LO4 - Creating Database Report
LO4 - Creating Database Report
LO4 - Creating Database Report
Ethiopian TVET-System
Level II
LEARNING GUIDE # 1
This learning guide was developed to provide you the necessary information regarding the following
Creating DB objects
This guide will also assist you & you will be able to
Learning Activities
1. Read the specific objectives of this Learning Guide.
4. Submit your accomplished Self-check1. This will form part of your training portfolio/range.
5. Read the “Operation Sheet” and try to understand the procedures discussed.
6. Do the “LAP test” (if you are ready) and show your output to your teacher. Your teacher will evaluate
your output either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If unsatisfactory, your teacher shall advice you on
additional work. But if satisfactory you can proceed to Learning Outcome 5.
Reports
Reports provide a means of organizing and summarizing data.
Reports are often used to present an overview highlighting main points and trends.
A report can be a simple list, a status report or a monthly production report.
A report is made from the data available.
Understand the report sections
You can view your report in Design view to see its sections.
To create useful reports, you need to understand how each section works.
For example, the section in which you choose to place a calculated control determines how Access
calculates the results.
The following list is a summary of the section types and their uses:
Report Header: This section is printed just once, at the beginning of the report.
Use the report header for information that might normally appear on a cover page, such as a
logo, a title, or a date.
When you place a calculated control that uses the Sum aggregate function in the report
header, the sum calculated is for the entire report.
For example, use a page header to repeat the report title on every page.
Group Header: This section is printed at the beginning of each new group of records.
TTLM Development Manual Date: 05-2011 Page 3 of 45
3rd Revision Author: ADDIS ABABA TEGBARE-ID
Ethiopian TVET System
Training, Teaching and Learning Material
Use the group header to print the group name.
For example, in a report that is grouped by product, use the group header to print the
product name.
When you place a calculated control that uses the Sum aggregate function in the group
header, the sum is for the current group.
Detail: This section is printed once for every row in the record source.
This is where you place the controls that make up the main body of the report.
Group Footer: This section is printed at the end of each group of records.
Report Footer: This section is printed just once, at the end of the report.
Use the report footer to print report totals or other summary information for the entire
report.
NOTE: In Design view, the report footer appears below the page footer. However, when the
report is printed or previewed, the report footer appears above the page footer, just after the
last group footer or detail line on the final page.
Understand controls
Controls are objects that display data, perform actions, and let you view and work with information
that enhances the user interface, such as labels and images.
You use bound controls to display values from fields in your database.
The values can be text, dates, and numbers, Yes/No values, pictures, or graphs.
A text box is the most common type of bound control. For example, a text box on a form that
displays an employee's last name might get this information from the Last Name field in the
Employees table.
Unbound control: A control that doesn't have a source of data (a field or expression) is an
unbound control.
You use unbound controls to display information, lines, rectangles, and pictures.
For example, a label that displays the title of a report is an unbound control.
Calculated control: A control whose source of data is an expression rather than a field is a
calculated control.
You specify the value that you want in the control by defining an expression as the source of
data for the control. A
Note: Satisfactory rating – above 12 points Satisfactory & below 11 points Unsatisfactory
(You can ask you teacher for the copy of the correct answer)
2. a. Bound control: A control whose source of data is a field in a table or query is a bound
b. Unbound control: A control that doesn't have a source of data (a field or expression) is an
c. Calculated control: A control whose source of data is an expression rather than a field is a
3. a. Report wizard
b. Design view
4. Report
5. a. Report Header: This section is printed just once, at the beginning of the report.
a. Page Header: This section is printed at the top of every page.
b. Group Header: This section is printed at the beginning of each new group of records.
c. Detail: This section is printed once for every row in the record source.
d. Group Footer: This section is printed at the end of each group of records.
e. Page Footer: This section is printed at the end of every page.
f. Report Footer: This section is printed just once, at the end of the report.
