Modifying Report Design


You can use the Report wizard to get a quick start on a report, but you will frequently want to modify the resultant report; you can do this in Design view. Refining a report is an iterative process: you switch back and forth between Design view and Print Preview to evaluate each change and plan the next.

In this exercise, you'll modify the layout and formatting of a report.

USE the 02_ModifyDesign database. This practice file is located in the Chapter08 subfolder under SBS_Access2007.

OPEN the 02_ModifyDesign database.


1.

In the Navigation Pane, under Reports, right-click the Alphabetical List of Products report, and then click Print Preview.

2.

Maximize the window if it isn't already, and then point to the previewed report page.

The pointer changes to a magnifying glass with a plus sign in it to indicate that you can zoom in on the page.

3.

Click the previewed page once to zoom in.

Tip

You can zoom in and out by dragging the Zoom slider in the lower-right corner of the window. The current zoom level appears to the left of the slider.

Notice that the report has the following design problems:

  • There is no date below the title.

  • There is some extraneous text.

  • Labels need to be rearranged.

  • There are a number of general formatting issues.

4.

On the View toolbar at the bottom of the screen, click the Design View button to switch views, and if the Field List pane opens, close it.

Design View

5.

Point to the top edge of the Page Header selector. When the pointer changes to a two-headed vertical arrow, drag the selector down about a quarter inch to make room for a date.

Troubleshooting

Depending on your printer settings, Access might display an error next to the Report Header alerting you that the report is wider than the page. You can ignore this error; it will go away when we change the width property for the report.

Tip

The rulers above and to the left of the report form help you judge the size of the printed report. You can toggle the rulers and the grid dots on and off by right-clicking the report and then clicking Ruler or Grid.

6.

On the Design contextual tab, in the Controls group, click the Date & Time button.

Date & Time

The Date And Time dialog box opens.

7.

Select the third date format option, and clear the Include Time check box. Then click OK to insert the current date in the report.

The Date text box is inserted in the upper-right corner of the Report Header. You may have to enlarge the report to see it.

8.

Drag the Date text box until it is just below the title, aligned with its left edge.

9.

With the text box still selected, in the Font group, click the Align Text Left button to align the date with the left edge of the text box.

Align Text Left

10.

Drag through all the controls in the ProductName Header and Detail sections to select them. Then on the Arrange tab, in the Control Layout group, click the Remove button to remove the Stacked layout.

Removing the Stacked layout gives you more options for arranging the controls.

11.

In the ProductName Header section, delete the Product Name by 1st label, and then drag the text box to the left edge of the section.

12.

In the Page Footer section, click the text box containing =Now(), and then press .

13.

In the Page Footer section, click the remaining text box to select it, and press to open the Property Sheet. Change the Width property to 2" and the Left property to 4.5".

14.

In the upper-left corner of the report, click the Report Selector. In the Property Sheet pane, change the Width property to 6.5", and then close the pane.

Tip

A square black dot within the Report Selector indicates that the report is currently selected.

If Access displayed the error earlier alerting you that the report width exceeded the page width, setting the Width properties in Steps 13 and 14 causes it to disappear.

15.

Save your changes, and then on the View toolbar, click the Print Preview button.

Print Preview

Access displays a preview of the report as it will appear when printed.

Next, you will insert a line at the bottom of each group, and prevent the groups from breaking across pages.

16.

Switch back to Design view. On the Design tab, in the Grouping & Totals group, click the Group & Sort button.

The Group, Sort, And Total pane appears below the Report window.

You can use this pane, which is a new feature in Access 2007, to quickly add grouping and sorting levels and set related properties.

17.

In the Group, Sort, and Total pane, in the Group on ProductName bar, click More to see additional options. Then click the without a footer section arrow, and in the list, click with a footer section.

A ProductName Footer section selector appears above the Page Footer section.

18.

Click the do not keep group together on one page arrow, and then in the list, click keep whole group together on one page. Then close the Group, Sort, and Total pane by clicking the Group & Sort button again.

19.

In the Controls group, click the Line button, and then click near the top of the ProductName Footer section to insert a short horizontal line.

Line

20.

Press to display the Property Sheet pane, if it is not already visible.

21.

On the Format tab, change the Left setting to 0, the Width setting to 6.5". Then in the Border Color list, click Text Black.

22.

Save your changes, and then switch to Print Preview to review them.

Access displays a preview of the report. You can make changes to the appearance of the report, such as realigning the columns.

23.

Switch back to Design view and in the ProductName Header and Detail sections, drag through the label and text box for Units In Stock to select them. Then in the Property Sheet pane, change the Left setting to 5.5".

Tip

Drag through any portion of the two controls to select them.

24.

Select the label and text box for Quantity Per Unit. Change the Left setting to 4" and the Width setting to 1.25".

25.

Select the label and text box for CategoryName. Change the Left setting to 2.25" and the Width setting to 1.5".

26.

Select the label and text box for ProductName, and then change the Width setting to 1.5".

Tip

To make changes to two or more controls, select all the controls you want to change, and then drag a handle of any selected control to change all of them the same way.

27.

Save your changes, and then switch to Print Preview to see the final result.

CLOSE the Alphabetical List Of Products report and the 02_ModifyDesign database.




MicrosoftR Office AccessT 2007 Step by Step
MicrosoftR Office AccessT 2007 Step by Step
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 127

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