Let me give a little advice to anyone out there diving into Access development. If you find some VBA code online (maybe even from one of my videos), and you copy and paste it into your database and it doesn't work... chances are, it's not the code that's broken. It's the foundation.

You can't build a skyscraper on sand. The strength of any structure depends on its foundation. And if you don't know the basics, how to declare a variable, how to debug, how to step through code, what Option Explicit does, or even how to read an error message, then trying to use more advanced code can feel like deciphering alien transmissions without a universal translator.

Now, sure, sometimes you can copy and paste something and it works. I do have videos where I say, "Here's a block of code you can just use." And if it's something complex like a Windows API call, I don't expect you to understand every line right away. Heck, even I don't understand everything all the time. But I know it works.

When it comes to everyday Access development, simple automation, form handling, error trapping, you really do need to understand what's going on under the hood.

This isn't me being cranky. This is me being that Starfleet Academy instructor reminding you that warp theory makes a lot more sense after you've passed Physics 101.

So if you're just starting out, take the time to go through the Beginner, Expert, Advanced, and at least the first couple Developer lessons. Build your skills. Trust me, it'll save you a lot of frustration in the long run.

I get a lot of emails from people asking me if they can skip the beginner lessons. I'd rather you didn't, and it's not because I'm just trying to sell more lessons (I only charge a couple of dollars for the beginner lessons). That's not the point.

The points are: (a) I want you to make sure you have all the fundamentals, and (b) I have a certain way of teaching, and if you miss things like my naming conventions and not putting spaces in your field names, it's going to come back to bite you later. Heck, I made a whole page about this topic.

I would bet 90% of the time when someone asks to skip the beginner lessons (which I fully allow), but they're into the expert or even developer lessons and they come back and say, "Well, what about this?" And I'm like, "That's something that I covered in the beginner lessons. Go watch this video..."

LLAP
RR