Using Access s Report Windows

Using Access's Report Windows

The windows that you use to design and run Access reports are easier to use than the windows that you use for other basic Access functions. To open an existing Access report, such as the rptInventoryByCategory report you just created and closed, click the Reports shortcut in the Database window and then select a report name from the Database window. If you click the Design button or the New button to create a new report, the Design view toolbar appears with the buttons listed in Table 16.1.

Table 16.1. Access-Specific Toolbar Buttons in Report Design Mode

Button	Menu Choice	Function
	View, Print Preview or File, Print Preview	Selects Print Preview to display how your report appears when printed. You can print the report from the Print Preview window.
	Not applicable	Prints the report without displaying the Print dialog. Access prints the report using the current printer settings.
	Insert, Hyperlink	Inserts a new Hyperlink control or allows you to edit an existing Hyperlink control.
	View, Field List	Displays a list of fields in the query or table that is the main report's data source.
	View, Toolbox	Displays or closes the toolbox.
	View, Sorting and Grouping	Displays the Sorting and Grouping dialog in which you can establish the structure of reports and the order in which the report presents the data.
	Format, AutoFormat	Applies your choice of several predefined report formats, including g for the text fonts and color settings.
	View, Code	Opens the VBA Editor window in which you can edit event-handling code.
	View, Properties	Displays the Properties window for the entire report, the sections of the report when you click the section divider bars, or the properties of a control when a control is selected.
	Not applicable	Displays a Build Wizard for the selected object or property in the report. This button is enabled only if Access has a Builder for the selected item.
	Window, 1 Database	Displays the Database window.
	Not applicable	Creates a new object. Click the arrow to the right of this button to see a drop-down list of objects that you can create.
	Help, Microsoft Help Access Help	Opens the Microsoft Window to the Answer Wizard page.

Many of the buttons listed in Table 16.1 serve the same purposes for both forms and reports. As is the case for Form Design mode, the Formatting toolbar's buttons for formatting text are enabled only when a control object that can contain text is selected. The Formatting toolbar for reports is identical to the Formatting toolbar for forms.

For a list of the formatting icons and their uses, see Table 14.2 in "The Formatting Toolbar," p. 534.

If you double-click the name of an existing report or click the Preview button in the Database window, the report displays in Print Preview mode, which is the default view for reports. Table 16.2 lists the toolbar's buttons in Print Preview mode.

Table 16.2. Standard Toolbar Buttons in Report Print Preview Mode

Button	Menu Choice	Function
	Not applicable	Prints the report without displaying the Print dialog. The report is printed using the current printer settings.
	View, Zoom	Toggles between full-page and full-size (100%) views of the report. Clicking the mouse when its pointer appears as the magnifying glass symbol produces the same effect.
	View, Pages, One Page	Displays one full page.
	View, Pages, Two Pages	Displays two full pages.
	View, Pages, Four Pages	Displays a palette from which you can select several multiple-page views of the report.
	View, Zoom	Changes the size of the view from 10% to 1,000% or fits the report to the current size of the window.
	Not applicable	Closes the Print Preview window.
	File, Page Setup	Displays the Page Setup dialog.
	Tools, OfficeLinks	Displays a drop-down list of shortcut commands for Microsoft Office Links: Publish It with Microsoft Word, and Analyze It with Microsoft Excel. (Merge It with Microsoft Word is disabled.)