Book excerpt: What is this Lightning Guide good for? The Lightning Guide to Databases with Microsoft Access and SQL is a fast and easy way to design your databases with Microsoft Access and using Structured Query Language (SQL). It is: · Very practical: based on learning-by-doing using clear database examples. · Very direct: goes straight to the point with a short and clear explanation of each topic. Each topic is later developed in deeper detail, for those interested in learning more about it. · Intended for all users: from MS-Access beginners to very experienced users. If you have some programing experience you will make the most out of this guide, and experience with spreadsheets is also useful – but neither are necessary. · Very broad: covers from the most basic questions about MS-Access, relational databases, and SQL (such as “what is a Table?”), to advanced features such as Forms, writing complex SQL Queries, Query testing, and debugging guidance. How do you use this Lightning Guide? This Lightning Guide is not designed to be read linearly like a book, and it is not intended to be read in full (although you can do both). Rather, it is written as a long list of Frequently Asked Questions, where each short section addresses a specific topic. You can just read the section or sections that are useful for you at any given moment. To easily find the solution to your specific doubt or question, this Lightning Guide is structured in short sections, each attempting to be reasonably self-contained and answering a specific question/problem that you may have. Sections include cross references to other sections, allowing you to follow up on the explanation of topics in other related sections in case you want to dig-in. There is also some redundancy between sections for the sake of self-containment, making it easier to find the desired answer as fast as possible. I therefore recommend using this Guide by searching for the specific question/problem that you have and going directly to the corresponding section. What version of Microsoft Access is this Guide for? Microsoft Access (MS-Access) is a computer program for building, maintaining and using relational databases. The explanation of the user interface and the exercises in this guide are for the 2021 English version of MS-Access 365, which is very similar to MS-Access 2019 and to MS-Access 2016. Besides, many of the concepts explained in this book are version-independent and apply to database design and database concepts themselves, being equally applicable to past and future versions. What is not in this Guide? This Lightning Guide explains in a clear, concise, and detailed way almost all MS-Access features and commands, which will allow you to exploit MS-Access in great dept. However, be aware this Guide covers Reports very lightly and does not cover macros. I would also like to clarify that this guide does not cover how to program in VBA. It explains how to use VBA code in MS-Access, and how VBA data types interact with SQL ones, but it does not provide a course on how to program in VBA. In case that you know some other imperative programming language like C or Java you will find VBA straightforward and will be able to code with it very fast using a few tips from web pages.