MS Access is a database management system that comes with the redistributable Microsoft Office software package. And although its functionality is slightly lower than that of specialized programs, many use the application for ease of operation. Creating reports in Access is a necessary process to carry out the work. Reports are a way of fetching data with a finished database according to one or more specified parameters.
Understanding and reporting in Access
The report is a formatted representation of the information that is included in the finished database. It is reports that are printed, collecting a data set. Using the function in Microsoft Office Access, you can get almost any data sample. You can collect the necessary information, present it in a readable form. In addition, you can analyze the data, as well as summarize various kinds of indicators.
If you print data directly, that is, in an unstructured form (tables or queries), it turns out that the data is printed in the form in which it is present in the program. Creating reports in Access allows you to bypass this process and get information in a more familiar form. In addition, using reports can simplify the work and reading information. A detailed report includes the required indicators from the database. However, its characteristic features are paragraphing with a heading and headers and footers.
MS Access Structure and Reporting
To simplify the understanding of information in MS Access during the creation of the report, you can add various text elements. In addition, you can structure information from tables.
Such components include:
- Heading.
- Header and footer.
- Work area.
- Note.
Headline
It is necessary for the name of the report and when printing is displayed at the top of the first page of the report. It can be used to save data, it is especially often used to display information containing part of the database that needs to be printed once and in the initial section of the report. To add a heading to the report structure, use the "View" section, the "Heading" command, or the "Report note".
Page header
It is approximately the same as in MS Word. Access does, however, use it to create various column names for data. In addition, headers and footers can be used to add page numbers. By default, in Microsoft Access, two headers and footers are created simultaneously. To create only one you need to go to the "View" section, then click on the footer button. To remove one of them from the workspace, use the properties. Enter the value "zero" in the "Header and footer" parameter.
Workspace
Placed between the header and footer. It contains the main data from the report. Access forms and reports typically begin with this part. The tabular form provides the information that is required for printing. Printing is based on a request or a specific database table. To add or remove information, you can use the list of fields and a special panel. This panel is hidden using the option. In order for it not to be displayed on the screen, you need to set the height property to zero.
footer
Located at the bottom of the page when printing. It can be used to display results, work dates or page numbering. Printed on every page. You can print multiple types of data at once.
Note
It is a single text block. Located on the last page of the report, in the workspace, directly above the footer. Used to print data that needs to be printed once. These include reports, totals, or a signature field. To add a note in MS Access you need to go to the "View" section, select the "Report Header / Note" function. In this case, the program creates a title and notes immediately.
Reporting Methods
During the development of all Microsoft products, it was planned to provide several opportunities for working on reports and queries. There are several ways to create reports in Microsoft Access. These include:
- Built-in constructor.
- Auto Report Wizards.
- Auto report in a column or in a tape.
- Charts.
How to create a report
The easiest way is the automatic reporting wizard. Its functionality includes the ability to place selected rows and columns from various databases into the workspace and at the same time has several design styles. After the end of automatic work, you can additionally add or change data using the designer.
In addition, you can use the automatic reporting functionality to get a report quickly. Then, after execution, you can make corrections in design mode.
Creating a simple report in MS Access is carried out in this way:
- First of all, you need a ready-made database. Go to the "Reports" section, then click on the "Create" context window. A window will appear with a choice of the type of report.
- To quickly create a report, you need to select "Automatic response" in the column or tape.
- Then you need to select the source of information. To do this, you can use a ready-made database or an information request.
- Confirm selection.
- Then the automatic report wizard will create a report according to your choice. In this case, it will open in preview mode. Here you can see the appearance of the finished report.
- Then, after completing the edits, go to the "File" tab, click on the "Save" button. In the window, enter the full name of the report, then select the directory or removable drive.
Print
Access queries and reports are completed by printing. After all steps to create a report are completed and you need to print it, it is worth using the following commands:
- In the "File" section, press the key corresponding to the print.
- In the window that appears, you need to click on the page button.
- Then select which pages you want to print and confirm.
Before starting to print, you need to make sure once again that the prepared report is correct. To make sure that the data has not shifted and entered correctly, you need to go to the preview section in the "View" tab.
If there is a penultimate blank page, problems are most often associated with incorrect placement of notes. It is necessary to check the height and, if necessary, set the height parameter to level 0.
If there are blank pages - most likely the width of the report margins exceeds the width of the paper. Try printing in landscape orientation or change the width in the margins. During operation, do not allow the width of the fields to exceed the total dimensions of the workspace + left and right empty fields.