Access 2003 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies

Many people call our current era "The Age of Information." True, the body of information is increasing at an unprecedented pace, and information is more accessible than ever. But information doesn’t mean diddly-squat if you don’t know how to use it. Access 2003 All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies is your one-stop guide to building databases and managing information with Access 2003, covering the basics like tables, queries, forms, and reports and more advanced functions such as using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and writing code. If you want, you can go all the way to geekdom, or you can simply find out how to make the most of your data to better manage your business by:

• Creating and modifying tables and entering and editing data
• Sorting, finding, and filtering data
• Creating queries, including update queries, action queries, and the Query Wizards
• Building forms with AutoForm and Wizards
• Creating charts and graphs from your data
• Maintaining, sharing, and securing your Access database
• Letting Access do the math, whether it’s calculating simple cost per unit or performing complex financial functions

Microsoft Office Access 2003 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies was written by three computer gurus: Alan Simpson, author of over 80 computer books; Margaret Levine Young, co-author of several dozen computer books, including The Internet for Dummies; and Alison Barrows, book author and writer and editor of technical documentation and training material. To give you hands-on experience and demonstrate practical applications of database management, there is a Web site that complements the book and features a fully functioning mail order management database used in examples throughout the book. You can download it and follow along as you explore:

• Working with external data sources such as Microsoft SQL Server
• Writing and debugging code
• Using HTML, JavaScript, Jscript, VB Script, and Java to facilitate the exchange of information on the Internet among different programs on disparate platforms
• Using data access pages (DAP) to share information on your intranet

With Access 2003 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies, you’ll discover how to put information to work for you.

Alan Simpson is the author of over 80 computer books on all sorts of topics: Windows, databases, Web site design and development, programming, and network administration. His books are published throughout the world in over a dozen languages and have millions of copies. When not building computers or writing books about them, Alan eats or sleeps. He doesn’t have a fancy job title, because he’s never had a real job, and still doesn’t know how to tie a tie.

Margaret Levine Young has co-authored several dozen computer books about the Internet, UNIX, WordPerfect, Access, and (stab from the past) PC-File and Javelin, including The Internet For Dummies (published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.) and Windows XP Home Edition: The Complete Reference (published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill). She met her future husband Jordan in the R.E.S.I.S.T.O.R.S., a high-school computer club before there were high school computer clubs. Her other passions are her children, music, Unitarian Universalism (www.uua.org), reading, and anything to do with cooking or eating.

Alison Barrows has authored or co-authored books on Windows, the Internet, Microsoft Access, WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and other topics. In addition to writing books, Alison writes and edits technical documentation and training material. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from Wellesley College and an M.P.P. from Harvard University. In real life she hangs out with her “guys” — Parker, 3, and Mason, 1, and tries to carve out some time to practice yoga. Alison lives with her family in central Massachusetts.