Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: If you are looking for a book, written in plain English, not Technobabble, to help you learn and use Access 2002, this is the book for you. It is clear and concise for the new user and experienced alike. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Also don't buy it if...
Review: If you're new to Access, then I don't recommend this book. I used Access to perform queries and generate reports a few years ago, but had forgotten the details, and I had never made a database myself. Recently I needed to make a database and some reports from scratch. Since I thought I was not a "beginner" I purchased Microsoft Access Version 2002 Inside Out, which was a mistake. This book may be a suitable reference once you know the Access basics (and I'm not even sure it's that great a reference), but it didn't help me learn the basics. As some other reviews indicate, this book seems to fall into a zone that is neither "basic" nor "advanced". Therefore, I'm not certain who the appropriate reader might be. And it is slow going. For beginners and anybody else who just needs to use Access to make basic databases and reports I recommend Microsoft Access Step By Step (ISBN 0735612994).
Rating:
Summary: A missed stitch in the Persian carpet
Review: In any book with over 1,100 pages, a few editing errors may be inevitable. If the book comes with a free CD, maybe it's nitpicking to expect perfection in every routine on the CD. However, when I'm depending on the book and CD to teach me how to use computer software, editing oversights are especially frustrating. I follow the instructions and they don't work, so I fear that my software has a bug or I'm failing to understand what should be obvious. To Helen's credit, when I emailed her about one of the errors (on page 554, the 0 should be a 1 in steps 3 and 5), she did respond with a thanks and said she'd file a report with Microsoft Press. (As I write this, the correction is still not posted at mspress.microsoft.com/support/search.htm, though.) Many of the errors in the book are so obvious that you can make the correction yourself. Still, if they are that obvious, why didn't the editor catch them? Here's an example from page 228: "...only four events: Updated, Enter, Exit, Got Focus, and Lost Focus." But all that is a minor nuisance in the context of a wonderfully informative and systematically written tome. As I worked through the text and activities, I felt that Helen really cared about her readers getting it all. Just notice how many times the word "simply" appears in the text. I highly recommend this book, as long as you realize the mistakes you make may not be your own.
Rating:
Summary: An acceptable companion volume
Review: Rarely will you find one computer book that meets the majority of your needs. Access Inside&Out is no exception to this. I spent a day selectively weeding out all the various Access 2002 volumes available at Borders Bookstore. I looked for selective criteria such as complex expression usage, applied object properties, and general reader presentation/learning flow. The most organized, in-depth, and helpful I found were Access Inside & Out and Access 2002 Bible. Where one book skips over any area you're weak in the other typically goes into thorough detail and vice versus. The other honorable mention is QUE/Jennings Special Edition Using MS Access 2002. None are stand-alone volumes for either direct reference or learning the intricacies of Access yet together you should be well armed to accomplish some intermediate Access goals. Helen's website (www.helenfeddema.com) may help you determine whether to use her book as one of your Access companion books.
Rating:
Summary: An acceptable companion volume
Review: Rarely will you find one computer book that meets the majority of your needs. Access Inside&Out is no exception to this. I spent a day selectively weeding out all the various Access 2002 volumes available at Borders Bookstore. I looked for selective criteria such as complex expression usage, applied object properties, and general reader presentation/learning flow. The most organized, in-depth, and helpful I found were Access Inside & Out and Access 2002 Bible. Where one book skips over any area you're weak in the other typically goes into thorough detail and vice versus. The other honorable mention is QUE/Jennings Special Edition Using MS Access 2002. None are stand-alone volumes for either direct reference or learning the intricacies of Access yet together you should be well armed to accomplish some intermediate Access goals. Helen's website (www.helenfeddema.com) may help you determine whether to use her book as one of your Access companion books.
Rating:
Summary: An acceptable companion volume
Review: Rarely will you find one computer book that meets the majority of your needs. Access Inside&Out is no exception to this. I spent a day selectively weeding out all the various Access 2002 volumes available at Borders Bookstore. I looked for selective criteria such as complex expression usage, applied object properties, and general reader presentation/learning flow. The most organized, in-depth, and helpful I found were Access Inside & Out and Access 2002 Bible. Where one book skips over any area you're weak in the other typically goes into thorough detail and vice versus. The other honorable mention is QUE/Jennings Special Edition Using MS Access 2002. None are stand-alone volumes for either direct reference or learning the intricacies of Access yet together you should be well armed to accomplish some intermediate Access goals. Helen's website (www.helenfeddema.com) may help you determine whether to use her book as one of your Access companion books.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, not brilliant !
Review: This book shows Access programming as it is: not an easy task.Programming has been my hobby now for 10 years, I'm not a pro.I've read many books about the subjects, mainly about Access, since Access 1.0.The problem is that Access is easy when you do tasks that can be done without the use of computers. When I have been enveloped with something that really needs the eficience of an engine, I have been in trouble. This book has the virtue to mention the problems, and suggest possible solutions, which have not been sufficient to get me out of all the troubles. When I have finished reading it I was not motivated to start programming in Access, same as when You have finished (If You have ever tried!) reading whatever Bible of...So I suggest for beginners to read first Microsoft Access V.2002 Step by Step, that is a book that will induce You to try to develop your programme. You will face difficulties. Some troubles You will find answers reading InsideOut, others You will not.It will depend on the difficulties You are enveloped in your project.If your project is too ambitious to your knowledge level, try to keep it at lower level. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Used it to study for Microsoft Office Specialist ...
Review: This was simply a joy to read, easy to follow, and it allowed me to stengthen my previous Access skills enough to easily pass the Microsoft Office Specialist test for Access 2002. I am recommending this book to anyone that asks! Thank you very much!
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