Use the Access Office Links tool to convert a report to an Excel worksheet

Let's say you distribute a Customer report (Figure A) to all management personnel every month. Now, they would like you to send them the same report, including the City groupings, as an Excel worksheet.

Figure A

Unlike other Access Import tools, Access 2002/2003's Office Links tool can do just that. (Note: This feature is not available in Access 2007.) Follow these steps:

1. Open the Access database that contains the Customer report.
2. Click Report under Objects in the Database Window and select Customer Report By City.
3. Go to Tools | Office Links and click Analyze It With Microsoft Excel (Figure B).

Figure B

Access opens a new Excel workbook with the data arranged in columns exactly as the original report, including grouping the data by the City field (Figure C).

Figure C

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