Using reports to preserve the moment
In most cases, an Access database is constantly changing as new data is
entered, existing data is edited, or old data is deleted. Sometimes, though,
you may have good reasons to preserve a record of exactly how things were
at a particular moment in time. Consider these possibilities:
If you keep the membership list for the local branch of your favorite
club, you know that sometimes members can be a bit slow about renew-
ing their memberships. I’ve seen instances where members have come
back after several years away. Keeping all the past members in the data-
base may not always be reasonable, but having an end-of-year member-
ship report stored away is a useful way to keep the data in case you
need it again in the future.
If you run a small business, you probably want to keep track of your
exact inventory at various times of the year. A dated report of your
inventory stored offsite could be extremely valuable if you ever need
to file an insurance claim after an untimely disaster.
If you go into business with someone else, an Access report showing
exactly which items you contributed to the business could save some
arguments in the event you later split up. Sure, you both know now that
the Babe Ruth baseball card is yours, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able
to prove it when your former partner tries to sell it for $10,000.
Even if you do keep the printouts, keeping backup copies of your database
is always a good idea in case of an emergency. But be very careful. If you do
need to open your old file, don’t accidentally overwrite your current data-
base file with the old copy. You can easily destroy months, or even years,
of work if you’re careless.
Seeing Why Both Forms and
Reports Have a Place
Forms and reports seem somewhat similar in that they both provide ways
to look at data that aren’t available in the Datasheet view of a table. Do you
really have to find out how to create both of them. Yes. Using forms and
reports isn’t an either/or proposition.
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Part I: Accessing Both Ends: Getting Data In and Info Out
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