Access 2003 Reference Book?

[Debris]

Hello,

Any suggestions on a reference-style book for Access 2003? I have a few
"how-to" books and they're pretty good, but I think what I need now is a
good "go-look-it-up" book.

I've researched "Access 2003 Bible," "Microsoft Access 2003: The Complete
Reference," and "Alison Balter's Mastering Microsoft Access 2003" at the
online bookstores, but the reviews are more puzzling than revealing.

Any help is welcome.

D

 

[Arvin Meyer [MVP]]

For Access 2003, the book I like best is John L. Viescas's:

Microsoft Access 2003 Inside Out.

 

[John W. Vinson]

Hello,

Any suggestions on a reference-style book for Access 2003? I have a few
"how-to" books and they're pretty good, but I think what I need now is a
good "go-look-it-up" book.

I've researched "Access 2003 Bible," "Microsoft Access 2003: The Complete
Reference," and "Alison Balter's Mastering Microsoft Access 2003" at the
online bookstores, but the reviews are more puzzling than revealing.

Access 2003 Inside Out by my friend John Viescas is one good choice.

If you have a good bookstore (Borders Books in Boise fits this description
best for me, I have no way to know where you are), it may be worth going
there, pulling a stack of Access books off the shelf, and spending half an
hour looking for information in each. Designing a good index and table of
contents is a major and challenging task - one of (many!) reasons I haven't
seriously considered writing a book myself. Horror stories from John and his
co-author Jeff have cemented this decision!

John W. Vinson [MVP]

 

[Guest]

I was in a similar position last year looking for some in-hand reference
material to go along with all the online resources, and I ran across a thread
that recommended these books:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780782140118&itm=5

They sell them individually, but the two book set has been a great resource
for me.

I bought two other Access books and an access vba book. I almost never use
the two other Access books, though on occasion they are easier to find a
quick answer in given their relative sizes compared to the Developer's books.

Anyway, if I had to do it again, I'd order that set again and maybe get the
vba reference and that would be it.

Note: I don't think they make a 2003 version of the books, but I also don't
think there are many significant differences between the 2003 version and
2002. I develop in 2003 and I've used all kinds of info from those books
(and incorporated plenty of code from the cds) and I've never run into a
problem due to version differences.

CW

 

[Jeff Conrad [MSFT]]

in message:

Designing a good index and table of
contents is a major and challenging task - one of (many!) reasons I haven't
seriously considered writing a book myself. Horror stories from John and his
co-author Jeff have cemented this decision!

<s>
That area wasn't really bad; the hard part was writing to a program that was constantly in flux.

Here today...gone tomorrow...

--
Jeff Conrad - Access Junkie - MVP Alumni
SDET - XAS Services - Microsoft Corporation

Co-author - Microsoft Office Access 2007 Inside Out
Presenter - Microsoft Access 2007 Essentials
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie.html
Access 2007 Info: http://www.AccessJunkie.com

 

[Guest]

I agree. It is 2002, but I find no deficiency because of that.
You can find it used on Amazon.com starting at about 61.99 for the set.

 

[Guest]

From a beginner's point of view, I immediately thought of John Viescas book
when I read your question. It looks like the experts here like his work too.

 

[Debris]

All,

Thanks for the tips. Settled on "Access 2003 Inside Out" for home, "Access
2003 Bible" for work.

D