When to use queries or reports

[Guest]

Hi, I'm new to Access 2003 and am trying to figure out the difference between
queries and reports. I have a database which includes companies, licensing
agreements, and products. So many companies can have multiple agreements on
the same product, and a company can have agreements on multiple products. I
think I've finally got my relationships set up properly and everything seems
to be cascade-updating and everything. Now I need to figure out how to USE
my database! Agreements have expiration dates, and I need a way to generate
a list every month of agreements which will expire in the next 30 days, and
it would be nice if this list had the company contact information because I
have to send them a letter to tell them their agreement is going to expire.
So my question is - what is the most efficient way to accomplish this?
Should I create a query to look up all agreements with expiration dates
between, say, 3/1/2005 and 3/31/2005? Or would a report be a better
solution? Ideally, I would get the information into such a format (maybe
Excel) so that I could easily do a mail merge into a Word document with the
company name/address and the name of the product and type of agreement that
is expiring. I have been told that if I learn some visual basic I can make
this into something as simple as a button that generates the list and exports
it, but for now I'm more concerned with just getting the information into a
usable format (I'm more familiar with Excel, which is why I chose that). If
someone can direct me to whether a query or a report would be the best
option, I would appreciate it. I will probably use Access help to figure out
how to actually do it. Any remarks on the wizards for queries/reports in
Access? I tried to use the wizards to set up my tables originally, but ended
up deciding that Design view made more sense to me. Thanks!

 

[Arvin Meyer]

Wizards work well for simple tasks, but sometimes require some knowledgeable
assistance. I use the query grid to at least start practically every query I
write. The Access query is your friend here. After creating one that returns
the records you want (Use either Between ... And ... syntax or >= ... And
<= ...) syntax as a date criteria, you can use the Access reporting engine
or Excel (or even Word) toget your reporting done. I prefer Access reports
under most circumstances, but I use Excel when data require more
manipulation, or I need a really nice graph.
--
Arvin Meyer, MCP, MVP
Microsoft Access
Free Access Downloads
http://www.datastrat.com
http://www.mvps.org/access

 

[Guest]

Queries and reports have different fuctions. A query is used to sort/filter
and combine your data. A report is more like a form in which you cant alter
or add anything and so is usually used as a visual representation of a query
and also for printing out. (As you might of realised forms dont print to
well). Usual practice is to collect the data using a query and then display
it/Print it using a Report. A good example of this is the Northwind Database
(Help=>Sample Databases) which also is a good example for alot of other
things. Have a good look through it.

HTH

Rico

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will give queries a try then. I will also
have to take a look at the sample database. -Alana