From Microsoft Works to Access

Why does it have to be so Fn difficult. This is not rocket science. I have friends that do Excel with no big deal. Maybe I should move over to Exel.

Hi Patricia,

I agree, if you are used to the "relational thinking" Access is a very useful tool - I love it - but else it is really Fn difficult.

My problem with Access is that, especially as a beginner, you can do what you want, while you absolutely need the structure to use it "relational".

Moreover, Access is structured around normalized tables, which is essential, but lacks the flexibility to interact with the way a non-experienced person looks at structured data. And that makes it so difficult for a starting developper.

I took a different approach. My starting point is the Control, or how the user "sees" the data-element. From that point I have automated applications to a far extent. And here lies the difference, almost all needed functionality is already build-in, instead of building it over and over again from the very beginning.

But apart from this, move over to Excel would be a bad idea, because there is hardly data-integrity in Excel.

Imb.

I've decided to use a more user friendly Libre Office. I would love a refund from Microsoft Office 365 if possible.

Why does it have to be so Fn difficult. This is not rocket science. I have friends that do Excel with no big deal. Maybe I should move over to Exel.

Access differs from other office applications in that you cannot simply use it out of the box in the same way that, with Word, you can just open it and type a document, and with Excel, you can create a worksheet.  Both have much greater functionality that that, but anyone can create a basic document in both without going into its possibilities in depth.  With Access on the other hand, you can either restrict yourself to what the available templates offer, or you can take time to learn how to develop a database with correctly normalized and related tables, so that it accurately models that part of the real world with which the  database is concerned, along with a user interface made up of forms, reports and queries.

You might like to take a look at DatabaseBasics.zip in my public databases folder at:

https://1drv.ms/f/c/44cc60d7fea42912/EhIppP7XYMwggESpAAAAAAAB3aLXYo7DdARg01KnQIyoLg?e=fASl3m

This little demo file, as its name suggests, provides an introduction to the basic principles and methodologies used in developing a relational database.  Other demos in the same folder which you might find useful are Normalization.zip, Relationships.zip, and BooleanDemo.zip.

As regards your current problems, if you find that your friend can't help, you can post your file to a publicly shared folder in OneDrive, and post the link here, so that we can download it and take a look.  If you'd rather not put it in the public domain you can mail a copy to me at the following (munged) address, and I'll take a look at it:

 kenwsheridan<at>yahoo<dot>co<dot>uk

I actually have the Access Book. I am now just repeating my self and getting nowhere.

Why does it have to be so Fn difficult. This is not rocket science. I have friends that do Excel with no big deal. Maybe I should move over to Exel.