About grouping records on a data access page

This topic provides reference information about:

Benefits of grouped data access pages

A grouped data access page in Design view

A grouped data access page in Page view or Internet Explorer

Benefits of grouped data access pages

Grouping records on a data access page is similar to grouping records on a report: You can create a hierarchy that groups records from general categories to specific details. However, data access pages have some advantages over printed reports.

• Pages bound to database data display current data because they are connected to a database.
  
  
• Pages are interactive. Users can filter, sort, and view just the records that they want.
  
  
• Pages can be distributed electronically by using e-mail. Recipients will see current data each time they open the message.

The following illustration shows how the sample data access page, Orders by Date, which shows order totals grouped by date, looks in Page view or Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later.

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A grouped data access page in Design view

The body   The body is the basic design surface of a data access page. On a grouped page, you can use the body to display informational text and sections. By default, the position of text, sections, and other elements in the body are relative. That is, elements flow one after the other in the same order as they appear in the HTML source. The position of an element in the body is determined by the preceding content. When viewed in Page view or Internet Explorer, the content in the body adjusts itself to fit the size of the Web browser.

Sections   You use sections to display text, data from a database, and toolbars. The position of controls and other elements within a section is absolute by default. That is, the position of each control or element is fixed relative to the top and left coordinates of the section. Controls that have an absolute position within a section keep the same position even when you resize the browser.

There are four types of sections available on a grouped data access page: group header, group footer, caption, and record navigation sections. You can use just the sections you need for a group level.

• Group header   Used primarily to display data and calculate totals. To group data, you must have at least two group levels. The group header at the lowest group level is like the detail section of a report: It repeats until all the records are printed for the current group.
  
  
• Group footer   Used primarily to calculate totals. It appears before the record navigation section for the group level. A group footer is not available for the lowest group level on a data access page.
  
  
• Caption   Used to display captions for columns of data. It appears immediately before the group header. This section is displayed only when the next-higher group level is expanded. You can't place bound controls in a caption section.
  
  
• Record navigation   Used to display the record navigation control for the group level. A record navigation section for a group appears after the group header section if there is no footer for the group level and appears after the footer if there is a footer for the group level. You can't place bound controls in a record navigation section.

Each group level has a record source. The name of the record source is displayed on the section bar for each section used for a group level. The following illustration shows the Orders by Date data access page in Design view.

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A grouped data access page in Page view or Internet Explorer

The following illustration shows how the sections look on the same data access page when it's open in Page view or in Internet Explorer 5 or later. You can specify how many records you want displayed on the page for each group level by setting the DataPageSize property in the Sorting And Grouping box in page Design view. In the example page, DataPageSize is set to 2 for the OrderTotals-OrderDate group level and to All for the OrderTotals group level.

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More information

Create a data access page with grouped records.

Learn about grouping records on intervals of autonumbered, currency, or numeric values

Learn about grouping records on intervals of date or time values

Learn about grouping records on the first n characters in a text value