Please explain something about this group?

[Randy]

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn Access.
Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and simple answers
that help alot. Others give me answers with extensive code that is
hard for a newbie to follow when the answer is quite simple after I
figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get help
without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page of
code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report in the
group section. I tried this after looking at the two paragraphs of
code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

[Chuck Grimsby]

You're not doing anything wrong, nor are any of the other people in
this group.

We do *tend* to be a bit code intensive, but that's our background.
(Well, at least that's _my_ background.) A number of us tend to be
"blind-sided" by that background more often then not.

As you progress in your skills as an Access developer, I certainly hope
you will continue to share your knowledge here. For quite a number of
us, we are here as much to *learn* as we are to share what we know.
Whether it involves code or not!

[Tom Travolta]

"Randy" <ra****@msn.com> wrote in message
news:11*********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn Access.
Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and simple answers
that help alot. Others give me answers with extensive code that is
hard for a newbie to follow when the answer is quite simple after I
figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get help
without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page of
code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report in the
group section. I tried this after looking at the two paragraphs of
code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

Most of the discussions here involve working with vba code or sql statements
which can be reasonably technical. People try to be accommodating for those
who are newbies but it is generally felt that if you are ever going to get
anywhere building databases with Access, then coding becomes a necessity
fairly quickly.
You could try pre-fixing your requests with the following:
I am a newbie.
I do not write code.
I do not want to write code.
I just want one of you nerds to sort out my problem.
Quickly, simply and for free. And without bothering me with any dorky
details.

[Tom van Stiphout]

On 13 May 2005 16:27:43 -0700, "Randy" <ra****@msn.com> wrote:

Most replies are genuine. We do have an occasional troll or jokester.

I know I certainly have answered a question with several lines of VBA
code, only to later learn of a much more elegant solution requiring
only a single expression. We all live and learn.

There is no shame in telling people you're a newbie. It may help
getting more consise replies.

-Tom.

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn Access.
Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and simple answers
that help alot. Others give me answers with extensive code that is
hard for a newbie to follow when the answer is quite simple after I
figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get help
without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page of
code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report in the
group section. I tried this after looking at the two paragraphs of
code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

[Tony Toews]

"Tom Travolta" <to*@travolta.com> wrote:

You could try pre-fixing your requests with the following:
I am a newbie.
I do not write code.
I do not want to write code.
I just want one of you nerds to sort out my problem.
Quickly, simply and for free. And without bothering me with any dorky
details.

<chuckle>

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm

[MacDermott]

There is also microsoft.public.access.gettingstarted, where it's often
assumed that most posters are beginners.
And in general, that group is not quite so code-focussed.

Access offers a lot of options which don't require coding at all.
Sometimes programmers, even, or maybe especially, those who come to Access
from other programming languages, overlook opportunities to do things with
less code.
But there's a reason that the average Access project would take at least 3
times as long to develop in any other language. And that savings, IMHO, is
largely in the code you don't have to write.

"Randy" <ra****@msn.com> wrote in message
news:11*********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn Access.
Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and simple answers
that help alot. Others give me answers with extensive code that is
hard for a newbie to follow when the answer is quite simple after I
figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get help
without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page of
code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report in the
group section. I tried this after looking at the two paragraphs of
code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

[Lyle Fairfield]

Randy wrote:

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn Access.
Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and simple answers
that help alot. Others give me answers with extensive code that is
hard for a newbie to follow when the answer is quite simple after I
figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get help
without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page of
code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report in the
group section. I tried this after looking at the two paragraphs of
code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

I'm not familiar with your recent post, nor its answers.

Often the reason one gets many dissimilar answers is that the question
asked is not very clear. Lack of clarity tends to increase the
likelihood that only someone with the same limited experience as the
questioner will understand the question and be able to provide an answer
which the questioner deems to be helpful. More sophisticated answers,
from more experienced and capable Access users, which take into account
speed, safety, and efficiency may seem baffling or pedantic to the
questioner. Many times we see a series of answers to a question which is
not clear and we are surprised when the questioner responds with some
inanity like, "Worked a charm; THANK YOU!" to the the simplest but least
satisfactory answer which works. I can only groan and move on in these
cases: CAVEAT EMPTOR!

I believe that those who spend a few minutes to formulate their
questions carefully, then edit them to remove any extraneous material
and to be sure that all the required information is included (things
like the version of Access, the backend engine, ADO/DAO/ODBC, whatever)
will get, for the most part, very simple and clear answers here.

--
--
Lyle

"The aim of those who try to control thought is always the same. They
find one single explanation of the world, one system of thought and
action that will (they believe) cover everything; and then they try to
impose that on all thinking people."
- Gilbert Highet

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Tom Travolta:

You could try pre-fixing your requests with the following:
I am a newbie.
I do not write code.
I do not want to write code.
I just want one of you nerds to sort out my problem.
Quickly, simply and for free. And without bothering me with any dorky
details.

Keeper.

Thanks.
--
PeteCresswell

[Chuck]

On Fri, 13 May 2005 23:47:28 +0000 (UTC), "Tom Travolta" <to*@travolta.com>
wrote:

Most of the discussions here involve working with vba code or sql statements
which can be reasonably technical. People try to be accommodating for those
who are newbies but it is generally felt that if you are ever going to get
anywhere building databases with Access, then coding becomes a necessity
fairly quickly.
You could try pre-fixing your requests with the following:
I am a newbie.
I do not write code.
I do not want to write code.
I just want one of you nerds to sort out my problem.
Quickly, simply and for free. And without bothering me with any dorky
details.

I like it. From no on my posts will start with:
I'm only a wizard prodder, but I can paste code.

Chuck

[David W. Fenton]

"Randy" <ra****@msn.com> wrote in
news:11*********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com:

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn
Access. Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and
simple answers that help alot. Others give me answers with
extensive code that is hard for a newbie to follow when the answer
is quite simple after I figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get
help without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my
leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page
of code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report
in the group section. I tried this after looking at the two
paragraphs of code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

Reviewing your posting history in Google, I don't see the specific
thread in question, so I can't really evaluate whether someone went
overboard (and over your head) or not.

Give us a message ID or a subject heading so I can review the thread
in Google Groups, and I'll give you my assessment of why you got the
kind of answers you did. It may have as much to do with the way you
asked your question as it did with the actual nature of the problem
you were encountering.

--
David W. Fenton http://www.bway.net/~dfenton
dfenton at bway dot net http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc

[David W. Fenton]

"Randy" <ra****@msn.com> wrote in
news:11*********************@g49g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com:

I have asked a number of questions as a newbie trying to learn
Access. Some folks have been very helpful with very direct and
simple answers that help alot. Others give me answers with
extensive code that is hard for a newbie to follow when the answer
is quite simple after I figure it out.

Is this the right group for people trying to learn access to get
help without being a programmer? Or are people just pulling my
leg.

For example I recently asked a question and got about half a page
of code when all I had to do was use Max(Field)+ 180 on the report
in the group section. I tried this after looking at the two
paragraphs of code.

If I am doing something wrong please tell me.

Well, for one, you don't know the difference between code and SQL.
You emailed me that the thread you were talking about was titled
"Calulated field to do Reviews?", and in that, someone gave you what
looks like valid SQL that answers your question, to which you
answered:

Can you translate this to a newbie that doesn't know code? I can
do a query that will select the Initial/Recert and can set it up
to pull up the data between certain dates, but get lost after
that.........

It's clear that you just didn't understand the answer. Maybe
somebody else has the energy to explain it to you.

--
David W. Fenton http://www.bway.net/~dfenton
dfenton at bway dot net http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc