Books

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Books

Last updated: 20 Dec 1999

The following books have been recommended in posts to the Approach Users Mailing List:

The manual that come with Approach. Always a good place to start!
Approach 97 for Windows for Dummies by Deborah S. Ray, Eric J. Ray / Paperback / Published 1997. This appears to be the only book that is specifically about v97. However, you may want to check out some of the v96 books first, as they cover most of what you will need to know and the 'dummies' style isn't for everybody.
Mastering Lotus Smart Suite 97 for Windows 95 by Sandra E. Eddy, includes 'reasonable' coverage of v97 apparently.
Teach Yourself Lotus SmartSuite in 24 Hours by Faithe Wempen and published by published by SAMS. Described by one person as a "Wonderful book, .... broken down into 24 lessons."
Using Lotus Approach 96 Special Edition (Que Books) (Described as being particularly good for New Users)

NOTE: If you are looking for a v97 book, the v96 books are still worth getting as the differences are minor and when you stumble across a difference you should be able to get the extra information you need from the Approach HELP files.

Using Lotus Approach 3 by Plotkin (Que Books)
Mastering Lotus Approach 96 for Windows 95 by James Powell (Sybex / Lotus Books, ISBN: 0-7821-1773-2) (This is the most highly recommended book, however, some subscribers have commented that IF YOU ALREADY OWN THE EARLIER VERSION (for v3.0*, see above) then check it out carefully before you by this one. They expressed strong disappointment that it has only been minimally from the earlier version, and major aspects of Approach 96 are not covered adequately. It therefore may not be worth the expense.)
Mastering Lotus Approach by James Powell (Sybex / Lotus Books) (This is the most highly recommended book for v3.0*)
Building Databases with Approach 3 by Elaine Marmel ("...seems to be an extended, well documented, tutorial on building a database that is usable in a business environment.")
Approach 3.0 for Dummies
Practical Approach version 3.0 by Siegel (MIS Press)
Introduction to Databases" by James T. Townsend (recommend for business uses who are learning and updated designing databases. It is about databases in general rather than how to use Approach.)

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