A Waste of Time
I have used books such as this to teach myself how to use much more complicated software (such as Visual C++ 6) with great success to the point of selling my own software developed with Visual C++. I have dabbled in earlier versions of Access and bought this book to upgrade my skills and get productive quickly with Access 2007. Not a hope! The book is poorly proof read and has many errors. Old versions of text rewritten, presumably to improve clarity, are left in place, thus adding to confusion. The book is just poorly and carelessly written making learning very difficult for someone struggling to understand new concepts. The examples on the CD don't always match the text, don't always work and often add to the difficulty of understanding.
This one goes into the recycling!
Summary Review of Access 2007 Books
This is the summary review of four Access 2007 books:
"Special Edition: Using Access 2007" (Special)
"Access 2007 Bible" (Bible)
"The missing Manual of Access 2007" (Manual)
"Access 2007 for dummies" (Dummies)
In sum, the special edition is the best. Buy the special edition. Even you are a fresh beginner on Access.
(My story? Well, I read the dummies first. Then looked at Manual, doesn't like it. So I got the bible. Still unsatisfied. Finally, I got the special edition.)I know some basics on Access 2003 and only use Access when Excel is not enough to handle my data. I started with "Access 2007 for dummies" and finished it in a couple of hours. Then I turned to "Access 2007 Bible" and "The missing Manual", the manual is the worst one and the bible just provides basics, well, maybe a bit more than, that the dummies book already covers.
The special edition provides more examples and detailed explanation on: Query, Forms, Reports, Pivot table.Not sure about the VBA part.
I also like very much the reader-friendly layout and enjoy its "what is in real world" sections at the end of several chapters.
This book also provides a good summary of basic database concepts like normalized, the importance of index, joints. The summary is very helpful especially you are a beginner.
The cover of the special edition claims that the special edition is the only Access book you need. Well, maybe not the only one, but if you have the special edition, you definitely don't need the Access 2007 Bible, The missing manual and the dummies book.
Only for the experienced
This book is not for the novice user. I know a little about programming and am barely able to stumble through the programming sections. An example is the scope of variables. I'm familiar with most variable types but not "static". All others are defined (public, private, dim, etc) but not static. There is mention of static but little real information.
This was written when the product was in beta test and it shows. The examples seem to be of screen shots and the type size is about 4 point. Better have a magnifing glass to read. There are many typos and the explanation of a sub may not always follow the example.
Both the experienced user and the novice would be better served by another book.
CD Doesn't Match the Book
The CD has one example distributed over many chapters. However, there are other examples the book claims to be on the CD that just aren't there. The book needs a web site with up-to-date examples.
Office 2007 Bible: For experienced Users Only!
I am an experienced Access user; however, the new Office 2007 took a little time to learn. If you are a beginner trying to learn the 2007 version, I suggest you purchase a more step-by-step book. With my experience, I found it beneficial after I learned the new 2007 ribbon.
(9 reviews)
