MS Access

I use MS Access a lot. It's a great program for putting together small to medium sized databases with up to about 5 simultaneous users (depending on the speed of the network, etc.) But it's not the most intuitive program in the world and its SQL dialect can be very frustrating. I've read several books on the program and my favorite is Access 2002 Developer's Handbook Set' by Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, Mike Gunderloy. (Ken Getz is an excellent writer and even better speaker.)

Access frequently gets a bad reputation because it's not used well or the database is build by amateurs thinking in terms of spreadsheets. Like most things in life, a little planning goes a long way. You want to start with a solid relational design. (And if I've already lost you, then go back an order Ken's book right now. Otherwise, you are in for a world 'o frustration!)

Access is my favorite tool for prototyping larger applications. It's also great for relieving the pain of 'Excel Hell'. (That's the pain caused by trying to run a business using dozens of Excel spreadsheets, all with similar names, and suddenly realizing things are totally out of control! If you live near Portland, Oregon and are suffering form this problem, zap me an e-mail. I can help.)

Here a few resources I have found useful... Please let me know if any of these are helpful to you, or if their are others I should add to this list...

Utter Access

Utterly helpful. Utterly free.

Microsoft

Seems obvious, but it's often overlooked. They have lots of free templates to get you started. Why re-invent the wheel? Yes, like most MS sites it's a pain to find anything, but sometimes its got just what you need, especially in the early stages of development. Actually, I've found the best way to search Microsoft is to use Google. Just put in
+Microsoft +Access +[your code in quotation marks]
...and look for a Microsoft support link. Check it out. Works most of the time.

Development Tools

Some interesting wizards here.

BlueClaw

I like these guys...

KB Articles

This site has a number of categorized Knowledge Base articles from MS.

FunctionX.com

Mostly beginners stuff, but I kinda like the layout. Tell me what you think...

The Access Web

This site has lots of great stuff and links to other helpful sites. Some free code written by some of the best developers in the business. Worth a visit.

Access Newsgroups

Several places here to ask specific questions.

Programming Help

More free code.

Jobs

Just Access jobs. Who knew?

MVPs

Access MVPs

Fabalou

Strange name, but some clever code and it's free.

accessvba.com

Access VBA Central