Because Access is a Windows application, it interacts with your printer through standard Windows dialog boxes and drivers. This means that any printer that you can use from other programs can be used from Access, and any special features of that printer, such as color printing or duplex printing, are available in Access.
As you have seen in this chapter, you can use different Access objects—tables, forms, reports, and so on—to display the information stored in your database. Within each object there are several views available: Design view, Datasheet view, and so on. You can choose the view you want by selecting it from the View menu (the views available will depend on the object that is active).
Like most Windows applications, Access includes the Page Setup, Print Preview, and Print commands on the File menu. These commands are available when their use would be appropriate, which is determined by the object displayed and the current view of that object.
This table shows the relationships for the primary objects:
ViewObject | Table | Query | Form | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Design | PP, P | PP, P | ||
Datasheet | PP, P | PP, P | PP, P | |
PivotTable | PP, P | PP, P | PP, P | |
PivotChart | PP, P | PP, P | PP, P | |
SQL | ||||
Form | PP, P | |||
Layout Preview |
If a cell is shaded, that object supports that view. PP in a cell indicates Print Preview is supported for that object in that view. P indicates that Print and Page Setup are supported for that object in that view.
The less common objects—Pages, Macros, and Modules—offer more limited views and print commands, as shown here:
ViewObject | Page | Macro | Module |
|---|---|---|---|
Design | PP, P | ||
Page | P | ||
Web Page Preview | |||
Code | P | ||
Object | P |
These tables make the process of previewing and printing your data seem a little complex, but the point is that the appropriate print commands are generally available when you need them.
Tip
When printing tables in Datasheet view, you will often find that printing in Landscape orientation will provide the best image.
In this exercise, you will preview and print employee information that is in a table and a form in the GardenCo database.
USE the GardenCo database in the practice file folder for this topic. This practice file is located in the My DocumentsMicrosoft PressAccess 2003 SBSKnowAccessPrint folder and can also be accessed by clicking Start/All Programs/Microsoft Press/Access 2003 Step by Step.
OPEN the GardenCo database and acknowledge the safety warning, if necessary.
On the Objects bar, click Tables.
Double-click the Employees table to open it in Datasheet view.
This table contains information about nine employees. You can see that there are more fields than will fit on the screen.
On the File menu, click Print Preview to display the first page of the datasheet printout.
Move the pointer over the table—the pointer will become a magnifying glass—and then click to zoom in. Click again to return to a reduced view.
Click the Next Record button at the bottom of the screen to preview the next page. Click it again.
You can see that there will be three short pages if you print this datasheet.
On the toolbar, click the Setup button to display the Page Setup dialog box.
This is the same dialog box you would see if you clicked Page Setup on the File menu. You can use this dialog box to control margin and page layout settings.
On the Page tab, click Landscape and then OK.
The preview page is displayed lengthwise across the screen, and displays more fields. There are now only two pages.
Click the Print button to send this datasheet to your default printer.
Click the Close button to close Print Preview.
On the File menu, click Close to close the datasheet.
On the Objects bar, click Forms.
Double-click the Employees form to open it in Form view.
The information for each employee appears on its own page. Notice that there are two tabs at the top of the page, one for company information and one for personal information.
Click the Personal Info tab to see the information that is listed there, and then return to the Company Info tab.
On the toolbar, click the Print Preview button to preview the printout.
Notice that the preview shows only the information that was on the active tab. If you want to print the information on a different tab you need to make that tab active first.
Click the Close button to close the Print Preview window.
On the File menu, click Print to display the Print dialog box.
The dialog box you see will depend on the printer you have installed. Use this dialog box to select a printer, set the range of pages to be printed, and do other things.
See Also
You use essentially the same methods to print information displayed in different Access objects. For an example of printing a report, see "Previewing and Printing a Report" in Chapter 7.
Click Close to close the dialog box.
CLOSE the GardenCo database and quit Access.