Conventions and Features in This Book

This book presents information using conventions designed to make the information readable and easy to follow. Before you start the book, read the following list, which explains conventions you will see throughout the book and points out helpful features in the book that you might want to use.

Conventions

• Each chapter gives you a background explanation as well as a set of procedures for learning by doing. Each procedure is presented as a series of numbered steps (1, 2, and so on).

• Notes labeled Tip provide additional information or alternative methods for completing a step successfully.

• Notes labeled Important alert you to information you need to check before continuing.

• Text that you type appears in bold.

• SQL keywords appear in uppercase.

• Visual Basic programming elements appear in italics.

• A series of menu commands are shown separated by the pipe character ().

• A plus sign (+) between two key names means that you must press those keys at the same time. For example, Press Alt+Tab means that you hold down the Alt key while you press the Tab key.

Other Features

• Sidebars throughout the book provide more in-depth information about the topic. The sidebars might contain background information, design tips, or features related to the information being discussed.

• Each chapter ends with a Quick Reference section. The Quick Reference section contains quick reminders of how to perform the tasks you learned in the chapter.