Ms Office Tune Up

When you examine the output of the report shown in earlier Figure, you might be struck by the report’s uncanny resemblance to a sheet of mailing labels. You are well within your rights to think just that because a multiple-column layout is exactly how you build a mail­ing label report in Access. After all, what is a sheet of mailing labels but a collection of stick-ons, each with a specific width and height, repeated in a row-and-column format? What is a multiple-column report? Why, it’s the same thing: a collection of records, each with a specific width and height, repeated in a row-and-column format.

So if you want to print mailing labels from a table of address data, you need only use that data as the source of a multiple-column report, where each column is configured to pre­cisely match the width and height of your labels. Of course, you also need to take into account the row and column spacing to match the layout on the mailing label sheet, so some tweaking is required.

Rather than go through that, Access provides you with an easier method: the Label Wizard. This wizard takes you step-by-step through the entire label-making process. It supports all the standard mailing label formats, so the tweaking and guesswork are taken out of the process.

Here are the steps to follow to build a set of mailing labels using the Label Wizard:

1. In the Navigation pane, choose the table or query you want to use as the data source for the report.
2. Choose Create, Labels. Access launches the Label Wizard, as shown in Figure 1.
3. Use the What label size would you like? list to click the label size you want to use. You can also use the following controls to change the displayed labels:
   • Unit of Measure-Click either the English or the Metric option.
   • Label Type-Click either the Sheet Feed or the Continuous option.
   • Filter by manufacturer-In the drop-down list, click the name of the label manufacturer. (If you don’t see the manufacturer listed, choose Avery because many off-brand labels are manufactured to the Avery standard.)


Figure 1 Use the initial Label Wizard dialog box to choose the label size you want to use.

4. 4. Click Next. The Label Wizard prompts you for font information.
5. 5. Use the Font Name, Font Size, Font Weight, and Text Color controls to choose the font specifics for the label text. You can also choose to italicize and underline the text by activating the Italic and Underline check boxes.
6. 6. Click Next. The wizard asks you to define the layout of the label.
7. 7. Build the label by using the following techniques (see Figure 2 for an example):
   • To add a field, click the field name in the Available Fields list and then click >.
   • To start a new line in the label, move to the end of the current line and then press Enter.
   • To add text to the label, position the cursor where you want the text to display and then type the text.


Figure 2 Define the label layout by adding fields, new lines, and text.

8. 8. Click Next. The wizard prompts you for the report sort order.
9. 9. Click the field you want to use as the sort basis in the Available Fields list and then click >. If you want to sort on multiple fields, repeat in the sort order you want.
10. 10. Click Next. The wizard prompts you for a report name.
11. 11. Type the name in the text box provided. You also need to choose your next action:
    • See The Labels As They Will Look Printed-Choose this option to display the report in Print Preview.
    • Modify The Label Design-Choose this option to display the report in the Design view.
12. 12. Click Finish.

Figure 3 shows an example report.

Figure 3 A report ready to be printed as mailing labels.

If the Label Wizard does not recognize your mailing labels or if you need a custom job for some other reason, the wizard enables you to design your own custom label size. Here are the steps to follow:

1. 1 In the Navigation pane, choose the table or query you want to use as the data source for the report.
2. 2 Choose Create, Labels to start the Label Wizard.
3. 3 Click Customize. The wizard displays the New Label Size dialog box.
4. 4 Click New. The New Label dialog box displays.
5. 3. Use the Label Name text box to type a name for the custom label.
6. 4. In the Unit of Measure group, click English or Metric.
7. 5. In the Label Type group, click Sheet Feed or Continuous.
8. 6. In the Orientation group, click Portrait or Landscape.
9. 7. Use the Number Across text box to type the number of columns of labels you require.
10. 8. Use the text boxes in the Enter Label Measurements In Inches/Centimeters area to specify the label dimensions as well as the margin widths, row and column spacing, and other measurements. Figure 4 shows an example.
11. 9. Click OK.

Figure 4 Use the New Label dia­log box to design a cus­tom label size.

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