[ Team LiB ] Previous Section Next Section

Working with Controls

Each item in a report or form—such as a field name, a field value, and the report title—is represented in Design view by a control. When you create a report or form with a wizard, the wizard arranges and sizes the controls to make the report according to the selections you provided. If you want to modify a report, you can do so in Design view by:

  • Creating and deleting controls

  • Moving and sizing controls

  • Changing control properties

  • Formatting the contents and appearance of controls

Types of Report Controls

There are three kinds of controls you can use in a report:

  • Bound controls are fields of data from the table or query. You cannot create a calculation in a bound control.

  • Unbound controls are controls that contain a label or a text box. You can create calculations in an unbound control.

  • Calculated controls are any values calculated in the report, including totals, subtotals, averages, percentages, and so on.

graphics/08inf07.gif

Each type of control has specific characteristics you can change using the Properties feature. You can modify properties by right- clicking the control you want to modify, and then clicking Properties. In the controls property sheet, you can specify the characteristics you want to change. Although there are menu commands and buttons you can use to change a specific characteristic, using the Properties button is a fast way to see all of the characteristics for a control and make several changes at once.

    [ Team LiB ] Previous Section Next Section