Use Columns In Access Reports
We’ve previously written about columns
for MS Word, but did you know that you can use columns in Access
reports?
If you are reporting just a few pieces of information per line then you’re
probably only filling up one quarter to one half of a page. Daily balances,
defects per product per day, or number of web hits per day are good examples of
the type of data that will display well in columns.
In Report Design View, make sure that your report is set up to take less than
half of your paper width. For instance, if you are printing two columns on
American standard 8.5” X 11” paper in portrait view, with .75” margins on
the left and right, you have about 3.5” in which to place your fields. See
the table below for sample calculations.
The ruler will show how wide your report is.
| 2 columns @ 3.5” |
7.0"
|
| 2 margins @ .75” |
1.5” |
| Total page width |
8.5” |
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To set up the columns, go to File > Page Setup… while in Report Design
View. You’ll see the first tab of the dialog box below. Click on the
Columns tab. 
Here you set the number of columns, the row spacing and the column
spacing. If you want space between the columns, remember to add it to the
available page width equation above.
CAREFUL! If you go even a tiny bit over in
your calculations, Access will add a second page with nothing on it to each real
page of your report. Drag the right edge of the page shown above in Report
Design View to the left to decrease the report width. Your mysterious extra
blank pages will disappear when the columns fit on one page. On the bottom of
the dialog box left, set the Column Layout to Down, then Across if you want
standard MS Word-like columns. Access will print to fill a column down and then
move to the next column across.
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