ACC: Microsoft Graph Changes May Not Be Retained

• Microsoft Access versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 7.0, 97

SUMMARY

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

When you create a graph on a form or report and later make some changes to the formatting or to the data itself within Microsoft Graph, these changes may not appear in the form or report.

This article discusses the different sources of information that Graph normally uses and which sources take precedence over others in the hierarchy of graph changes.

MORE INFORMATION

There are several sources of information for a graph: the Microsoft Graph application, the contents of the graph object's RowSource property, and the data in the underlying table or query.

Microsoft Access regenerates the graph each time you print or preview the graph, or switch to Form view. When Microsoft Access regenerates the graph, it reads the SQL statement in the object's RowSource property. The name of the graph and the data to be graphed are obtained from this SQL statement. Microsoft Access obtains the format of the data from the table or query that is the source of the graph's SQL statement.

The precedence for changes is determined as follows:

• Anything that you change in Microsoft Graph can be overwritten by the SQL statement in the graph's RowSource property or by the underlying data itself. (Examples of what you can change in Microsoft Graph include font, font size, font color, and the type of graph selected.)
• Anything that you change in the SQL statement of the graph's RowSource property can be overwritten by the underlying data. (Examples of what you can change in the SQL statement include the title and labels.)
• Anything that you change in the underlying data has precedence over other changes. (An example of what you can change in the underlying data is the actual format of the data. However, if the SQL statement contains a calculated field, such as =Format([Start Date],"MMM"), the format is determined by the result of this calculation, not by the underlying data.)

REFERENCES

For more information about using graphs in Access, search the Help Index for "graphs."