Access Basics:
AutoReport

Step-by-Step: Create with AutoReport

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What you will learn:

to create a report with AutoReport to navigate pages in a report to zoom the report preview size to change a control's properties with Property Dialog to resize a control

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Start with: mytrips.mdb from previous lesson

Create a Report with AutoReport

A simple report is very easy to create with AutoReport. There are a number of things you could do to improve the layout, but for this lesson we mostly will settle for what Access provides. Later you will learn how to change all the characteristics of a report.

1. If necessary, switch to the Database Window and select Tables.
   The only table is Trips, so it will be selected automatically. This table will be the source of records for the new form.
    
2. On the menu, click the arrow on the New Objects button and select  AutoReport . (Your button may show a different icon depending on what was used last.)
    
   The screen may blink and you may briefly see a minimized window at the bottom of your Access window while Access creates the report. Then the new report will open automatically to the first page, which shows the first two records. You cannot scroll to see more pages! You must use the navigation buttons at the bottom.

   All fields in the Trips table are here and use the default size for the control

   

   First page of Trips report created with AutoReport

Records out of order or missing:
The report shows the records in the same way that the table does, including any sorting or filtering that you left in place.
Simple Solution: (for AutoReports)
Close and delete the AutoReport. Open the table in Table Datasheet View, remove any filters, sort in the order that you want, save the table. Recreate your AutoReport.
Advanced Solution: (for complex or formatted reports that you don't want to recreate)
Open the form in Report Design View. Open the Properties dialog for the form. Remove the entry in the OrderBy property and change OrderByOn to No.

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Report View: Navigate Pages

Print Preview shows one page at a time by default. You can use the buttons a the top of the window to show 2 or more pages at a time. You can zoom in or out as you wish.

The Navigation bar and the navigation keys on your keyboard can all help you get around in the preview of your report. You cannot use the scroll bars or mouse wheel to change to pages that are not already in the display.

1. Use each of the navigation buttons at the bottom of the preview window to navigate through the report's pages. Type in a page number. (There are 4 pages in the report)
   
2. Use the navigation keys to move between pages:
   arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down
    
3. While you are navigating, inspect the fields for each record. Problems appear!
     
   The Diary control is not tall enough to show all of the text. Some of the diary entries have several paragraphs that are not showing!

For the memo type fields you can dig into the Properties to make the controls behave intelligently. So cool! You will fix this shortly.

Also, in Report Design View, you can resize and move the controls for a report just like in the Form Design View. You can experiment with that when you have finished the steps below.

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Report View: Zoom

Sometimes you need to see a whole page at a time. Sometimes you need to read the text. Access lets you adjust the size to suit your task using the Zoom box or using the mouse.

1. On the toolbar, open the Zoom list by clicking the down arrow.
    
2. Click on  Fit . The window now shows the whole page. The text will be very small! Too small to read.
    
3. Move your mouse over the image of the page. The mouse pointer changes to the Zoom In shape (larger text)
    
4. Click on the page. The size changes. The mouse pointer now has the Zoom Out shape (smaller text).
    
   Can you read the text now? That will depend on what Zoom size was used before.
    
5. In the Zoom box on the toolbar, select 100%. Ah! Readable.
    
6. Move the mouse pointer back over the page near its top and click several times. The page size alternates between Fit and 100%.

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Report Design View: Change Control's Properties

The Diary control is not tall enough to show the longer entries. But some records do not have much text so setting a really tall height would waste space for most records. You do not know how much space a future trip diary might need.

Happily, you can set two of the properties for the control to allow it to shrink and grow as needed. Such a smart idea!

1. Switch back to Report Design View.
    
2. Click on the Diary control to select it.
    The Properties dialog switches to show the properties for this control.
    
   Problem: Properties dialog is not visible
   Solution: Click on the Properties button on the toolbar.
    
3. Click in the Can Grow property. A down arrow appears.
    
4. Click the down arrow to open the list of choices and choose Yes.
    
5. Repeat for the Can Shrink property.
    
   Nothing seems to change about the control Diary yet. You will have to look at the report itself.
    
6. Switch back to Report View and look at the pages. Now you can see all of the text in the Diary entries.
    
   Notice on page 3, the Diary entry for trip #5 is short and there is no wasted space before trip #6 starts. But on page 4, there is only 1 trip (#7) because the Diary text is much longer. There is not enough room on page 4 for all of the controls for the last trip, #8, so there is a 5th page to the report now.
    

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Save Report

In Print Preview, there is no Save button, but the File menu has the usual Save and Save As commands.

1. While in Print Preview, from the menu select  File |  Save As....
   The Save As dialog appears.
   (You may not see the As box in your dialog)
    
2. Type the name Trips AutoReport in the first text box and be sure that the As box shows Report.
    
3. Close the report by clicking its Close button.
    
   Your report is saved inside the database file and will show in the Reports list in the Database Window.
    

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Report Design View: Resize/Move Controls

1. Switch back to Report Design View.
    
2. Experiment. 
   Resize the controls. Move them to different locations. Try to improve the layout of the form.
    
3. When you are finished experimenting, either save your report with a new name or close without saving.