1) Then

rst1.AddNew
rst1("MilkDate") = d
rst1.Update

End If
Next d

Requery

End Sub
Click to expand...
 
Dairyfarmer said:
99% of Access is actually Visual Basic (or VB) and 1% is making pretty forms and validations.

I did a fair amount in Access and was all self taught and looking at code that others had assembled. With no code experience (other than Basic back in the 80's) I was able to do what I needed in Access. Almost every time I looked up something, someone had already done a similar project. You quickly pick up what the code does and you get a collection of bits of code that you can call on to do something more complicated.

here is a simple example of appending a table with next week's dates if they don't exist. just by reading up a bit I understand what each part of the code does.
Click to expand...

VBScript?
.
 
What is your purpose with the database?

I believe there is a very good reason you are struggling to find training for Access...that's because nobody actually uses it any more.

There are much better and free choices out there.
 
SauRoNZA said:
What is your purpose with the database?

I believe there is a very good reason you are struggling to find training for Access...that's because nobody actually uses it any more.

There are much better and free choices out there.
Click to expand...

What other free choices is out there? Care to share?
 
If you like microsoft, SQL express + Visual studio community + SQL reporting services.
 
Odracir said:
What other free choices is out there? Care to share?
Click to expand...

MySQL comes to mind first.

SQLite as well.

Postgres also free as I recall.

MongoDB

LOTS. It appears you may have done no research at all.

Think there is even a free Microsoft SQL variant.
 
OP has quite a steep learning curve if he wants to go the DIY route. Not impossible, but this will take a significant investment of time.
I'd suggest sitting down with one of us over coffee for a frank chat about what he wants, the state and availability of the data, the reporting requirements, and available resources.
.
 
eXisor said:
OP has quite a steep learning curve if he wants to go the DIY route. Not impossible, but this will take a significant investment of time.
I'd suggest sitting down with one of us over coffee for a frank chat about what he wants, the state and availability of the data, the reporting requirements, and available resources.
.
Click to expand...

OP should be more forthcoming with his end goals.

He may not need a conventional database at all.
 
Okay, thanks to all the people who replied. All your comments are useful.

I had not found the virtual academy so thanks to @Urist for that.
Youtube has taken me quite far but I need a person to go further. If I am missing a better channel to MS Access, please recommend one.

@eXisor: Yes, I think you are right. A chat over coffee would help but I don't seem to be buying coffee for the right people. I could probably learn mySQL but it appears to be more power than I need and less handy for reports. Vida or Fatherland? Any advice.

Example: The closest example I can think of (to my goal) is the review section of the Amazon site, but with a few tables, pictures and numbers added in.
Each book review is linked to a book/product, but also linked to the reviewer ID, and probably linked by country and by type of product. Using Amazon's database, you can probably call up every review written about a romance novel, by people in Africa, submitted in the past 48 hours, sorted by stars and then by alphabetically by surname of the book author. That would be great for my goal.

Here is some more detail for those who suggested that I be more forthcoming.

I can't give exact details but here are the basics:
* I don't have huge amounts of data so I use Excel for almost all of the numbers. But there is also a lot of text. I write hundreds of individual paragraphs that I want to put into the database (once) and then pull into a report when necessary. Each paragraph needs to be tagged by country, industry, person, date and company.
* The layout of the final report needs to be good-to-average and a bit flashy so that is why I chose Access -- for the pretty stuff at the end. I am not creating columns of numbers but reports with quite a lot of text in them.
* I would say that 50% of the database is text: my own writing, interspersed with lists of projects, countries, people, industries and regions. And then to show various bits of data related to each of those industries and countries.
* Ideally, I would avoid a database altogether and just use a system of "tagging" each paragraph that I write and graph that I create. Each final report needs to be a combination of tables, paragraphs, and lists (of people, projects, recent news, and relevant companies). And it needs to have logos on and look quite slick.

Evernote / tagging: I have not used Evernote but I have seen that it has tagging. If you think Evernote can do this, please tell me about your experience.

If there is a way to use tagging, please let me know. I suspect that I don't need a database but that a database is still the least-worst way to approach this. The queries function in Access seems to be a great way to re-organise the same data in many different ways and then pull it into a slick report.
Actually, the final reports that come out of my database don't have to be A4 pages but could be webpages like Power BI or similar.
 
