Help in understanding Northwind sample

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jim

MS Access 2000 & 2002 are about as user-friendly as a
sabertooth tiger! I notice that some people on this net
say "check North Wind." But, that's like saying "to
understand internal cumbustion, just look at the engine in
your car." Is there a resource guide that can help you see
what all the Greek means?

Ive been struggling to migrate from Lotus Aproach (very
user friendly by comparison) to Access (Denied) 2002.
There's just too much foreplay required to get busy with
Access. I can't get relationship problems resolved. And I
cannot get combo boxes to work (they won't do that Lotus
trick, "Create list from contents"). I thought I needed a
table to store the data on, but it doesn't link either.
Lotus had a neat book for Lotus Approach 97 that took the
example databases that were included and then showed you
how to beef it up (while you learn).

Even the Dummies books aren't clear enough on the
relationship issue. Do I need a brain transplant or a new
boss that says "The nerds downtown have plenty of old
copies of Lotus Millinneum, just have them install it."
 
You can view the design of all objects in Northwind. If you have some
specific questions, just ask.

I found Access a bit difficult to get used to at first as I came from a
non-GUI (Clipper) background.

There is a combo box wizard that expects you have a table of values prior to
running. For instance, if you have a numeric field [MaritalStatus] in a
table of people:
1) create a lookup table
tblMaritalStati
=================
MarStatID autonumber primary key
MaritalStatus Text
2) in your form that is bound to your table of people,
view the tool box and make sure the wizard is enabled
view the field list
click the combo box icon
click and drag the MaritalStatus field to your form
follow the directions in the wizard.
 
jim said:
MS Access 2000 & 2002 are about as user-friendly as a
sabertooth tiger! I notice that some people on this net
say "check North Wind." But, that's like saying "to
understand internal cumbustion, just look at the engine in
your car." Is there a resource guide that can help you see
Click to expand...

THE WEB

www.mvps.org/access/
This is a great starting point.

Also:
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/othersites.htm
Is a great jumping off point to look at other websites.

Also:
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Databases/MS_Access/
A list of 139 Access websites.


BOOKS, Starting

As far as beginners books go, there are a large number. Step by Step
books, Beginner's Guides, etc. Walk up to a bookstore shelf, pull some out,
glance through, check out how you respond to the readability and layout, the
writing style, etc. These secondary factors may make a big difference in
how well you personally respond to them.


BOOKS, Later On

Access Database Design & Programming, 3rd Edition (O'Reilly): Is
semi-Intermediate. It's a layman's introduction into what "Relational"
really means, and how to apply it in relation (pun intended) to Access. If
you take the time to read through this, your understanding of what "it's all
about" inside Access (in regards to Tables, Queries, and VBA especially,
they are what's concentrated on) will leap forward. I am a big fan of this
book.

The Access Cookbook (O'Reilly): Is Intermediate and on, but it's *very*
good. It is a "task" (i.e. "I need to do X", "Here's solution Y") oriented
book, with solutions grouped by subject.

The Access 2000 Developer's Handbook Vol. 1: Is Intermediate to Very
Advanced, but also *very* good.

Also, The DAO Object Model: The Definitive Reference (O'Reilly): For VBA
people who like DAO, a lot of what's in here is in the docs, but it's
presented with additional commentary, and you can't curl on the couch with
the compiled HTML help files . . .

On the topic of SQL (about which, all by itself, a great deal has been
written) you might want to check out:

SQL For Mere Mortals (some friends of mine like this one a lot)

SQL For Smarties: 2nd Edition: Joe Celko (I'm a big fan of this, but it's
not a starter).


what all the Greek means?

Ive been struggling to migrate from Lotus Aproach (very
user friendly by comparison) to Access (Denied) 2002.
Click to expand...

One man's poison, and all . . . I always found Lotus Aproach to be
completely useless and very unfriendly. But then, when I tried to use it, I
was looking for a program that worked like Access . . . and of course, that
didn't work too well. Heh. ;)
There's just too much foreplay required to get busy with
Access. I can't get relationship problems resolved. And I
Click to expand...

So, when using the Relationships window to create "relationships", what
errors are you receiving?
cannot get combo boxes to work (they won't do that Lotus
trick, "Create list from contents"). I thought I needed a
Click to expand...

What is that trick? Maybe I know a similar feature in Access?
table to store the data on, but it doesn't link either.
Click to expand...

If you are running Access 2000, when you draw the Combo box on the form,
the Combo Box Wizard appears, and gives you the option of using
Tables/Queries, or typing in the list you want.

Lotus had a neat book for Lotus Approach 97 that took the
example databases that were included and then showed you
how to beef it up (while you learn).
Click to expand...

As I pointed out, you can find many similar books out there. Although
I've seen some use Biblio instead of Northwind.
Even the Dummies books aren't clear enough on the
relationship issue. Do I need a brain transplant or a new
Click to expand...

Again, can you please tell us what error you are receiving when attempting
to establish a relationship between tables?
 
Jim,

Thank you for sharing your pain. I assumed I was the only one who was
having this much trouble with this program.

Jeffrey K. Ries
 
<snip>
jim said:
MS Access 2000 & 2002 are about as user-friendly as a
sabertooth tiger! I notice that some people on this net
say "check North Wind." But, that's like saying "to
understand internal cumbustion, just look at the engine in
your car." Is there a resource guide that can help you see
what all the Greek means?
Click to expand...
Hi,
I apologise that offense has been taken at the advise to look at Northwinds.
I offered that advise to a specific person that seemed to have got his stuff
together and was a boot strap learner - therefore had the nous to make his
way through the dbs.

No, it is not saying you need to look at the engine to understand internal
combustion. It just depends on the type of learner you are. If a person
comes to a froup looking for very general advise that is as good a place to
start as any.

Now, if on the other hand, someone asks for specific advise - it is easier
to give an answer, bearing in mind this is an assistance newsgroup.

WRT to relationships what you are talking about is a 1 semester course that
is part of a database management uni course. If you have a question about a
specific set of relationships then ask about that otherwise to get the
theory you can search for:

normalization, 3NF, boyce-codd, entity relationship diagrams, ERD

HTH
Marc
 
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