Printing Access Forms

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I have an access database with a multipage (using tab controls) form. The only way access would allow me to print it is page-by-page. That is, I have to go to the first page, print all the records, then go to second page, print all the records and so on. With about a thousand records, each record taking one printed page for each page of the form, there is no way I could then sort the printouts to put all the pages of each particular record together.

What I need to do is to print the form record by record. For a particular record, print all the pages of the form, then go to next record, print all the pages, and so on.

How does one do it? I write a macro/vb event that selects the record, goes to first page of the form, prints it, goes to second page, prints it, then to next page and so on. But as a result, the print macro/vb event shoots n print commands for n pages of the form to pring a single record. To print one thousand record, it means n000 print commands.

First, that is very slow and eats up the printer memory, Secondly, that has other problems too. I wanted to print the output into a pdf file using Acrobat distiller. But as separate print commands are being given for each page of each record, acrobat distiller does not print it into a
single pdf file!!

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Even though the functionality is provided, forms are not really intended to be printed. It makes much more sense to create a report that contains the same information and print that instead. What is it you’re trying to accomplish by printing the form?

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The problem is not solved even when I save the form as a report and then try to print it. The report has the same problem. That is, it prints page-by-page and not record-by-record.

(BTW, what is the great advantage of printing the reports that is not available in forms? I somehow find reports quite a redundent element. There is nothing that I can do in reports that i could not do in forms. Am I ignorant?)

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If you put a tab control on a report, you can’t avoid that problem. Tab controls are designed to display data so that the user can toggle back and forth between pages. They were never intended to be printed. Maybe if you explain what you’re actually trying to accomplish, you’ll get an answer that is more useful to you.

Reports are intended to present multiple records. Forms work with and present a single record at a time, even when you’re in a continuous form. There are a number of things you can do easily in reports that you can’t do at all in forms. Running sums and grouping are the two that come immediately to mind.

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Thanks once again. I am attaching a truncated version of the file. I need to print the form called “Household”. I have included only two out of 13 pages of this form. That is just to illustrate the problem. I would like to print both the pages of each record (household) one after the other, then go to the next record and print both the pages, and so on.

This does not work even if I save this form as a report. As you correctly said, this remains the problem of using tab control.

If so, how should one avoid using the tab control? There is no other way of having a multipage form. Of course you could create it by giving page breaks. But there is a limit, in that case, on number of controls a section can take. With my 13 pages of the form, the number of controls is far more than that is allowed in one section. So that option is also ruled out.

How else could I organise a report to print these records?

Vikas Rawal

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You still haven’t explained what you’re trying to accomplish, only what you want to do. You don’t use tab contols on a report, you structure the data and format the report so that you print the data you want without having to page through the information, which is why reports are more useful for printing out database information.

I use tab controls a lot, but I don’t try to print them. The tab control was designed to allow you to display multiple pages of information clearly and logically organized. However, the control is built to be interactive. It’s there for to facilitate navigation for the user.

WHY are you trying to print this form like this? Is it just because you want to be able to print a household’s information completely? Use a report, properly designed, and save yourself a bunch of frustration.

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Thank you so much for being patient with me.

I need to print this form precisely in this format. In fact this format was designed to enter the data and display it. But the most important objective of having had this layout was to be able to print it.

This form exactly replicates a questionnaire that was canvassed in a village in India (where there are no computers). We are doing repeated surveys in the village and every next time we need to take printouts of the previous survey schedules (questionnaires).

I don’t know if I have answered your questions. What am I trying to accompalish by printing these forms? I need to take these data to a place where there are no computers. So I have to print them. Because I need to go back to human beings and ask them further questions, I need to take these data in the format with which the investigators and the respondents are familiar. And that format happens to be the one I replicated on this form.

I wonder if I have made myself clear.

Given this, does the following question make sense? If I have to print these data in this particular format, in precisely thirteen pages for each household, how do you think would a report handle it?

Thanks again,

Vikas Rawal
vikasrawal@netkracker.com

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Hello Vikas,

From your example you could:

1. Save the form as a report.
2. Select all controls on page 12 (Don’t select the page itself)
3. Cut the controls, paste onto bottom of Page 1, then delete Page 12.
4. Insert a manual page break
5. Repeat for each Tab/Page

When you convert a tab form to a report, it would appear there’s no obvious way to eliminate all of the tabs. But you should be able to move all controls from each Tab/Page to Page 1 inserting manual page breaks where appropriate.
Set Sorting and Grouping to Household Number, Keep Together Whole Group.
Awkward, but it works.

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Thanks for replying. The problen with this solution is that the number of controls in all the thirteen pages together is far too much to fit into one page/section. There is a limit on number of controls that can be placed on a section. That sets the upper limit on the size of one sheet on the form.

In this particular case, controls from only about three pages fit on to one page if I try to put them together.

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Hi Vikas,

The tabbed data entry form is a good method for entering data, but doesn’t seem to work for a report. So, you either have to change the data forms to match the report you need or create a report that matches you survey form.

Suggestion:

Why can’t you create 13 reports that match each of the 13 pages in your tabbed form? You would need 13 parameter queries to collect the data for each page. A macro would contain the 13 reports. The reports would be created by the queries.

The main problem with this is that the 13 parameter queries would ask for the ID number 13 times. Somebody on the forum may know how to code SQL to store the ID value that the queries would need so that you would only have to enter the ID once.

Or, the queries could be written completely in SQL with an input box for the ID number. The SQL would read the input box value for each query and then run the reports.

Is this something you might think is useful?

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Thanks for the reply.

The problem I started with was the following: I need to print the records in a particular order (print all pages for one record, then for the next record and so on) and I would like to do this in such a way that the printer gets only one or a few print commands (rather than a print command for each page of each report).

The schema proposed by you will have a macro which, if I understand it correctly, will give print commands for each page, and then go to the next record and print each page, and so on. With 13 reports and 1000 records, it means 13000 print commands. The printer will blow up…

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I agree with Charlotte. What you’re doing is like trying to use Excel for Word Processing. You need to create a report that looks like your survey form. Reports are not difficult but they are labour intensive. Good luck.
Rob

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Oops, you’re right. A section can’t exceed 22 inches. Perhaps you could investigate nesting subreports.

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