Essentials: Access 2002 Level 1 / Edition 1

Introduction

Essentials courseware from Prentice Hall Information Technology is anchored in the practical and professional needs of all types of students.

The essentials series has been conceived around a "learning-by-doing" approach that encourages you to grasp application-related concepts as you expand your skills through hands-on tutorials. As such, it consists of modular lessons that are built around a series of numbered, step-by-step procedures that are clear, concise, and easy to review. The end-of-chapter exercises have likewise been carefully constructed from the routine Checking Concepts and Terms to tasks in the Discovery Zone that gently prod you into extending what you've learned into areas beyond the explicit scope of the lessons proper. Following, you'll find out more about the rationale behind each book element and how to use each to your maximum benefit.

Key Features

• Step-by-Step Tutorials. Each lesson in a project includes numbered, bold step-by-step instructions that show you how to perform the procedures in a clear, concise, and direct manner. These hands-on tutorials let you "learn by doing." A short paragraph may appear after a step to clarify the results of that step. To review the lesson, you can easily scan the bold numbered steps. Accompanying data files eliminate unnecessary typing.
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• End-of-Project Exercises. Check out the extensive end-of-project exercises (generally 20 percent of the pages in each project) that emphasize hands-on skill development. You'll find three levels of reinforcement: Skill Drill, Challenge, and Discovery Zone. Generally, each exercise isindependent of other exercises, so you can complete your choices in any order. Accompanying data files eliminate unnecessary typing.
  
  
  • Skill Drill. Skill Drill exercises reinforce project skills. Each skill reinforced is the same, or nearly the same, as a skill presented in the project. Each exercise includes a brief narrative introduction, followed by detailed instructions in a step-by-step format.
  • Challenge. Challenge exercises expand on or are somewhat related to skills presented in the lessons. Each exercise provides a brief narrative introduction, followed by instructions in a numbered-step format that are not as detailed as those in the Skill Drill section.
  • Discovery Zone. Discovery Zone exercises require advanced knowledge of topics presented in lessons, application of skills from multiple lessons, or self-directed learning of new skills. Each exercise provides a brief narrative introduction. Numbered steps are not provided.
  
  
  Two other sections precede the end-of-project exercises: Summary and Checking Concepts and Terms. The Summary provides a brief recap of tasks learned in the project, and guides you to topics or places where you can expand your knowledge. The Checking Concepts and Terms section includes Multiple Choice and Discussion questions that are designed to check your comprehension and assess retention. Projects that introduce a new work area include a Screen ID question.
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• Notes. Projects include two types of notes: "If you have problems..." and "To extend your knowledge..." The first type displays between hands-on steps. These short troubleshooting notes help you anticipate or solve common problems quickly and effectively. Many lessons in the projects end with "To extend your knowledge..." notes that provide extra tips, shortcuts, and alternative ways to complete a process, as well as special hints. You may safely ignore these for the moment to focus on the main task at hand, or you may pause to learn and appreciate the additional information.
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• Task Guide. The Task Guide, which follows the Overview of Windows, lists common procedures and shortcuts. It can be used in two complementary ways to enhance your learning experience. You can refer to it while progressing through projects to refresh your memory on procedures learned. Or, you can keep it as a handy real-world reference while using the application for your daily work.
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• Illustrations. Multiple illustrations add visual appeal and reinforce learning in each project. An opening section titled "Visual Summary" graphically illustrates the concepts and features included in the project and/or the output you will produce. Each time a new button is introduced, its icon displays in the margin. Screen shots display after key steps for you to check against the results on your monitor. These figures, with ample callouts, make it easy to check your progress.
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• Learn-How-to-Learn Focus. Software has become so rich in features that cater to so many diverse needs that it is no longer possible to anticipate and include everything that you might need to know. Therefore, a learn-how-to-learn component is provided as an "essential" element in the series. Selected lessons and end-of-project exercises include accessing onscreen Help for guidance. References to onscreen Help are also included in selected project summaries and "To extend your knowledge..." notes.

How to Use This Book

Typically, each essentials book is divided into seven to eight projects. A project covers one area (or a few closely related areas) of application functionality. Each project consists of six to eight lessons that are related to that topic. Each lesson presents a specific task or closely related set of tasks in a manageable chunk that is easy to assimilate and retain.

