Chapter 8. Advanced Excel Reporting Techniques

You should now be familiar enough with moving data between Access and Excel that you think of ways to automate reporting and analysis traditionally done in Excel. When considering report automation, I break it into three categories:

• Changing data in an existing report

• Creating a report from scratch including all data, formulas, and formatting

• Using a report template built in a database table

In order to take advantage of these options, you need to become very familiar with the Excel Worksheet and Range objects. You also need to work effectively with multiple worksheets in the same workbook and work step by step through the reporting process. Even for the most complicated reports, you will most likely be able to walk through the steps manually and put in logic checks for each thought process. Then it's a matter of getting the data, writing the formulas, and formatting the worksheet.