Introduction

If you are developing databases for your own use, you may not mind opening forms or printing reports directly from the database window, and you know what query to run before printing which report or exporting data to Word. However, if you are planning to create applications for the use of others, particularly for clients who aren’t familiar with Access, and don’t understand databases in general, you have to do a lot more work, mostly in the form of writing VBA code to automate the application’s processes. As a rule of thumb, it’s generally true that the easier the application is for the end user, the harder (and more time-consuming) it is to develop. In this book I concentrate on teaching you how to set up your tables and relationships to ensure that the database is properly normalized, and write VBA code to create the connective tissue that turns a bunch of tables, queries, forms and reports into a complete and coherent application.

Over the last eight years, I have created several Access add-ins, to save time while creating applications. I use these add-ins to create a main menu for an application, automatically apply a naming convention to database objects, and ensure a consistent and professional appearance of the application’s forms. I’ll discuss the use of my add-ins to help construct an application in the appropriate chapters of this book.

You won’t find excruciatingly detailed step-by-step explanations of how to create a table, or lists of all the properties of a textbox—I assume that an experienced Access user either already knows how to do these things, or can look them up in Help or the Object Browser. But this book isn’t aimed at the advanced developer either, such as those who want to create their own custom objects and controls, use Windows API calls, or delve into the mysteries of the PrtMip property of the Print dialog (when you reach that point, I recommend the Access Developers Handbook, by Getz, Litwin and Gilbert).

Instead, this book concentrates on writing VBA code to connect the components of a database into a functioning, coherent application, with special attention to the very important but inadequately documented area of Automation code, which is used to communicate with other Office applications, since sometimes the best way to add a requested feature to an Access application is to use a built-in feature of Word or Outlook.

Audience

I wrote this book for experienced Access users, who know how to create tables, queries, forms and other Access objects, and have some familiarity with writing Access VBA code, but need help in making the transition from an experienced and competent Access user who can create databases for personal use, to an Access developer who can make a living developing applications for clients.