Access™ 2007 VBA Programmer's Reference

3.5. Reports

For the first time, users not only get to view reports, but they can also interact with reports. Now, reports can actually contain controls to open forms, attachments, and other reports. This means that in report browse mode, users can drill into data and search for records from reports as well as from forms. Reports also benefit from most of the new form features, such as alternating row color, grid lines, bound image controls, rich text formatting, and better filtering and sorting.

Layout view saves development time because you no longer have to switch between Design and Report views to see what the final report will look like. You'll still want to use Design view to change the properties of forms and controls, but most of the presentation can be tweaked in Layout view.

3.5.1. Properties, Methods, and Events

There are really too many new properties, methods, and events to cover here, but the key ones are listed here. The descriptions are the same as those for form properties, methods, and events. Chapter 11 provides the details for employing these.

• Properties: Filter On Load, Fit To Page, and nearly all the events associated with forms.

• Methods: Requery to update the data. Because it's possible to open a form and update the data underlying the report, it is critical to also provide an easy mechanism to requery, not just refresh the data.

• Events: Paint, Retreat, GotFocus, Timer, Load, and Unload (after it closes but before it is removed from the screen). The Paint ...