Microsoft Access is a well written book, it has greatly help me understand how the program work.

PROS:
- Thorough read on the essentials of Access 2003 and building databases in Access.

CONS:
- The author is dry.
- Other parts of the book dealing with VBA and SQL Server (.adp files) frequently assume more information than the reader is introduced to making it necessary to have multiple reference sources to understand what the author is talking about.

OVERALL:
- A really good book for someone with prior Access knowledge who would like to have a through understanding or fill in missing gaps to complete their understanding of working with MS Access 2003. However, it is not a good book for a beginners understanding or gap filling knowledge of SQL Server, ADP files or VBA, which is ½ of the book

- A questionable book for someone with no Access experience because the volume of information is overwhelming.

- This IS NOT a reference book!

SUMMARY:
The book is over 1,000 pages long. Not that it should matter but it is kind of bothersome that the author's picture is in the book at least 30 times; what's up with that?

The biggest drawback to the book is that the author jumps into deep material without providing enough clarification and background information about what he is discussing prior to starting a discussion.

The section on VBA can only be read if you have other reference material in front of you that defines words and terms that are being used to tell you about VBA. In this regard, the author fails the reader and may as well have not written the last half of the book because there is too much information to introduce to do a good job discussing the primary points without having to assume the reader is familiar with all the extended topics that are involved with learning VBA as written by the author.

Overall it is a good book but certainly did not meet my expectations given the reviews written on this board.

I have been tasked with developing a new database for tracking and reporting city inspection data, permits, citations, etc. I had limited previous experience in using Access. I did take a one-day class in access programing, which gave me a leg up on getting into some programming. The Beginner type Access books that I previously used did not provide enough depth to help me develope the database. So, I was looking for a more advanced reference book. The great reviews for Access 2003 Inside Out encouraged me to give it a try. But, after daily using the book for the past several months, I found that it was not very helpful. The Microsoft website help function provided much more understandable help to me than is book. Perhaps if I had time to read the book from cover to cover to get a comprehensive view of how everything works, this book would be useful. Perhaps it is a good comprehensive reference book for people who have more experience with Access. But, for me, who had limited prior experience, it was not very useful.

This book is incredibly helpful to the relatively experienced user. There were quite a few things I was having a great amount of difficulty understanding, but this book explained things in such a way that I now understand and have since completed my databases I was creating for work. Not recommended for the beginner user.

Viescas certainly deserves his status as a Microsoft Access database expert. He packs a lot of information into this book and, at over 1200 pages, there's a lot of room for packing!

The book is very well organized and walks you through the many aspects of developing an effective database and using Access' many features. It's also well indexed so you can find what you're looking for when you need detail.

Given these positive aspects about the book, it's truly a shame the writing's so bad. If something can be described in 10 words, Viescas uses 100. Here I put the blame on the editors. Writers are frequently over-verbose and it's the editor's responsibility to ensure writing is concise and clear. Perhaps the editors were intimidated by Viescas' database knowledge and were afraid to cut anything out; perhaps he's given such high status by the publisher that the editors had no clout. Whatever the case, the writing's a detriment in that it makes it very hard to read.

One example where Viescas gives his IT background precedence over his writing background is his naming of the database elements. He gives all elements (such as tables) long, drawn out descriptive names. This results in sentences like 'you might be tempted to start a new query on tblContacts and add the tblCompanies, tblContactProducts, and tblProducts tables.'

While anyone doing major database development knows naming conventions are VERY important, applying the most detailed of these conventions in a manual aimed at explaining concepts is nothing but confusing. Viescas should have used very simple element names in the text, then added a chapter about use of proper naming conventions in your development.

Additionally, the naming concepts he applies are his own - not any 'standard' that readers might be familiar with. In fact, he waits until page 372 to include a sidebar explaining what the little prefixes he uses indicate. Until that point, they're nothing but annoyances to the reader. After that, they're explainable annoyances.

Again, with all the valuable, well organized information in this book, it's really a shame the writing is so poor. The difficulty in this type of book should be gaining understanding of the concepts - not trying to make it through the poor writing.

This book is the perfect sequel to Microsoft's "Microsoft Office Access 2003 Step by Step". You will learn tricks and short cuts to improve your knowledge of MsAccess.

Microsoft Access INSIDE OUT is a great advanced microsoft access reference book. It teaches the proponents of visual basic and query language, allowing one to fully utilize the power of Microsoft Access.

Inside Out is well written, with useful examples, and a great index that allows me to find answers to specific issues as needed.

I think this is a very useful book, if you can figure out how to use it. A lot of comments have been made, both positive and negative. I agree with most of them. This book is both indispensible and very confusing at times.

I want to mention that my copy had some printing problems. A few of the pages are almost blank because they were printed so lightly, or are just streaks of ink. For example, pages 43, 46, 51, and 54 are all like this. There are more than that, but I don't want to list every single one. This appears only to be a problem in the introductory section, which is mostly stuff I didn't bother reading anyway (and if you're not brand new to Access you don't need it either).

I think this is a very useful book, if you can figure out how to use it. A lot of comments have been made, both positive and negative. I agree with most of them. This book is both indispensible and very confusing at times.

I want to mention that my copy had some printing problems. A few of the pages are almost blank because they were printed so lightly, or are just streaks of ink. For example, pages 43, 46, 51, and 54 are all like this. There are more than that, but I don't want to list every single one. This appears only to be a problem in the introductory section, which is mostly stuff I didn't bother reading anyway (and if you're not brand new to Access you don't need it either).

