VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) is a computer language included with all Microsoft Office applications. If you have ever recorded a macro, then you have used VBA. The power of macros lies beyond simple recording of repetitive actions. By delving into the programming code you can add your own database commands and extend the functionality of the application.

Let's look at a few examples of what Access VBA training can add.

Smart Data Entry

Access allows you to indicate that fields should be numbers, strings, dates, and so on. For example, one common mistake that new users make is to define a phone number field as numeric. After all it's made of numbers, right?

Actually, numeric fields should be limited only to values that will be used in mathematical operations. You'll never add or multiply a phone number, so it is actually a string that happens to be composed of numbers.

However, phone numbers often involve symbols as well. A data entry operator might enter spaces, dashes, or parenthesis which could complicate actions such as pulling phone numbers within a certain area code.

This issue can be addressed using Access VBA. Training courses can illustrate how to add a few instructions to a data entry field to strip all non-numeric data and store just the basic phone number. It can add sanity checks, such as verifying that the area code matches the city in the address or ensuring there are enough digits for it to be a valid telephone number.

Automatic Record Sorting

Access defaults to listing records in the order they were entered. These lists can be easily sorted but sometimes it would be nice if the records were sorted automatically. If you always want to see your customers sorted alphabetically by last name, it would be nice to have that happen every time you pull up the customer list rather than having to do it explicitly every time.

Access VBA training demonstrates how to tie commands to events such as the opening of a form. By creating an event subroutine, you could tell the form to sort the customers by name every time it is opened. The list could still be sorted manually by other columns such as city, but will default to sort by last name.

Access VBA Training Improves Efficiency

An Access VBA training course provides a wealth of tools that will make your databases easier to use, less prone to errors, and capable of more powerful data analysis. The time invested will pay off in improved productivity.

The advantage of a course over self-training is that often the instructor will tell you about features you might not realize even existed. It is hard to teach yourself about something if you don't know it is possible. An Access VBA training course taught by a Microsoft-certified instructor is the quickest path to VBA proficiency.