ACC: How to Sort a Report from a Pop-Up Form

This article describes how to create a pop-up form for setting the sort order of data in a report.

NOTE: This article explains a technique demonstrated in the sample files, RptSampl.exe (for Microsoft Access for Windows 95 version 7.0) and RptSmp97.exe (for Microsoft Access 97). For information about how to obtain these sample files, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

145777  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/145777/EN-US/ ) ACC95: Microsoft Access Sample Reports Available in Download Center

175072  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175072/EN-US/ ) ACC97: Microsoft Access 97 Sample Reports Available in Download Center

This technique involves creating a pop-up form and a report in the sample database Northwind. The form enables you to choose which report fields to sort on and in which order: ascending or descending.

Creating the Report

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
2. Start the Report Wizard and create a report based on the Customers table.
3. In the "Which fields do you want on your report" box, select the following fields:
   

         CompanyName
         ContactName
         City
         Region
         Country
   						

4. Click Finish to display the new report in Print Preview.
5. On the File menu, click Save As/Export. Enter Sort Report as the report name and click OK.
6. Close the report.

Creating the Pop-up Form

1. Create a new form not based on any table or query in Design view with the following form properties:
   

         Form: Sort Form
         ---------------------
         ScrollBars: Neither
         RecordSelectors: No
         NavigationButtons: No
         PopUp: Yes
         BorderStyle: Thin
         MinMaxButtons: None
   						

2. Set the form's OnOpen property to the following event procedure:
   

         Private Sub Form_Open(Cancel As Integer)
            ' Opens the report in Design view when the form opens.
            DoCmd.OpenReport "Sort Report", acviewDesign
            ' ("acDesign" in Microsoft Access version 7.0)
            DoCmd.Maximize
         End Sub
   						

3. Set the form's OnClose property to the following event procedure.
   

         Private Sub Form_Close()
            ' Closes the report when the form closes.
            DoCmd.Close acReport, "Sort Report"
            DoCmd.Restore
         End Sub
   						

4. Add the following five combo boxes:
   
   NOTE: In the SQL expressions below, an underscore (_) at the end of a line is used as a line-continuation character. Remove the underscore from the end of the line when re-creating this expression.
   

         Combo box:
            Name: Sort1
            RowSourceType: Field List
            RowSource: Select [CompanyName], [ContactName], [City], _
                       [Region],[Country] from Customers
   
         Combo box:
            Name: Sort2
            RowSourceType: Field List
            RowSource: Select [CompanyName], [ContactName], [City], _
                       [Region],[Country] from Customers
   
         Combo box:
            Name: Sort3
            RowSourceType: Field List
            RowSource: Select [CompanyName], [ContactName], [City], _
                       [Region], [Country] from Customers
   
         Combo box:
            Name: Sort4
            RowSourceType: Field List
            RowSource: Select [CompanyName], [ContactName], [City], _
                       [Region], [Country] from Customers
   
         Combo box:
            Name: Sort5
            RowSourceType: Field List
            RowSource: Select [CompanyName], [ContactName], [City], _
                       [Region], [Country] from Customers
   						

5. Add the following five check boxes next to the combo boxes on the form, which you can use later for selecting ascending or descending order for your report:
   

         Check box:
            Name: Check1
   
         Check box:
            Name: Check2
   
         Check box:
            Name: Check3
   
         Check box:
            Name: Check4
   
         Check box:
            Name: Check5
   						

6. Add the following command button to the form, which enables you to reset the values in the form's combo boxes and check boxes:
   

         Command button:
            Name:Clear
            Caption:Clear
            OnClick: [Event procedure]
   
         Set the OnClick [Event procedure] to the following:
   						

            Private Sub Clear_Click()
              Dim intCounter as Integer
                For intCounter= 1 To 5
                  Me("Sort" &intCounter) = ""
                  Me("Check" &intCounter) = ""
                Next
            End Sub
   						

7. Add the following command button to the form:
   

         Command button:
            Name SetOrderBy
            Caption SetOrderBy
            OnClick: [Event procedure]
   
         Set the OnClick [Event procedure] to the following:
   						

            Private Sub SetOrderBy_Click()
               Dim strSQL as String, intCounter as Integer
               ' Build strSQL String.
               For intCounter= 1 To 5
                  If Me("Sort" &intCounter) <> "" Then
                     strSQL = strSQL & "[" & Me("Sort" &intCounter) & "]"
                     If Me("Check" &intCounter) = True Then
                        strSQL = strSQL & " DESC"
                     End IF
                   strSQL = strSQL & ", "
                  End If
               Next
   
               If strSQL <> "" Then
                  ' Strip Last Comma & Space.
                  strSQL = Left(strSQL, (Len(strSQL) - 2))
                  ' Set the OrderBy property.
                  Reports![Sort Report].OrderBy = strSQL
                  Reports![Sort Report].OrderByOn = True
               End If
            End Sub
   						

8. Close and save the form as XXXXX.

Sorting the Report

1. Open XXXXX in Form view. Note that the report opens in Design view behind the form.
2. Select a value in the first combo box, and then click the SetOrderBy button. The report should appear sorted by the field you selected in the combo box.
3. Click to select the first check box, and then click the SetOrderby button. You should see the report sorted in descending order by the field you selected in the combo box.

For more information about the filter property, search the Help Index for "Filter Property," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.

For more information about filter by form or filter by selection, search the Help Index for "Filter By Form" or "Filter By Selection," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.