Along with the many different practical aspects of databases Microsoft Access offers some nice-to-have functions that make getting the job done a little easier. One of the extra features is report themes, and it can turn a data dump into a useful, presentable report. It gives you a way to make all of your team, department, or company reports look consistent. You can set a different theme for a report that will be used at a company meeting or a convention, or you can customize a report for shareholders.

By using Report themes you will find it easier to give your reports the professional look and feel that you really can’t get with Microsoft Excel. It is one of the reasons why you should move your data into a database instead of trying to maintain spreadsheets.

The report themes feature is relatively easy to use, particularly if you are accustomed to working in Microsoft Access. Don’t worry if you haven’t had much experience with Microsoft Access. It is a quick and easy exercise to start applying a classy look to anything that you need to look presentable. You can even update the themes of older reports if you need to resurrect them for comparison with a new report. This is extremely handy if you have to make a comparison and you don’t want your audience to be distracted by the dated look of a report from five years ago, or in some cases the extremely basic appearance of reports from over a decade ago. Whatever your need, as long as you have the data in the database, you can make it presentable.

The Default Settings

The default really depends on whether or not you start from scratch or if you start with a template (such as the free ones here or the sample templates here). If you use an existing database, the default is whatever the creator of the database used during the setup. If you create your own default, Access has a single location where you can go to check out the themes that come with the purchased version. There are also some themes available online so if you don’t like what is on your purchased version, you can find something better suited to your needs online.

Depending on whether you are working with old reports or new reports, you may want to take some time to go through the themes to see which ones looks best for the different intended audiences. If you are going to be reworking legacy reports, you should consider something that is similar to what you’ve done in the past; otherwise you will have to do a lot of work if you want to redo all of the reports.

There actually is a default theme for new reports that you can overwrite.

1. Click on the Quick Access Toolbar drop down menu and More Commands.
2. Click on Object Designers.
3. Scroll down to Form/Report design view and update the Report template to match the one you want to use by default.
4. Click OK.

You can also set the default from the Design view.

1. Open the report in Design view.
2. Go to the Report Design Tools > Design > Themes, and go to the drop down menu under the Themes button.
3. Right click on the theme you want to make the default and select Make This Theme the Database Default.

No matter which method you use to change the default, keep in mind that it will change the appearance for any reports you create after it is set. It does not retro-apply to existing reports.

Applying Themes to New Reports

The way you apply themes to new and legacy reports is essentially the same, but what you see will vary. If you are creating a new report, you may not have anything to actually populate the report yet. This means that you will have a less accurate idea of how the final report will look because it will have empty spaces when you apply the theme. It is best to have at least some data when you start looking at reports so that you can see how the data and theme look together. If you are looking at just a theme without text you may be shocked to see what it looks like when there is data to see.

1. Open the report in Design view.
2. Go to the Report Design Tools > Design > Themes, and go to the drop down menu under the Themes button.
3. Select one of the themes from the drop down, or open Browse to look at other themes you’ve downloaded.

If you like the design and just want to change the color, you can do that in the same area. Instead of clicking on the Themes button, click on either the Colors or Font buttons to make the changes.

Applying Themes to Legacy Reports

You update legacy reports the same way that you update new reports, but you will need to track which legacy reports you update, as well as when you made the changes. You will want to have a record of everything you have changed over time for configuration control, especially if you deal with financial or other information that is used in audits. If the appearance is different for legacy reports, you have to be able to prove what was changed and when.

Typically it is best not to update reports that you have already presented. You can update the appearance going forward, treating it like an entirely new report. Chances are you won’t need to present old reports for anything official. On the off chance that you do, it doesn’t hurt for people to see how much your business has changed over time, with the logo and other elements evolving over time.

Customizing Your Themes

As mentioned, you don’t have to change the entire theme; you can just update the colors and fonts. However, if you want an entirely new theme, you can browse online to see if there are any that you think will be better suited to your needs. You will need to save them to make sure that the changes you made become one of the available themes. You can even make your new designs the default.