Customer Reviews
Microsoft Access inside and out 
2008-02-15
Microsoft Access is a well written book, it has greatly help me understand how the program work.
Good Access 2003 book, but lacks coherence 
2007-09-08
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.
Not for Beginners 2007-07-10
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.
Very Helpful 2007-05-25
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.
Excellent information; well organized; horrendous writing 
2007-04-25
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.
The sequel of Step by Step 2007-01-21
Hey, you know your way around Microsoft Access—so now dig into Access 2003 and really put your databases to work! This supremely organized reference packs all the information you need to master every major tool, task, and enhancement in Access 2003—without the fluff. Quickly advance your expertise constructing a database, importing and exporting data, building queries, linking data, using forms, creating reports and applications, publishing data on the Web, implementing security features, and other critical functions. You’ll gain hundreds of timesaving solutions and troubleshooting tips in concise, fast-answer format. You also get the entire book on CD-ROM, along with the Access Productivity Kit, featuring author extras such as sample files; two complete database applications from inside the book; the Microsoft Computer Dictionary, Fifth Edition; and dozens of other resources, including several direct from the Office product group. With INSIDE OUT, you’ll discover the best and fastest ways to perform everyday tasks—and challenge yourself to new levels of Access mastery!
Very Informative, NOT overwhelming 2007-01-18
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.
Good all-around Access book 2007-01-12
Inside Out is well written, with useful examples, and a great index that allows me to find answers to specific issues as needed.
Would be 5 stars for content, but gets 3 because of writing and organization 2006-11-27
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).
Not for the light hearted 2006-09-21
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.
