How Much Access Do I Need to Know to Use This Book?

This book assumes that you have a littlenot a lot ofAccess knowledge. You should know how to open an Access database and get to work in it. You should feel comfortable navigating the Database window. You should be able to do simple data entry in a form and a datasheet. You should recognize, in a general way, the difference between the Design view of objects (that is, the blueprint) and the object itself (most commonly, Datasheet view for tables and queries, Form view for forms, and Print Preview for reports). I have not been overly fastidious in providing screenshots with callouts (labels) for every toolbar button and Access element; I assume you are familiar with (or can easily find out about) the most common icons.

Let me emphasize, however, that I believe many beginners can profitably use this book. Importantly, in the exercises I've created, I've attempted to fully describe every step needed to complete it. For example, I have mostly avoided instructions such as "Create a new query in Design view and add the Products and Suppliers field lists," which would require you to know how to execute several commands (although I imagine such directions would cause little unhappiness for many readers and would be preferred by some). Instead, each command is clearly stated; for example, the first step here would be "In the Database window, click the Queries button," and you would proceed from there.