First, I own this book and love it. It is a nuts and bolts book. It literally shows the ins and outs of the program. It is technical and show the technical pieces of the program. It is not for design, Viescas wrote a book on design which I have "Building Microsoft Access Applications." It is not for absolute beginers. There is a section on visual basic which is good and explanitory but VB is a beast of it's own and I'm learning that it must be tackled by itself. I concider myself a novice and these book are helpful to me.

Almost all instructions in the book are based on the example database supplied with the CD. It's almost impossible to read the book without referencing to the example database. It is badly written, too generic and it offers no answers to practical questions. It's a book for beginners, but the title pretends otherwise. Here is just a random sentence from the book that illustrates how bad it is (and there are MANY of these)... Page 289; "As discussed earlier in this chapter, you know that to solve certain types of problems you must first build one query to define a subset of data from your tables and then use that query as input to another query to get the final answer". Come ON!

This book could not be more comprehensive. If you need to go deep and want to have a paper-based book to do it with (versus online help/tutorals), this is the one to have on your desk. A chapter each week will help you me much more productive.

The author correctly states this should probably not be your first Microsoft Access book. Yet he tries to take the reader from the ground up (inside out) through very detailed 1,298 pages. It starts by defining what a database is (not required if you have taken Programming 101) and goes into fine detail on publishing databases on web pages (for advanced users). My main complaint about this book is that it does not get you started on even the most simple application without plowing through more than half the text. The author is just beginning to discuss the design of forms on page 685! A hard read, a month later I have made it to page 219.

There is no doubt that the Inside Out series from Microsoft is a much superior source for learning than the Step By Step Series. Topics are covered with more thoroughness which includes theory, reasons for doing things in a certain way and a better understanding of various possible parameters. That necessarily equates to a bulkier tome but the information is worth the weight. Unfortunately, others can produce the information in a more inspired and interesting manner.

This book is thorough. Anyone wishing to learn about Access 2003 would be well served by its use. It comes with examples on disk and a well thought out sequential development that builds on previous lessons. The only problem is staying awake. The illustrations are plentiful but tend to be small and difficult to read but the correspond well to what actually appeared on my screen. That is often not the case. This is a good choice but there are better ones. I like this one mostly as a reference. There are better references out there too.

This book is very valuable for everybody working on Access. It gives you a lot of ideas to compile a better Database. A lot of good examples you can find useful for everyday business.

Simply: You got to have it

Sorry, but the title says it all. I think that the code samples are horrible. You spend more time trying to figure out how he coded his VB than you do actually learning how to use it. The VB samples are full of error handling procedures that will have you running in circles trying to figure out the useful parts. I already know how to use Access. This is not the most useful book for learning to create VB code for handling access DB's. It is, however, a great reference book, and if you can piece together the samples of VB code, you can eventually figure it out. Overall this book was more technical than I needed.

1 Play and learn all the functions of the 2003 applications.

2 Use MeasureUp practice tests; you can play with all the functions in 2003 using the online version of the MeasureUp practice test if you don't have a copy of the all the 2003 applications.

3 Use the Certiport practice tests, the 2002 versions are just as helpful and seem to be free, so much overlaps.

4 Use this book; I never much used the printed copy, I used the Adobe pdf version that came along with it along with the practice files.

I find that Mr. Viescas is too specific in his examples, and does not explain how everything works.

I found that the first half of the book was great and helpful in covering the basics about microsoft access.

However when you get to the section on VBA and automating your applications, He will give you specific example, tell you how he wrote the code, but will not give you clear enough examples about how to do it on your own, in your own application. Very Frustrating.

Mr. Viescas is not alone though. I have been reading many Access Books, and Access VBA Books, and have yet to find one that really teaches you how to do it.

I am only one fourth way through the book. I am a doctor, not an IT professional and I wanted a book that teaches me database design from no knowledge to some sound base and as I go though the book, I am amazed. This book is really for the uninitiated and for the bigwigs in access as well. I got going to write the review by just reading the first few pages and I am sure this will turn out to be the final reference for all those seasoned access developers out there. John really does justice to his designation of "MVP" (Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional) in this book. He has been also very kind enough to help me out with designing my applications.

I have one grouch though. I wish there was a book or maybe John would be kind enough to add another CD or section where he would leave a few practice applications for us to develop for ourselves and compare with his way of developing, this gives a hands on experience, which I find a must for novices like us.

A MUST BUY I must say, if you really want to ACCESS your needs for database designa and Access!!

Dr Alok Modi MD

For being nearly 1300 pages, this book is barely sufficient. While there is plenty of information, the book is poorly organized with sparse and general headings followed by paragraphs of wordy explanatory text. A better use of headings and sub headings would allow for better reference.

Turning for help in the index is also disappointing. The book is poorly indexed and seems to have been given little thought or personal attention to its organization.

The last place to turn is to code samples, but these are so sparse and abbreviated that you have to search for them among pages of text. I'm all for having copies of the code on the accompanying CD, but for even a neophyte, sample code is essential to grasping all the detail.

I feel sympathetic that the author obviously spent a prodigious amount of time writing 1300 pages of prose, but the bottom line for technology books is that you need to show me, not just tell me about it.

The intended audience for this book isn't someone who just needs to use a Microsoft Access Database. Instead, this book is for someone who knows Access basics and understands databases and wants to create their own database - or perhaps their own application - including possibly using Visual Basic programming or macros. If this is you, then this book is GREAT! Doesn't bother you with the tiny details, but gives you what you need to get moving on your project, including how to prevent users from tinkering with your form design, how to fine tune your database/application using the performance analyzer, and other ideas to put together a high-quality database or application. (The reason why some reviewers have rated the book lower, is that they were probably outside the targeted audience, and the material was therefore less appropriate for them.)