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Ask about the software: If you are sending the exported file to someone else, ask what software and what version of that software they will be opening the file with. It is worth some trouble to figure out the best format if you are trying to share with someone who does not have Access installed or who does not have the same version you do.

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Method for Sharing Database Objects

There are several ways to share your tables, queries, forms, and reports with others who do not have Access - print, e-mail as an attachment in a different format, export to a file, export/import into a different database, display as a web page, and ordinary copy-and-paste.

Method 1: Print

Reports are the preferred way to print data since you have more control on exactly what is printed and how. You printed objects earlier in Access Basics. The lesson Printable Form had more details about printing form records. The page Printing Reports discussed the details about printing reports.

• Select an object in the Navigation Pane.
• Right click the object and select Print...
  The Print dialog opens.
• Choose to print All or just certain pages (in sequence) or Selected Record(s) (for datasheets and forms).
   
  For a report, you cannot select the records after the report is created. You have to change the report's source to select the records that you want.
  

Method 2: Mail as Attachment

You can quickly send an Access object as an attachment to an mail message. You must choose an export format for your data from two older Excel formats and 3 text formats plus PDF, XPS, and for reports the Snapshot Format. Oddly, you cannot export into an Excel or Word 2007-2016 format.

Which Mail Program: To send an mail from inside Access, you must have an mail program that supports Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI), such as Outlook or Microsoft Exchange. These are often used by corporate networks for internal and external mail If you use another mail client, like Windows Mail, or a web-based mail account like Google, Outlook.com, or Yahoo, you cannot mail directly from Access. Access will let you start the process and then will start a dialog to set up an Outlook account. Beware!!

How to send by mail:

• Select an object in the Navigation Pane or open the object inside Access.
• Access 2007: Office button > Mail
  Access 2010: External Data ribbon tab > Export tab group > Mail button.
  Access 2013, 2016: External Data ribbon tab > Export tab group > Email button
• Select an output format.
• If the object was open and you selected some records (not allowed with a report), choose whether to send All or Selection.
• Click on OK.

• For a report, a message box appears and says that it is Printing. For other formats, the Status bar shows the progress in exporting the object as a file.

  A mail message window appears with your object as an attached file.
  If you have not set up an mail account with Outlook or another acceptable mail program, a setup wizard dialog will start.

  Changing your mail account: If you do not want to change mail programs, cancel out of the setup dialog, export your object as a file, and attach it manually to an mail message from your existing account.

• Complete the mail message, fill in the recipient's address, and then Send.
  

File Size: Many mail accounts cannot accept a large attachment, sometimes anything larger than 2 MB. If your attached file is large, consider whether you need to send the whole object. Perhaps you could restrict the number of records by filtering first. Otherwise, you may need to use a different method of sharing.

Alternative for large files: Email link to online copy
Use the Export method below to create the file and then upload the file to a web server or to cloud-based storage, like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Then you can email a link to the file instead of sending the whole file. Cloud storage accounts like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive can create a coded link that you can email directly from the account.

Example of emailing a link: Dropbox
First the exported file must be saved to your local Dropbox folder. Dropbox automatically uploads the file to your cloud account. Open the Dropbox web site and log in. Find the file and select Share. Fill in an email address and a message and click Send. You're done! The person who receives the email just has to click on the link and the file will download. Other cloud storage services have similar features.

Method 3: Export as File

To save your data or a report as a separate file, you can export the object.

There are two methods to access the Export dialog. Both require you to pick a format. Grayed out formats are not available for the type of object you have selected in the Navigation Pane. Access 2007 has a few additional choices, including Snapshot, Lotus 1-2-3 file, and Paradox file. Access 2010, 2013, and 2016 will let you use Snapshot format ONLY when sending as an mail attachment and do not support the Lotus 1-2-3 and Paradox formats at all. Access 2013 and 2016 do not support exporting in dBase formats.

Examples from Access 2010 of export formats:

Right Click Menu	External Data ribbon > Export tab group

Once you pick a format, the Export dialog for that format opens. You will have somewhat different choices, depending on the format you picked. You can always pick a location and file name.

You may also be able to pick a specific file type, to open the file immediately, to export formatting and layout, or to export just selected records.

Surprisingly, the export formats do NOT include the Office 2007/2010/2013 formats. For Word you can only use RTF format (Rich Text Format). For Excel you can use formats for older versions of Excel, but not Excel 2007, 2010, or 2013.
Excel:

Compare the original report at the left with the Excel version at the right, which had to have had its columns resized to fit on one page.

What's missing? The unit logos and dividing lines. The column labels are different, using the field name instead of text in the report labels.
 

Word:

The file opens in Word. It was already saved to your My Documents folder with the same name as the object that you selected. This file is in RTF format (Rich Text Format) instead of a Word format. You may save again from inside Word and choose a different format from Word's own Save As dialog.

Compare the original at the left with the Word version at the right. What's missing? Only the unit logo image and some divider lines are missing. Reports often export to Word better than to Excel, but datasheets work better in Excel.

Method 4: Export to New (smaller) Access Database

If your recipient has Access installed, you can create a special, smaller database and put into it all of the objects that are needed to show what you want them to see. The best procedure is to create a new blank database and import the objects that you need. You can select the objects and import all of them at once, but you can export only one object at a time.

Export all needed parts: If the new database contains a query, form or report, it must also contain the tables and queries that are part of the source for these objects.

Method 5: Static Web Page

You can export your object as a web page (HTML). Tables, queries, and forms are exported as datasheets. Each report page will be a separate web page with text navigation links between the pages. Any attached files or OLE objects, such as photos or embedded spreadsheets, will not be exported. You can then upload your web pages to a shared network folder or to a web server and let your users know the path to put in their browser's address bar.

The data will be fixed as of the time that you created the HTML page.

Method 6: Copy and Paste

It's low-tech but for some objects (but not reports!) pasting into Excel or another spreadsheet or into Word or even a plain text editor like Notepad can work well.

How to copy/paste: Select data in a datasheet. Copy. Switch to your destination file and paste.

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