Microsoft Access Project

Well as I have mentioned in my previous Microsoft Access blog, I have never used Microsoft Access :( I had many questions with this project, but seemed to find my way through it to the end (finally!). While doing this project I was literally learning step by step.  This includes everything from how to create and import tables to how to label and save reports.  The most difficult section to me was how to generate the query I needed.  It was difficult in the fact that you had to know put fields ahead of other fields in order to sort correctly from left to right and oh ya..those fields couldn't show up in the report (AHH!). However, once I grasped this concept it was really interesting how easily I was able to manipulate the data to generate information that I needed. The easiest portion of the Microsoft Access project was (don't laugh).....setting up the printing! At least this feature was the same as all of the other Microsoft Office programs :)

How would I increase the functionality of Microsoft Access?  First, in creating a query I had problems when I would accidentally drag a wrong field to be sorted, I could not remove that field. Not sure if it was just my inexperience with the Microsoft Access or not, but I started this part of the project over a couple of times when trying to get the sorting aspect correct.  Another aspect I would like to see improved upon would be in creating a report.  I had trouble lining up and getting the fields to fit the length of the data in them.  It would be helpful if you were able to automatically straighten and fit data accordingly.

All in all though, this was a challenging project to me since I had not used Microsoft Access prior. However, I enjoyed learning how to use the Microsoft Access database program and am looking forward to using the features the program offers in the near future!