Microsoft Access 2010 Bible

Chapter 9: Presenting Data with Access Reports

367

The four Force New Page property settings are

l None: No forced page break (the default)

l (^) Before Section: Starts printing the current section at the top of a new page every time
there is a new group
l (^) After Section: Starts printing the next section at the top of a new page every time there is
a new group
l (^) Before & After: Combines the effects of Before Section and After Section
To force a page break before the Category group:

1. Click anywhere in the Category header, or click the Category Header bar above the
   section.


2. Display the Property Sheet and select Before Section in the Force New Page prop-
   erty’s drop-down list.

Tip
Alternatively, you can set the Force New Page property to After Section in the Category Footer section.

Sometimes, you want to force a page break, but not on the basis of a grouping. For example, you

might want to split a report title across several pages. The solution is to use the Page Break control

from the ribbon’s Controls group. Drag the Page Break control and drop it on the report where you

want a page break to occur each time the page prints.

Note
Be careful not to split data in a control. Place page breaks above or below controls without overlapping them.

Improving the Report’s Appearance

As you near completion of testing your report design, you should also test the printing of your

report. Figure 9.36 shows the first page of the Product Display report. There are a number of

things still to do to complete the report.

The report is pretty boring and plain. If your goal is to just look at the data, this report is done.

However, you need to do more before you’re really done.

Although the report has good, well-organized data, it isn’t of professional quality. To make a report

more visually appealing, you generally add a few graphic elements like lines and rectangles, and

possibly some special effects such as shadows or sunken areas. You want to make sure sections

have distinct areas separate from each other using lines or colors. Make sure controls aren’t touch-

ing each other (because text might eventually touch if a value is long enough). Make sure text is

aligned with other text above or below and to the right or left.