Newbie Access questions?

[Susan]

I understand the concepts of having a database. How
flexible is reporting and printing data with Access?

1) How would a report done with Access compare to doing a
spreadsheet with Excel? Does Access have similar features
like for caculations, formating output like rounding,
currency output, etc.?

2) Can Access be used to print output on sheets in
certain formats? Example if I wanted to print card type
format on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets where I might have about 8
cards, could I do it? This sounds similar to the mail-
merge, but I am not using mailing information but name,
title, price, medium, etc. for certain items.

Thanks for information.
Susan

 

[Roger Carlson]

It is difficult to compare Access reports with Excel spreadsheets. They
work entirely differently. Some people hate Access Report Writer because it
is different from what they are used to. However, I have found there is
little that I cannot do. Some situations require subreports or coding. but
most do not.

The Report Wizards will get you started. When I first began, I used the
wizards a lot as a starting point. I usually modified them afterwards, but
the wizards would do a lot of the work for you. You *can* print cards 8-up
on a sheet. Use the Label Wizard to walk you through the process. If you
can find an Avery number that approximates the size you want, that will
help, but you can modify it afterwards as well. Look in the Page Setup
properties to modify label settings.

There are many formatting options in Access. One of the most powerful is
the Format() function, which can be used to format numbers, text, dates,
etc. Look in Help for details. (BTW, open a code window and look in VBA
Help. It's much more useful.) You can also print a query as a "report" and
there are many formatting options available there as well.

Steve Labans has a great site that shows solutions to a number of thorny
reporting problems, so you will want to become familiar with it.
http://www.lebans.com/products.htm.

 

[Susan]

Thank you very much. I know I have much to learn but thanks for the
information.
Susan