Microsoft Access is not a bad application, in fact it has its strengths that others lack, one of them is the low knowledge entry point needed to create easy and quick data apps.

That low knowledge entry point is both Accesses biggest strength and its worse curse esp when you have to support something created by a power user. It can be as buggy as hell after a version upgrade if not created properly and debug not going to help you one bit. Plenty of times I found it easier to just redo the thing than try to find the fault with someone else's database application.

The other strength that I love about it is that can grow as your needs grow, you can for example export/link data to a proper SQL Database and Keep the Access front end, and even the GUI can be Exported to SharePoint to become a web app.

The best advice I can give when using Access: When you create actual data tables, do not rush that part. I know its easy just to name a field and enter to next one without filling in the details, descriptions, properties and sizes. <-- that crap is gonna haunt you later on in development, so plan properly and take your time creating the actual database. In fact you should have all your Data fields and relationships pre-planed and drawn up way before you even open the app.
 
AlphaJohn said:
Microsoft Access is not a bad application, in fact it has its strengths that others lack, one of them is the low knowledge entry point needed to create easy and quick data apps.

That low knowledge entry point is both Accesses biggest strength and its worse curse esp when you have to support something created by a power user. It can be as buggy as hell after a version upgrade if not created properly and debug not going to help you one bit. Plenty of times I found it easier to just redo the thing than try to find the fault with someone else's database application.

The other strength that I love about it is that can grow as your needs grow, you can for example export/link data to a proper SQL Database and Keep the Access front end, and even the GUI can be Exported to SharePoint to become a web app.

The best advice I can give when using Access: When you create actual data tables, do not rush that part. I know its easy just to name a field and enter to next one without filling in the details, descriptions, properties and sizes. <-- that crap is gonna haunt you later on in development, so plan properly and take your time creating the actual database. In fact you should have all your Data fields and relationships pre-planed and drawn up way before you even open the app.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your advice. The "haunting" you mention has already begun but fortunately the DB is so small that it takes just a little effort to fix it. I am learning fast but I am not sure if it is fast enough.
I have decided to break up this project into two components: an Excel component and an Access component.
My idea is to import the Excel parts into Access when I need them but not to combine them permanently.
 
Sweevo said:
I would get a good book, like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Shelly-Cashm...F8&qid=1541689026&sr=1-8&keywords=access+2016
https://www.amazon.com/Shelly-Cashm...F8&qid=1541689026&sr=1-7&keywords=access+2016
https://www.amazon.com/Access-2016-...F8&qid=1541689026&sr=1-1&keywords=access+2016
Click to expand...
Sweevo, Thanks for those links. The "Shelley Cashman" series is new to me and I did not find it during my searches.
I already have one book on Access and that has been very useful -- the Dummies Guide. When I need to power up I will buy the next ones that you have suggested.
 
AlphaJohn said:
Microsoft Access is not a bad application, in fact it has its strengths that others lack, one of them is the low knowledge entry point needed to create easy and quick data apps.

That low knowledge entry point is both Accesses biggest strength and its worse curse esp when you have to support something created by a power user. It can be as buggy as hell after a version upgrade if not created properly and debug not going to help you one bit. Plenty of times I found it easier to just redo the thing than try to find the fault with someone else's database application.

The other strength that I love about it is that can grow as your needs grow, you can for example export/link data to a proper SQL Database and Keep the Access front end, and even the GUI can be Exported to SharePoint to become a web app.

The best advice I can give when using Access: When you create actual data tables, do not rush that part. I know its easy just to name a field and enter to next one without filling in the details, descriptions, properties and sizes. <-- that crap is gonna haunt you later on in development, so plan properly and take your time creating the actual database. In fact you should have all your Data fields and relationships pre-planed and drawn up way before you even open the app.
Click to expand...
Okay, nice to hear from someone who sees the good and the bad of MS Access. Your view confirms that choosing Access does have downsides but it is not a completely ridiculous choice. Your point about being able to create a web app is spot on: our group uses Sharepoint extensively and that will be a key advantage when that day comes.
 
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