Each element in the essentials book is designed to maximize your learning experience. Following is a list of the essentials project elements and a description of how each element can help you:

• Project Objectives. Starting with an objective gives you short-term, attainable goals. Using project objectives that closely match the titles of the step-by-step tutorials breaks down the possibly overwhelming prospect of learning several new features of an Office XP application into small, attainable, bite-sized tasks. Look over the objectives on the opening page of the project before you begin, and review them after completing the project to identify the main goals for each project.
• Key Terms. Key terms introduced in each project are listed, in alphabetical order, immediately after the objectives on the opening page of the project. Each key term is defined during its first use within the text, and is shown in bold italic within that explanation. Definitions of key terms are also included in the Glossary.
• Why Would I Do This? You are studying Office XP applications so you can accomplish useful tasks. This brief section provides an overview of why these tasks and procedures are important.
• Visual Summary. This opening section graphically illustrates the concepts and features that you will learn in the project. One or more figures, with ample callouts, show the final result of completing the project.
• If You Have Problems... These short troubleshooting notes help you anticipate or solve common problems quickly and effectively. Even if you do not encounter the problem at this time, make a mental note of it so that you know where to look when you (or others) have difficulty.
• To Extend Your Knowledge... Many lessons end with "To extend your knowledge.. comments. These notes provide extra tips, shortcuts, alternative ways to complete a process, and special hints about using the software.

Typeface Conventions Used in This Book

Essentials 2002 uses the following conventions to make it easier for you to understand the material.

• Key terms appear in italic and bold the first time they are defined in a project.
• Monospace type appears frequently and looks like this. It is used to indicate text that you are instructed to key in.
• Italic text indicates text that appears onscreen as (1) warnings, confirmations, or general information; (2) the name of a file to be used in a lesson or exercise; and (3) text from a dialog box that is referenced within a sentence, when that sentence might appear awkward if the dialog box text were not set off.
• Hotkeys are indicated by underline. Hotkeys are the underlined letters in menus, toolbars, and dialog boxes that activate commands and options, and are a quick way to choose frequently used commands and options. Hotkeys look like this: File, Save.

Accessing Student Data Files

The data files that students need to work through the projects can be downloaded from the Custom PHIT Web site). Data files are provided for each project. The filenames correspond to the filenames called for in this book. The files are named in the following manner: The first character indicates the book series (e=essentials); the second character denotes the application (w=Word, e=Excel, and so forth); and the third character indicates the level (1=Level 1, 2=Level 2, and 3=Level 3). The last four digits indicate the project number and the file number within the project. For example, the first file used in Project 3 would be 0301. Therefore, the complete name for the first file in Project 3 in the Word Level 1 book is ewl-0301. The complete name for the third file in Project 7 in the Excel Level 2 book is ee2-0703.

Instructor's Resources

• Customize Your Book). The Prentice Hall Information Technology Custom PHIT Program gives professors the power to control and customize their books to their course needs. The best part is that it is done completely online using a simple interface.
  
  Professors choose exactly what projects they need in the essentials Office XP series, and in what order they appear. The program also allows professors to add their own material anywhere in the text's presentation, and the final product will arrive at each professor's bookstore as a professionally formatted text.
  
  
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• Instructor's Resource CD-ROM. This CD-ROM includes the entire Instructor's Manual for each application in Microsoft Word format. A computerized testbank is included to create tests, maintain student records, and provide online practice testing. Student data files and completed solutions files are also on this CD-ROM. The Instructor's Manual will contain a reference guide of these files for the instructor's convenience. PowerPoint slides, which give more information about each project, are also available for classroom use.
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• Test Manager. Prentice Hall Test Manager is an integrated, PC-compatible test-generation and classroom-management software package. The package permits instructors to design and create tests, maintain student records, and provide online practice testing for students.

Prentice Hall has also formed close alliances with each of the leading online platform providers: WebCT, Blackboard, and our own Pearson CourseCompass.

• WebCT and Blackboard. This custom-built distance-learning course features exercises, sample quizzes, and tests in a course-management system that provides class administration tools as well as the ability to customize this material at the instructor's discretion.
• CourseCompass. Course Compass is a dynamic, interactive online course-management tool powered by Blackboard. It lets professors create their own courses in 15 minutes or less with preloaded quality content that can include quizzes, tests, lecture materials, and interactive exercises.

Training and Assessment

Prentice Hall TRAIN Generation It. Prentice Hall's Train Generation IT is a computer-based training software 'a student can use to preview, learn, and review Microsoft^® Office application skills. Delivered via intranet, network, CD-ROM, or the Web, Train IT offers interactive, multimedia, computer-based training to augment classroom learning. Built-in prescriptive testing suggests a study path based on not only student test results, but also the specific textbook chosen for the course.

Prentice Hall ASSESS Generation It. Prentice Hall's Assess Generation IT is separate computer-based testing software used to evaluate a student's knowledge about specific topics on Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint^®. More extensive than the testing in Train IT, Assess IT offers more features for the instructor and many more questions for the student.