You use reports to display the information from your tables in nicely formatted, easily accessible ways, either on your computer screen or on paper. A report can include items of information selected from multiple tables and queries, values calculated from information in the database, and formatting elements such as headers, footers, titles, and headings.
You can look at reports in three views: Design view, in which you can manipulate the design of a report in the same way that you manipulate a form; Print Preview, in which you see your report exactly as it will look when printed; and Layout Preview, which shows you how each element will look but without all the detail of Print Preview. A report in Design view looks like this:
In this exercise, you will take a look at a report that has been saved as part of the GardenCo database, just to get an idea of what is possible.
USE the GardenCo database in the practice file folder for this topic. This practice file is located in the My DocumentsMicrosoft PressAccess 2003 SBSKnowAccessReports 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 Reports.
The top two entries in this window are commands you can use to create reports. The remaining entries are reports that have already been created.
Click Customer Labels, and then click the Preview button at the top of the database window to display the report.
This report prints customer names and addresses in a mailing label format. You are looking at it in a view that is much like Print Preview in other Microsoft Office programs.
Click in the form to change the zoom level.
Close the Customer Labels report.
In the database window, select the Invoice report, and click the Preview button to see the invoice.
Check out each page by clicking the navigation buttons at the bottom of the window.
On the Database toolbar, click the View button to display the report in Design view, and then maximize the report window.
In this view, the report looks similar to a form, and the techniques you use to create forms can also be used to create reports.
Close the report.
CLOSE the GardenCo database.