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Microsoft
Access
Introduction
Intermediate
Level 1
Intermediate
Level 2
Queries
Advanced
VBA Level
1
VBA Level
2
Version
2007/2010 Upgrade
While Excel is designed to handle large lists of information, past a certain point it starts to break down. Other people interact with data extracted from large corporate databases which is either too complex or literally too large for Excel to handle. Under either of those circumstances it’s time to upgrade to Microsoft Access instead. Unfortunately, while it’s extremely powerful Access hasn’t got a learning curve so much as it has a learning cliff! It’s not too difficult to teach yourself Word or Excel, but if you need Access you probably also need someone to show you how to use it.
Using Access you can set up several things. At its core is a database which stores a list of information in either a single table (a so-called “flat-file” database, which is usually too simple to handle a real company’s information) or multiple relational tables—by far the more common way of doing things, and a major new concept for people upgrading from Excel. Once the database is set up, you can also create queries, which let a more sophisticated user pose a question to the stored data so that a less-skilled user can call up an answer whenever they need it. Queries are where most people start, in combination with a database that has already been set up for them, before moving on to creating databases of their own.
In the same category as queries are forms and reports. Forms let a more sophisticated Access user create a “friendly face” for other people to interact with complex databases on their screen, while reports are pre-generated slices of data which can be extracted from the database, formatted, and then printed all at the click of a button.
Students will want to ask themselves where they fall before signing up for a course. Are you someone who just has to interact with a database that has already been made for you? Do you need to write (or edit pre-existing) queries that answer questions about your data? Are you trying to make a database that other people will use, and you want to make it as easy for them as possible? Answer those questions and Computer Help will be able to lay out a path for you to follow through our courses.
Upgrading from an Earlier Version? Note that if you’re an Access user of whatever level of skill who is moving from version 2000/2002/2003 to version 2007 or the latest version 2010, you will be interested in some specialized training. The two newer versions of Access have eliminated old-style menus, button bars, and database containers in favour of the Ribbon interface. Even the most sophisticated Access user finds the transition disorienting, and can benefit from breaking things back down the basics in the new environment. Coming to understand the newer, more efficient ways of approaching old tasks can make a radical difference in the amount of time it takes to do your work.
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