Operation
Creating Reports Sheet Creating Database Reports
Reports organize and summarize data for viewing online or for printing. A detail report displays all of the
selected records. You can include summary data such as totals, counts, and percentages in a detail report.
A summary report does not list the selected records but instead summarizes the data and presents totals,
counts, percentages, or other summary data only. Access has several report generation tools that you can
use to create both detail and summary reports quickly. This lesson teaches you how to create reports.
Use the Report Button
The Report button creates a simple report that lists the records in the selected table or query in a
columnar format.
To use the Report button:
Tip: Reports created by using the Report button are plain and simple. The Modify a
Report section of this lesson teaches you how to customize a report to meet your needs.
Tip: Access reports created simply by using the Report button have several sections. They are
detailed in the following table.
Sections of a Report
1. Click the down-arrow next to the Table/Queries field and then click the table from which you want
to select fields.
2. Click a field and then click the single-right arrow to select a single field, click the double-right
arrows to select all fields, click a field and then click the single-left arrow to deselect a single field,
or click the double-left arrow to deselect all fields.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each table from which you want to select fields.
4. Click Next. The Report Wizard moves to the next page.
Group
When using the Report Wizard, you can group data. Grouping puts all of the values in a field into a group
based on the field’s value. For example, if your data is grouped by the Department field and the records in
the Department field have values such as Administration, Computer Science, and English. Access will
group all of the data for the Administration department together, all of the data for the Computer Science
department together, and all of the data for the English department together.
1. Click to select the field by which you want to group your data. You may not see this page of the
wizard if you are selecting data from a single table.
2. Click Next. The Report Wizard moves to the next page.
1. Click the down-arrow and then select the field you want to sort by.
2. Click the button to choose ascending or descending order. Clicking the button toggles between
Ascending and Descending. You can sort up to four levels.
3. Click the Summary Options button. The Summary Options window appears.
Tip: Reports created with the Report Wizard may have the following two sections in addition to
the sections found in reports created by using the Report button.
Sections of a Report
Modify a Report
After you create a report, you can modify it. You can add groups or sorts, add fields, change labels, and
perform many other tasks.
You can view a report in Report view, Layout view, Design view, and Print Preview. You can modify a
report in Layout view or Design view. In Layout view, you can see your data, and the report you see
closely resembles how your report will look when you print it. You can make most, but not all, changes to
your report in Layout view. Design view displays the structure of your report. In this view you cannot see
the underlying data, but you can perform some tasks in Design view that you cannot perform in Layout
view. This tutorial focuses on Layout view.
To change to Layout view:
1. Open your report.
2. Activate the Home tab.
3. Click the View button. A menu appears.
TTLM Development Manual Date: 05-2011 Page 17 of 45
3rd Revision Author: ADDIS ABABA TEGBARE-ID
Ethiopian TVET System
Training, Teaching and Learning Material
4. Click Layout View. Access changes to Layout view.
Change the Size of a Field or Label
If the data in a field or label seems crowded, if some of the data in the field or label does not appear, or if
the data appears as pound signs (####), the field or label is too small.
Tip: Incidentally, if you want to change the height of records, click the top or bottom of a field
border and drag upward or downward.
Add a Group or Sort
When you create a report by clicking the Report button, you are not given options that enable you to
group or sort. You can use the Group & Sort button on the Format tab to create a group or sort. When you
create a report by using the Report Wizard, you can use the Group & Sort button to add or modify a group
or sort.
To Group or Sort:
Open the Group, Sort, and Total pane
4. Click Add A Group and then select the field by which you want to group. Access groups and sorts
the field.
Add a sort
5. Click Add A Sort and then select the field on which you want to sort. Access sorts the field.
Groups and sorts display in the Group, Sort, and Total pane in levels. Access performs the highest-level
group or sort first, the second level next, and so on.
After you have added a group or sort, you can set several options by clicking the More button and then
clicking the down-arrow next to each option and making your choices.
