Collection Of Microsoft Access Tips, Tutorials & Resources

Today’s post is a collection of resources I’ve collected for those who either need to learn or get a refresher for Microsoft Access. Of the Microsoft Office programs, Access is my favorite. With that said, it’s also probably the most difficult to learn for many. While I am in no way an Access or database expert, I have created and maintained about a dozen relational databases.

I learned by reverse engineering an Access database a few years ago, then furthered my understanding by grabbing a self paced Access book. I have also used Lynda.com and a few of the other tutorials below to help solve problems and learn a few additional cool tricks.

Now that it’s time for me to create a new database, I thought I’d share a few Access tips, tutorials and resources that I use myself.

Allen Browne’s Tips For Microsoft Access - this resource provides offers tips and tutorials for casual users (who don’t know how to write code), serious users (developers) and programmers (coding examples for VBA). The tutorials take a progressive approach, beginning with Table Design for newbies to Microsoft Access. Additional resources include downloadable tools, solutions to common problems, bugs and steps and resolutions to problems that occur when converting to another Access version.

Lynda.com’s Access Training – If you need to quickly learn Access, the best training I’ve found is through Lynda.com’s video tutorials. Unlike the other resources listed, Lynda.com will cost you $25 a month. However, the site doesn’t only offer Access training. There is an A to Z listing of software video tutorials in each subject. The videos are high quality and broken down into small bites so you can identify what you need help with and easily digest it. I typically get a subscription for just a month when I need to learn a new program in a pinch.

Microsoft Office Access 2007 Training Courses - This training section offers 35 tutorials that include sections to help you get familiar with Access, build your first database,  manage your data and more.

About’com’s Microsoft Access Tutorials – About.com has compiled this useful listing of helpful tutorials to help you grasp Access.

Baycon Group Microsoft Access 2007 Tutorials – the step by step tutorials on this page are very useful and it’s organized very well, breaking sections down by table, queries, reports, forms, etc.

Access Templates – rather than starting from scratch, you can use some of these great templates to begin your database.

Access Blog – If you want to learn how to do some cool tricks and find your way around Access, the Access Blog has you covered.

databasedev.co.uk’s Database Normalization Process - if you’ve already built your database or are in the process, this explanation will be beneficial. As the article references, “normalisation is the process of efficiently organising data in a database. There are two main objectives of the normalization process: eliminate redundant data (storing the same data in more than one table) and ensure data dependencies make sense (only storing related data in a table).” Following the normalization process will help shrink space your database consumes and store your data logically.

Microsoft’s Build & Publish an Access Database to Sharepoint - this resource has plenty of information if you want to publish your database to Sharepoint to share your database with coworkers or over the internet.

Kitebird.com’s Migrating from Microsoft Access to MySQL – if you feel your database is a little too limited, perhaps it’s time to migrate to MySQL. This tutorial walks you through the process.

Allen Browne’s Converting to Access 2007 or 2010 –  this site offers all the info you need to determine if converting to Access 2007 or 2010 is for you. They list the good, the bad, fixed and resolved bugs and plenty of other tips and information.

Access Developer Center – this site provides some programming resources and information for Access 2003, 2007 and 2010.

Do you have any favorite Microsoft Access resources you’d like to share? Feel free to mention them in the comments below.