How to Alter the Controls on Access Reports
- 1). Open your report in "Design View" by right-clicking on "Report" in Access and selecting "Design View" from the list. When in "Design View," click on the control you want to change.
- 2). Click on the "Design" tab and use the tools under the "Font" category to change the font, background color and conditional formatting of a control. If you want to copy a format from one control to another, use the "Format Painter" tool to quickly do this. Click on the first control, select the tool that looks like a paintbrush and click on the control you want changed.
- 3). Select the "Arrange" tab to change the layout of the controls. Instead of having to move each individual control, this allows you to change from stacked to tabular (or the other way around). You can also change the margins, the space between columns and the tab order.
- 4). Open the "Property Sheet" on the "Design" tab under "Tools." Select the "Format" tab to change the control source, visibility and borders. To change the source of the report from one table or query to another, select the object from the dropdown box or click on the "..." button to create a query.
- 5). Click on the "Event" tab on the "Property Sheet" to add a macro, expression or code to any of the controls during an action. For example, if you want a text box to open a form when it's double-clicked, add a macro to the "On Dbl Click" action.
- 6). Return to "Report View" to see the finished report.