Option Description
There are three buttons on the right side of the Group, Sort, and Total pane. If you want to delete a group
or sort, click the group or sort you want to delete and then click the Delete button. Groups and sorts
execute in the order they are listed in the Group, Sort, and Total pane. If you want to change the order of
execution, click the group or sort you want to move up or down and then click the Move Up or Move Down
button to move a group or sort up or down a level.
To add a field:
5. Click the field you want to add and drag it onto your report. A thick line appears on the report.
Access places the field before the line. If you want the field to appear in the detail area, be sure to
drag it to the detail area.
To delete a field:
1. Open your report in Layout view.
2. Click the field you want to delete.
To change margins:
1. Open your report in Layout view.
2. Activate the Page Setup tab.
3. Click the Margins button in the Page Layout group. A menu appears.
4. Click the margin size you want. Access changes the page margin.
To add page numbers:
1. Open your report in Layout view.
2. Activate the Format tab.
3. Click the Insert Page Number button in the Controls group. The Page Numbers dialog box appears.
4. Click a radio button to choose a format.
5. Click a radio button to choose a position.
6. Click the down-arrow in the Alignment field and then choose an alignment.
7. Deselect Show Number On First Page if you do not want the page number to appear on the first
page.
8. Click OK. Access places the page number in your report.
To add current date or time:
1. Open your report in Layout view.
2. Activate the Format tab.
3. Click the Date and Time button in the Controls group. The Date and Time dialog box appears.
4. Deselect the Include Date box if you do not wish to include the date.
5. Click to select a format if you are including the date.
6. Deselect the Include Time box if you do not wish to include the time.
7. Click to select a format if you are including the time.
8. Click OK. Access places the date and/or time in your report.
Apply an AutoFormat
You can use the AutoFormat option on the Format tab to apply formats such as background colors, fonts,
and font sizes quickly.
To apply an AutoFormat:
1. Activate the Format tab.
2. Click AutoFormat. The AutoFormat menu appears.
3. Click the format you want to apply.
Change Fonts and Formats
You can use options on the Format tab to manually apply formats to your report. However, before you can
apply a format to a field or field label, you must select the field or field label by clicking it. To select
multiple items, hold down the Shift key and then click each item you want to select. A box surrounds
selected items.
Change to percent.
Add gridlines.
Add a logo.
Add a title.
Tip: After you modify your report, you must save it if you want to keep the changes. To save, click
the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar or right-click the report’s tab and then click Save.
Create Mailing Labels
In Access, the easiest way to create a mailing label is to use the Label Wizard. The Label Wizard extracts
name and address data from your database and formats it so you can print it on commercially available
labels.
Each time you view or print labels, the data are extracted from the database, so as you update your
database, Access updates your labels.
To create labels:
Open the Labels Wizard
1. Click the down-arrow next to the Font Name field and then select the font. A preview appears in
the Sample box.
Create a layout
You create the layout of your labels by selecting fields and placing them in the Prototype Label box. You
type any text or spaces that you want to appear on your label.
1. Click a field name and then click the right-arrow to place the field on the prototype label.
2. Press the spacebar to leave spaces.
3. Press the Enter key to move to a new line.
4. Type any text you want to appear on the label.
5. Click Next. The Label Wizard moves to the next page.
Sort
When creating labels, you can sort on any field and you can have multiple levels of sort. For example, you
can sort by last name and then by first name.
1. Click to choose the fields you want to sort by. Click the single right-arrow to select a single field,
click the double right-arrow to select all fields, click the single left-arrow to deselect a single field,
click the double left-arrow to deselect all fields.
2. Click Next. The Label Wizard moves to the next page.
Title the report
1. Type a title for your report. The title will appear in the Navigation pane.
2. Click Finish. Access displays the labels in Print Preview.
Tip: When you complete your labels you may get the following message.
