F. Scott Barker’s Microsoft Access 2002 Power Programming

Chapter 1. Macros Are for Weenies; Code Is Cool!

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding Where Macros End and Code Begins 10

• Looking at Macro-to-Code Changes 12

• Converting Existing Macros to VBA Code 15

Many of you reading this book have been using Access for quite a while and automating it quite nicely with macros. Macros work quite well for applications used by one or maybe a few people in a controlled environment. But when it comes to creating powerful, robust applications, VBA is the only way.

Microsoft Access is unique in that the macro language it uses isn’t the “recording” of commands, as in Excel or the Windows Recorder, but instead is made of the commands created from a set list of actions, each with its own set of arguments. Figure 1.1 shows an example ...