Access XP
Microsoft 2002
Tutorial 6 Creating Custom Reports
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Design and create a custom report
You can easily create custom reports based on a table or query. There are seven sections that can be added to a report:
Report Headers and Footers, Page Headers and Footers, Group Headers and Footers, and a detail section
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You can change any of these sections for your report. At a minimum, you will always include a detail section in your report. The usual order of development is to first develop the table(s) in a database, then develop queries, and finally develop forms and reports.
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Report sections and their contents
This figure shows what is contained in each report section.
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An Access report with all sections shown
Report Header. Group Headers.
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Page Header.
Detail Section.
Group Footer. Detail Sections. Report Footer. Page Footer.
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Design a report before creating it
Before creating a report, you should always create a design. This will help you decide what you want in the report and where you want each piece of data placed in the report.
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This figure contains an example of a report design. Note that the X's are used as place holders representing the number of positions each field will use in the report.
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Assign a conditional value to a calculated field
There will be times when you will want to perform one operation under a certain condition and perform a different operation under another condition. In Access you can do this using the IIf function. The IIf function specifies a condition:
If the condition is true, the operation is performed If the condition is false, a different operation is performed
New Perspectives on Microsoft Access 2002 Tutorial 6
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An IIf statement example
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The figure below contains an expression using the IIf statement. The expression will add 200 to the PlacementFee field if the TotalOpenings field is greater than or equal to 3. Otherwise it will add 500 to the PlacementFee.
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Sort and group data in a report
Access makes it easy for you to sort your data in the order you want it. You can also group data, which will result in data being sorted within the groups. If you specify that you want a group, you have the opportunity to provide a Group Header and/or Group Footer. The Group Header will usually indicate the name of the group and the footer typically contains a subtotal for the group.
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The Sorting and Grouping dialog box
When sorting, you need to decide whether you want to sort in ascending or descending order. If you also want grouping, in the Sorting and Grouping dialog box, you can specify what field should also be grouped. You do this by changing the Group Header property to Yes.
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XP Add, move, resize, and align controls in a report
You can add controls to a report in the same manner as you add controls to a form. Bound controls get their data from a field in a table or query. To add a bound control to a report, click the desired field in the field list and drag it to the report design window. You can then move these controls around according to your design.
Move controls by selecting them and then dragging them to the desired position Resize a control by dragging one of its selection handles to the desired position Align several controls by selecting the controls and then right-clicking on one of the controls and selecting the align command
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Bound controls on a report
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Bound controls normally consist of a label and a text box for entering and viewing data. The small black rectangles around the controls indicate that they are selected, and are also used to move and resize the controls.
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Modify control properties
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Each control has a set of properties associated with it. In the case of the label control, the Caption property contains the text that will be displayed in the label. To change any of the properties for a control you must first display the property sheet. You can display the property sheet for a control by right-clicking on the control.
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The control property sheet
When you right-click on a control, and then click Properties, the property sheet will appear. The Object list box tells you what type of control is being displayed.
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This is the text that appears in the label portion of the control.
The control's position and size can be adjusted here also.
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Add a subreport to a main report
To add a subreport to a report, you use the Subform/Subreport wizard to create the subreport. In order to launch the wizard, you must be sure that the Controls Wizards tool is selected in the toolbox. The subreport will usually consist of data from a related table. If the report is based on a query that uses both tables, you can pull the data from the related table into the subreport.
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A subreport in Design view
When you add a subreport to a report, this is how it will appear in Report Design view. These fields are on the main report.
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The subreport label will appear when the report is viewed in datasheet view.
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A subreport in Print Preview
This is how the report will look when it is previewed and printed. Main report area. Subreport area.
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Add lines to a report
To provide a visual separation in the report, you may want to add a line to the report. To do this:
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Select the drawing tool from the toolbox and position the pointer where you want the line to begin Hold down the mouse button and drag the pointer to where the line should end, and release the mouse button To ensure a straight vertical or horizontal line, hold down the Shift key while you drag
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Add a line to a report in Design view
To draw a line, click the line tool button, position the cursor at the beginning point of the line, and drag to the ending point. When the line is selected, the sizing handles can be used to change its size, or to move it to a new location.
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Hide duplicate values in a report
When you group items in a report, you may not want to repeat the duplicate values within the group.
For example, if the report is grouped by department, you don't need to have Accounting printed on each record in that department
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You can hide these duplicate value by setting the Hide Duplicates property to Yes.
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Set the Hide Duplicates property
Right-click on the control in Design view, then click Properties.
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Click the list arrow for the Hide Duplicates property and then select Yes or No.
When this property is set to Yes, duplicate values for a group will not appear in the report.
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Add calculated controls to a report
If you want to have a subtotal for the groups in a report, you should add the Sum function to the Group Footer section. If you also want an overall total, you should place the Sum function in the Report Footer section. The Sum function will be placed inside a text box control that you have added to your report in the appropriate position.
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Add a calculated field to a footer section
Click the Text Box tool, then click and drag where you want the calculated field to go.
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Enter the calculation expression in the property sheet for the control.
Add a label to identify the field.
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Calculated totals.
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Define conditional formatting rules
Sometimes you will want to call attention to a value under certain conditions. You can specify under what conditions formatting would be applied to a control. You can define up to three formats for a control. Any value other than those specified in the conditions will be formatted in the default format.
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Use the Conditional Formatting XP dialog box
In Report Design view, right-click the control to be formatted, and then click Conditional Formatting on the shortcut menu. Set the format options for the field and then click the OK button.
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Use domain aggregate functions
Domain aggregate functions are used to provide statistical information about a set of records, or recordset. An example of an aggregate function is the Sum function:
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The Sum function adds the values in a set of records and places the Sum in a bound control
To apply an aggregate function to a table or query, you must use domain aggregate functions. In this case you would use the DSum function:
You need to specify the name of the set of records (the query or table) and which values are to be summed
This is only one example of a domain aggregate function. There are several others.
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Add a domain aggregate function
1. Add an unbound control to the report using the text box tool.
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2. Right-click the control, click Properties, and then click the All tab if necessary. 3. Right-click the Control Source text box in the property sheet, then click Zoom on the shortcut menu. Enter the domain aggregate function, then click OK.
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Additional Domain Aggregate Functions
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