When printing mailing labels, you can usually ignore this message. Click the Show Help button to read the
following:
This message may be the result of using a report created with the Label
Wizard. This error message is commonly encountered when printing to
label pages that have three or more labels per row. Usually this message
can be ignored.
If you do need to change the layout, try one or both of the following:
Reduce the width of the controls on the report.
Reduce the width of the report to make sure the report is not
wider than the printable area of the page.
Note that page size is dependent on the printer and the physical size of
the paper you are printing to. In some cases it is necessary to rotate the
page orientation from portrait to landscape to accommodate the
selected print width.
Tip: When you view labels in Report view, they may appear in a single column. To see how your
labels will appear when printed, use Print Preview.
Print a Report
Often, the people who use Access data only see a printed report. In Print Preview, you can see exactly how
your report will look when printed, you can make changes to it, and you can print it. To print, click the
Print button in the Print group. The Print dialog box opens and you can select your print options.
TTLM Development Manual Date: 05-2011 Page 33 of 45
3rd Revision Author: ADDIS ABABA TEGBARE-ID
Ethiopian TVET System
Training, Teaching and Learning Material
To change to Print Preview:
1. Open your report.
2. Activate the Home tab.
3. Click the down-arrow under the View button. A menu appears.
4. Click Print Preview. Access changes to Print Preview.
labels.
Select the Report command on the Create tab on the Ribbon, as seen above.
The report is automatically generated and includes every field in the table in order of their
appearance in the table. This can be seen in the example below, which was created from the
table above.
Click Run! to make sure the query results look like you want the report to look.
Create the report using the Report command on the Create tab.
Format the report as desired.
Page 5
Grouping items on a report
Grouping items on a report can make it much more readable. Access 2007 offers a quick and easy
way to add grouping to a report.
To add grouping to a report
To add a level of grouping to a report:
With the report open, select the Group & Sort command from the Grouping &
Totals command group on the Format tab on the Ribbon.
This opens a Group, Sort, and Total dialog box in the lower portion of the window.
In the Group, Sort, and Total dialog box, select Add a group.
Select the field you wish to group by from the drop-down list. We chose to group our list
by Category.
When you release the mouse button, the report will now appear with items grouped. Our
report is grouped on Category now, as seen below.
The Group, Sort, and Total dialog box will remain open until you close it.
Page 6
Formatting a report in Layout View
Access 2007 opens the created report in Layout View so you can easily make modifications. In
Layout View, you can change the look of your report in many different ways, including:
Deleting columns and other report elements
Moving and resizing columns
Adding a logo
When the Insert Picture dialog box opens, find the picture file.
Click OK.
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To modify the title of a report
To modify the title of a report:
Click on the Title command on the Format tab on the Ribbon.
Select a format from the drop-down list. The change is applied instantly.
To change the page layout
When a report is created, it opens in Layout View, like the one in the picture below. The dotted lines
are showing where the edge of the page will be in Report View.
Select the layout option you wish to alter from the Page Layout command group on the
Ribbon.
All of the standard Microsoft page layout options are available, including:
Page 8
Saving a report
When you have created and modified a report and try to close it, Access 2007 will prompt you to
name and save the report. If you do not need this report again, you do not need to save it. However,
if you think you may want to publish it again, it is best to save.
To save a report
As with all Access objects, to save a report:
Right-click on the report tab.
Choose Save from the list that appears.
When the Save as dialog box opens, give the report a name.
Click OK.
TTLM Development Manual Date: 05-2011 Page 43 of 45
3rd Revision Author: ADDIS ABABA TEGBARE-ID
Ethiopian TVET System
Training, Teaching and Learning Material
Page 9
Challenge!
If you haven't already done so, save the sample Ready2Read database on your own computer.
Create a report based on a table.
Create a report based on query.
Modify the layout of a report by:
o Resizing or moving columns
o Deleting report elements
o Giving the report a new title
o Applying an AutoFormat style to the report
o Using groups, sorts, or totals in a report