11.8. Layout View
If you've designed reports in Access in the past and found that you had to frequently switch between Design view and Print Preview, then Layout view is for you. The primary advantage of using Layout view is its speed in creating something that gives you a sense of how the report will look onscreen or in print. That's because Layout view is a combination of Design view and Browse view, giving you a live view of the data while you perform certain design type tasks, including the following:
Grouping and sorting
Adding totals
Formatting controls and sections
Changing the AutoFormat
Inserting labels and image controls
Adding new fields
Adding controls to layouts and formatting layouts
Binding the record source to a table
Changing the record source
Changing many other properties
As you can see, there's a lot that can be accomplished in Layout view, all while viewing the live data in the record source to give you a better perspective of the end result. There are, however, a few tasks that cannot be accomplished using Layout view:
Adding code or setting the HasModule property
Inserting unbound controls such as text boxes or combo boxes
Changing the orientation
Initially binding to a query
Changing the height of a section
Even with these few tasks, Layout view is still a valuable time-saver when it comes to creating reports in Access 2007.
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