How to start learning Access?

[Mihail]

Maybe the title should be HELP ME or GIVE ME A FAVOR but I don't see before titles like this :)

I like to start to learn how to use Access in order to open other databases files (Fox, DBase, Oracle etc), to create queries or even to write in this files.
But I have nothing to start.
So, please, give me, if you have, some simple in other databases.
I don't know even to ask for something. I don't know from where to start so, if you add some advices to that databases I'll say a big big big THANK YOU.

Thank you.

[zmbd]

IMHO: This is well outside of the scope of this forum to go into the details.

However, the easy answer is that you basically need to have the driver for the DBMS that you want to connect to via the front end.

The easiest way will be thru the external data, ODBC connection panel. Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a protocol that you can use to connect a Microsoft Access database to an external data source such as Microsoft SQL Server. This article contains general information about ODBC data sources, how to create them, and how to connect to them by using Microsoft Office Access 2007. The procedure steps might vary depending on the specific database products and ODBC drivers used.(...)

There is basically the same method; however, you connect to the source using a DNS-Less method such as: Using DSN-Less Connections. There are sites out there with the connection strings already baked for you.

There may also be other methods; however, these are the ones I use for connections to out enterprise level database sources.

[Mihail]

Thank you. I'll take a look.

[Frinavale]

I tried using Access a few years ago to learn about it and to use a budgeting type application.

I used 2007 and it came with sample databases.

[Mihail]

Thank you Frinavale.
I don't know that I can find samples for other databases in my own Access. I'll do a search.

[dsatino]

I've used Access for a front-end of various other DB types and it works great. What you need are the drivers for the DB and the ODBC settings for it's location.

That's about it. You can query the DB from with Access normally as long as you have the back-end tables connected.

That said, you will get results faster if you write the queries in the syntax for the backend and use pass-through queries.

You can also build the backend tables, etc. via Access, but you must use pass-through queries and set .returnsrecords=false. You'd better really know your SQL if you're going this route.

Professionally, I only use Access as UI. All my corporate databases are in SQL Server 2008. This way you get these ease of interface design along with the power of a real database server. The key to doing this right is to pass as much functionality to the SQL server.

[Mihail]

Thank you, dsatino. Really good information to make an idea about this subject. Thank you, again.