Report Design in Access2007

Introduction.

In Microsoft Access 2007 there are some interesting design-time features; Report View (not Print Preview) and Layout View besides Design View and Print Preview. These two new views allow working with the report interactively.  In earlier versions of Access, we had only Design View and Print Preview options.

Report View looks almost like Print Preview but with lots of differences. You can search for data on the Report, Copy data from the report into the Clipboard, Filter Records, and find out summary values of the filtered records. If you want to retain the filtered records and show them when you open the Report you can do that by setting the Filter on the Load property value to Yes.

Layout View is somewhat like Design View in that you can rearrange the fields while viewing the report contents, add or remove fields, increase or decrease field sizes or set data field property values to reflect changes in the report data.

The Report View Feature.

1. Let us try out the above features; open Microsoft Access 2007.

2. Open one of your Databases.

3. Import the Order Details Table from the Northwind.mdb sample database.

4. Click on the Table to select it.

5. Click on the Report Option from Create a Menu to create a Report with the basic design and save it with the name Order Details.

6. Right-Click on the Order Details Report in the navigation pane and click on the Open option to open the Report in Report View.

Now, let us try search, filter, and copy operations in the Report View mode.

1. Click on the OrderID field in the first record on the Report to select it.

2. Click on the Find Toolbar button (the field-glass icon) under the Home menu.

3. Type 10251 in the Find What: control and click on the Find Next Command Button.  The first record with OrderID number 10251 is highlighted.  You can repeat the search operation by clicking on the Find Next Command Button.

4. Let us do some filter action; click on the Cancel to cancel the Find operation and close the dialog box.

5. Click on the Filter Toolbar Button.  The following filter control will be displayed over the report.

   

6. Click on the Select All option to remove all the check-marks.

7. Put check-marks on OrderID Numbers 10251 and 10255.

8. Click the OK Command Button to filter records with the selected OrderIDs on the Report.

9. You can click on the Toggle Filter Toolbar button to display all the records or filter the records again.

To copy selected records from the Report to the Clipboard:

1. Click on the left border of the topmost record on the report and drag it down to highlight a few records to select them.

2. Click on the Copy toolbar button under Home Menu to copy the highlighted records onto the Clipboard.  These records you can paste into Excel, Word, etc.

If you want to see the same set of filtered records every time you open the Report then you must change the Property Value of the Report.

1. Select the Design View option from the View Menu.

2. Select the Property Sheet option to display the Property Sheet of the Report.

3. Click on the Data Tab of the Property Sheet.

4. Set the Filter on the Load property value to Yes.

5. You can add or remove OrderID numbers in the IN clause of the Filter condition in the Filter property value if needed.

6. Save the changes and close the Report.

7. Open the Report in Print Preview and check whether the filter action is in effect or not.

8. Close the Report.

The Layout View Feature.

Now, it is time to try out the Layout View options.

1. Right-click on the Order Details Report in the navigation pane.

2. Select Layout View from the displayed shortcut menu.

3. Click and hold on the OrderID heading, and drag and drop it after the Discount Column.  You can not only do this with the column header but also on any row of records.

4. Click on any row in the Discount column to select the column.

5. Press the delete key to remove the column from the Report.

   Let us try to bring that column back into the Report from the Field List of the Source Table.

6. Click on the Add Existing Fields Toolbar Button from the Format Menu.

   

7. Drag the Discount Field and drop it between Unit Price and OrderID fields.

8. While the Discount Field is still in the selected state, click on the Arrange Menu to display its Toolbar.

9. Click on the Property Sheet Tool to display the Property Sheet of Discount Field.

10. Click on the Format Tab of the Property Sheet.

11. Change the Decimal Places property value to 2 and change the Width Property value from 1 inch to 0.75 inches.

The interactivity feature is very powerful in the process of designing Microsoft Access Reports and makes the design task easier and more interesting too.

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