OutputTo Action

Description

You can use the OutputTo action to output the data in the specified Microsoft Access database object (a datasheet, form, report, or module) to a file in Microsoft Excel (.xls) version 7.0, rich-text (.rtf), or MS-DOS Text (.txt) format.

Setting

The OutputTo action uses the following arguments.

Action argument

Description

Object Type

The type of object containing the data to output. Click Table (for a table datasheet), Query (for a query datasheet), Form (for a form or form datasheet), Report, or Module in the Object Type box in the Action Arguments section of the Macro window. You can’t output a macro. If you want to output the active object, select its type with this argument, but leave the Object Name box blank. The default is Table. This is a required argument.

Object Name

The name of the object containing the data to output. The Object Name box shows all objects in the database of the type selected by the Object Type argument.

If you run a macro containing the OutputTo action in a library database, Microsoft Access looks for the object with this name first in the library database, then in the current database.

Output Format

The type of format you want used to output the data. You can click Microsoft Excel (*.xls), Rich Text Format (*.rtf), or MS-DOS Text (*.txt) in the box. Modules can be output only to MS-DOS Text format. If you leave this box blank, Microsoft Access prompts you for the output format.

Output File

The file you want to output the data to, including the full path. You can include the standard filename extension (.xls, .rtf, or .txt) for the output format you select by the Output Format argument, but it’s not required. If you leave the Output File box blank, Microsoft Access prompts you for an output filename.

Auto Start

Indicator whether you want the appropriate application to start immediately after the OutputTo action runs, with the file specified in the Output File argument opened. If you select Yes, one of the following applications starts with the output file from the Microsoft Access object opened: Microsoft Excel (for .xls files), Microsoft Word for Windows (for .rtf files), or Microsoft Windows Notepad (for .txt files). If you select No, the application doesn’t start. The default is No.


Remarks

The Microsoft Access data is output in the selected format and can be read by any application that uses the same format. For example, you can output a Microsoft Access report with its formatting to a rich-text format document and then open the document in Word for Windows.

The following rules apply when you use the OutputTo action to output a database object:

  • You can output data in table, query, and form datasheets. In the output file, all fields in the datasheet look as they do in Microsoft Access, except fields containing OLE objects. The columns for these fields are included in the output file, but the fields are blank.
  • For a control bound to a Yes/No field (a toggle button, option button, or check box), the output file displays the value -1 (Yes) or 0 (No).
  • If you output the data in a form in Form view, the output file always contains the form’s Datasheet view.
  • If you output the data in a report, the only controls that are included in the output file are text boxes (for .xls output files) or text boxes and labels (for .rtf and .txt output files). All other controls are ignored. Header and footer information is also not included in the output file. The only exception to this is that when you output the data in a report to a Microsoft Excel file, a text box in a group footer containing an expression using the Sum function is included in the output file. No other control in a header or footer (and no aggregate function other than the Sum function) is included in the output file.
  • Subreports are included in the output file (for any of the output file formats), but subforms aren’t.

If you output the data in a report to an output file and the columns and rows of data in the output file do not align as in the report, the following tips may help:

  • You can point to Size on the Format menu, then click To Fit to size the controls.
  • You can avoid overlapping controls or placing controls too close together.
  • You can point to Align on the Format menu, then click the appropriate command to align the controls on the report. Controls that are not aligned in the same row may be placed in separate rows, causing additional spacing.

The OutputTo action is similar to clicking Save As/Export on the File menu, selecting the To An External File Or Database option, and selecting the Save Formatted check box in the dialog box that is displayed. The action arguments correspond to the settings in the Save As/Export dialog boxes. The Save As/Export command, however, applies only to the object selected in the Database window. By using the OutputTo action, you can specify the object you want to output.

Note You can output the selected data with the Save As/Export command. However, this functionality is not available with the OutputTo action.

You can also point to Office Links on the Tools menu, then click Analyze It With MS Excel or Publish It With MS Word to output a database object, and open the output file immediately in Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word for Windows.

To run the OutputTo action in Visual Basic, use the OutputTo method of the DoCmd object.

See Also

OutputTo Method, SendObject Action.