Export Access Report to Word

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I have a wonderful Access report which I made in Access because I don’t like using merge to get it into Word (I think a merge between Access and Word is a stupid idea). Now I want to send it to someone by email. I tried exporting it to Word and it turns out like dog’s breakfast! The text comes out but everything else is shattered. The only way I can find of getting it into Word and still looking like something half decent is to print it, scan it, insert it into Word. Is this the 20 century or what? Might as well do it by flaming hand! Anyone else had any success?

One thing I did find out is that if you have Adobe Acrobat you can print the report from Access to an acrobat file (*.pdf), instead of to the printer, and you get a perfect image of the report. You send the acrobat file by email and all is well. When installed Acrobat places a dummy printer driver into the printers list to be used for this purpose. Why can’t Word do that???????

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I have had good luck exporting access reports as .rtf files. You lose any graphic formatting such as check boxes, etc., but it works. All you end up with is pure text.

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Yep, text is no problem but the graphics is the whole issue (or more accurately the layout). I want to send it by email as a single file and it has to look like a company document. You (anyone) don’t send a document just as text, you have a letterhead with a logo and all sorts of lovely images and things on it. So my report shouldn’t export just as text. As I said, I can do it with Acrobat, why not Word?

The only reason I am asking is that someone told me it could be done but I sure as heck can’t see how.

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Access provides a Snapshot Viewer utility just for this purpose. The recipient need only have Snapview.exe on his/her system to view/print the report in all its glory. You can even automate emailing reports (there is a thread a little further down that discusses this). If you have difficulty locating Snapview check the MS Knowledge Base for a download.

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This is providing that you have the correct mail client. If you’re using Outlook you’re in luck! The File/SendTo option should give you all you need, and there are several scripts here to assist you automate that process.
Unfortunately, MS products only ‘converse’ with Outlook as far as ‘click and go’ mail attachments are concerned.
If you’re using Novell GroupWise or a Lotus Domino server, roll up those sleeves and get ready to code…or at least copy and paste some code.

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You are correct:
I had a little time on my hands so … If you want code samples for emailing from Access to other than Outlook, seems">this works.
And finally, if you need Snapshot viewer, go here.

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Brian,

Sorry for the delayed reply but I had to test it out. That is exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you.

Analysis of snap.
As usual Billy’s boys have stuffed it up. If I send it to someone then I would have to also send the viewer which is not very good. It can be viewed as a web page but in order to do this you also need the viewer. Additionally it can’t be viewed by Paintshop Pro and I suspect by other graphics editors.

Originally I wanted to import it into Word but the snap file can only be imported into Word as an object. So far so good but the problem is that the snap file can have many pages (if the Access report has more than one page) and when it is imported into Word you can only see the first page. It is impossible to see any subsequent pages.

So in conclusion, I can’t succesfully import it into Word and I can’t send it out unless I send the viewer with it. Basically the boy’s from Redmond have invented a new file format that no one can use instead of using what they already had. Brilliant!

Anyway now I’m satisfied and I can stop searching. Thanks again.

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Hello Rob:
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As usual Billy’s boys have stuffed it up.

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[/indent]I’m sure no apologist for M$oft but I tend to disagree on this point. Snapshot Viewer is just that, a viewer for Access generated reports. Reports by their nature are not intended to be manipulated, not even if you have Access. You manipulate data and reproduce reports. As far as exporting to Word is concerned, it can be done but without the majority of the Report formatting. If you really want to, you can achieve what you require by building templates in word and exporting/linking to a Word document. Alternatively, you can construct your report in such a way, all the detail will export to Word without formatting (sort of plain but functional) It’s hard work granted but it’s also not the intended use of a report. Indeed, if you want people to have the ability to manipulate your report data for projections / what if scenarios etc. you’re much better off constructing queries and exporting to Excel (quite easily done and effective). To fully utilize the rich reporting environment available in Access, you need Access.[indent]

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Redmond have invented a new file format that no one can use

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[/indent] No different than PDF files that require the PDF reader, considered something of a standard. If you want to edit or manipulate PDF files you need to buy Adobe’s software. Not a lot different when you consider SnapView is available free as well and if you want to manipulate the data, you gotta buy Access.
Just my humble opinion

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Yes and no…
At least Adobe gives you the option of editing the data.
The PDF format is a wonder in itself. A printable by anyone, anywhere document that allows editing of data if you BUY Acrobat 4.0. Other than that, you can download Reader for free-just like snapshot viewer.

It appears to me that a ‘snapshot’ is nothing more than a graphic file of your finalized report, and I’ll bet heavily on the fact Redmond ‘borrowed’ the concept from Adobe.

The fun money will be on when MS will release the editable snapshot utility browser.

Note: I am not an MS basher-I use their products at work and at home.

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At least Adobe gives you the option of editing the data.

The fun money will be on when MS will release the editable snapshot utility browser.

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[/indent]That’s true . I’m sure MS will see the profitability and do just that for But just one other thing about Snapshots, I use them a great deal to store critical reports ensuring I always have them as they were during that Snapshot in time. Just in case I make a change to the database that affects the report structure (poor programming, but let’s face it, things happen). It also gives me quick access to old reports stored in folders – “last May’s Commission Report” where closing dates may not be standard. I find it a very useful tool. On the other hand, when I’m collaborating on a complex set of figures, I find nothing better than a good old excel spreadsheet. So much easier to change, manipulate and comment, with the added bonus that most people are familiar with spreadsheets.

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Agreed, I am championing the ability to have these reports stored for future usage/reference, and it would seem ludicrous to assume that people could view this proprietary format without it’s decoder.
Excel is indeed wonderful and EVERYONE has it, by default of the MS Office…you CAN edit it, but the primary purpose of sending the reports to some of your less than tech-savy supervisors, is lost. God forbid they change some of the numbers and you have to re-import the data and start all over again…I’d rather they mark it up in pen and I do the alterations.

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The thing that gets me is that Ms already have a perfectly good format for these kind of things in Word. You can build the report in Word if you want and just bring in the data so why would they want to make a brand new format. Brian said that snap is just like pdf from Acrobat but that just is not the case. Acrobats pdf is an accepted standard on the web just as Word is. If people give out a document on the web they put it in Acrobat and/or Word. The good one’s put it in both and then everyone can read it. But who the …. has a snap viewer??? They already have a function that exports from Access to Word and the result is absolutely appalling. Why start again, why not fix the poxy thing you did last time? It makes my blood boil. I have to teach people how to use these stupid programs and Redmond are on the fast train to complexity instead of consolidating what they have. I just wish they would refine it instead of using what I once heard termed “piggy back logic”. Piggy back logic is like adding double adaptors end on end to get enough electrical outlets. Instead of rewritng they just keep adding.

To even things up I will say this. Nobody but Billy has yet produced a suite of software programs that really hangs together the way MS Office does. It is still my choice by a long way. Just because it is the best choice is no excuse for not improving it.

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The quickest way I have found with powerpoint is to take a screen dump of the item you want and paste it into powerpoint. To do this follow this simple method:

Open form or report or any windows item
Press “Print Screen” button on keyboard
Move to powerpoint or word etc
Press Ctl+V to paste the result

Print screen will capture the whole screen and if you use Alt+PrintScreen you will capture only the active window. You will be able to resize the image. Also you can copy it into a picture editor program like Paintshop Pro and save it as a .jpg if you like. Good luck with it.

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