Access VBA Programming for Dummies

Have used Excel for a number of years but never knew how to do a macro. Then started an application where a program might make the job easier. Had done Fortran programming years ago and hoped Excel macros could do the same thing. Well it can - arrays, "do" loops, if/then, subrutines etc. This book required careful reading and review. It takes time to get thru the material so that you feel you can really write a program (macro). But thru examples and entering programs yourself, you slowly get the hang of it. There remain times when I wish I could ask a real question. Lacking that, trial and error and Excel help let you muscle thru the process. I would recommend this book to anyone with a bit of a programming background and a real desire to get something programmed. You begin to write macros very early in the reading process. It just takes time to get to the point where you've learned enough to apply it to your particular problem. Good news, in the end, you will learn a good deal about macro programming. Once you've done one, the door is opened for more.

"Access VBA Programming for Dummies" definitely helped me in breaking into the world of Access VBA programming. The first half is especially good at explaning things in such a way that most anyone with a basic level of understanding of Access could benefit. I did run into some problems with some of the code which I used as templates for my database project, however. The solution I found suggested that the book should be using the ' & ' sign for combinations rather than the '+' sign, which appears to cause problems in some situations. Thus, it seems to have some mistakes in it.

I love the Dummies books. They're clear, fun, and make great reference books. This one is no exception. If you're trying to learn VBA, I highly recommend this book.

Ok, if you just know a little about coding, not much, but DO know how Access works, esp. Macro's, then this book is a GREAT introduction to VBA. I'm hyper-critical about tech books, they have to be clear, concise and never assume anything about the reader's skill level. Also, they have to stay on track and introduce concepts only when they've been given a good prior foundation. This book does an excellent job!! But, remember, this book is just about VBA, not about using Access.

Some years ago Microsoft created a specialized programming language to allow extensions to be made to the normal modes of operation allowed in their Office suite. The language was fairly well thought out to be applicable to applications as different as word processing, spreadsheets or data bases. They called it Visual Basic for Applications shortened to VBA. It has worked remarkable well. Down theough the years there have been relatively few changes to VBA. This book is on VBA as specifically oriented to the Microsoft Access database program. But if you learn Access VBA, you are not far from knowing how to use VBA on any of the other Office components. ==While this is an Access book, it is specifically on VBA, it assumes that you already know about how to build a table, and about rows and columns. It also assumes that you have some familiarty with other Access features such as building queries. Access goes to a great deal of effort to avoid having to use the underlying SQL language. There are a couple of chapters on SQL for the total beginner. In the long run, you will probably want to know more. You can't design one book to do everything in about 400 pages. This "dummies" book concentrates on VBA. That's enough for one book. It does a good job on VBA. You may want to fill out your bookshelf with Access for Dummies and SQL for Dummies.