Creating a Database Report and Form – Access Report and Form

Last updated on October 8th, 2023 at 02:46 pm

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This lesson was created to teach you how to create an Access report and form. For the most part, Access reports and Access forms are pretty simple and easy to create. However, for newbies who have never worked with database reports, this article will help you overcome any difficulties you may have encountered.

In this article, we will explore:

  • What a database form is;
  • How to create a form in Access;
  • What a database report is; and
  • How to create an Access report.

If you are new to databases be sure to also visit our article database terminologies to learn many of the terms associated with databases.

What is a database form

An Access form is an interface that we create in a database to view, edit and add data. With the use of a form, you are also able to control how a user interacts with the information contained in the database. There are two types of database forms in the Access database:

  • Bound form and
  • Unbound form.

When the data in a bound form is edited, the information in the Access table or query from which it was originally taken is also changed accordingly. With an unbound form, however, the information is not changed when the form is changed.

How to create a simple form in Access

To create a simple form in Access, follow these steps:

  • Go to the Create toolbar and click the form wizard icon.
  • In the popup menu, in the section headed Tables/Queries choose the table or query with the information you wish to display in your form.
  • In the section marked Available Fields, click on the fields you wish to use
  • Select the > button to move that field to the side marked Selected Fields. Keep doing this until you have all of your desired fields.
  • Select Next.
  • Now choose the manner in which you would like to have your form display information. You may choose Columnar, Tabular, Datasheet, or Justified.
  • Select Next.
  • Now in the field provided, choose an appropriate name for your form.
  • Select Finish.

That’s it. You just created a simple form.

If you wish to learn how to work with spreadsheet as well visit our series with articles on spreadsheets.

What is a database report?

A database report is a structured display of the data contained in a database. It is prepared to convey information in a way that is easy to read and understand.

How to Create a Report in Access

To create a report in Microsoft Access, we should execute the following steps:

  1. Go to the Create toolbar at the top of your page.
  2. Go to report wizard.
  3. In the popup menu, go to the section marked table/query and choose the table that has the information you need for your report.
  4. In the section marked available fields, click on the fields you wish to have in your resort, then click the > key. If you selected an extra field by mistake, you can click on it and then click the < key to get rid of it.
  5. Once you have all of the relevant fields selected, click next.
  6. In the next section, you will need to set the grouping level. Simply select the field in the table that you will use to group the information.
  7. Next, select > to set the grouping levels.
  8. Select next.
  9. You can now organize data in ascending or descending order if desired. You may set the order by first choosing the fields you wish to order in the numbered fields. By default, the buttons to set the order are set to Ascending. If you wish to have your information sorted in ascending order, you may leave them as is or click Ascending to change it to descending order.
  10. Select Next.
  11. Choose the preferred layout of your report. Choose the page orientation.
  12. Select Next.
  13. Give your report a title, then select Finish.

You now have created both an Access report and form!

Do you wish to learn how to work with update queries? Visit our article on how to set up an update query in Microsoft Access. We also have an article on how to create calculated fields in Access queries.

Before you go

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