Probably one of the most basic but powerful features in Access is the capability to save database objects as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) documents. You can publish table data, query results, form datasheets, and reports all as HTML. The following sections cover each of these objects.
When saving table data to HTML, you can store it in the HTML file format so that you can easily publish it on the Web. Just follow these steps:
Click Tables in the Objects list of the Database window.
Click to select the table whose data you want to save as HTML.
Choose File, Export to open the Export Table dialog box.
Use the Save As Type drop-down list to select HTML documents.
Enter a filename and select a location for the HTML document.
Click Export to finish the process.
Access exports the file to HTML so that you can view it from any Web browser (see Figure 26.1). You can also view the HTML source, as shown in Figure 26.2.
The capability to save query results as HTML means you don't need to save all fields and all records to an HTML file. In fact, you can even save the results of Totals queries and other complex queries as HTML. Saving the result of a query as HTML is similar to saving a table as HTML:
Click Queries in the Objects list of the Database window.
Click to select the query whose results you want to save as HTML.
Choose File, Export to open the Export Query dialog box.
Use the Save As Type drop-down list to select HTML documents.
Enter a filename and select a location for the HTML document.
Click Export to finish the process.
Access exports the file to HTML so that you can view it from any Web browser. You can also view the HTML source.
Because an HTML file is a static file, you can only save a form's datasheet as HTML. A static HTML file doesn't change as the data in the database changes, nor can you modify the data in the HTML file. To save a form's datasheet as HTML, follow these steps:
Click Forms in the Objects list of the Database window.
Click to select the form whose results you want to save as HTML.
Choose File, Export to open the Export Form dialog box.
Use the Save As Type drop-down list to select HTML documents.
Select a filename and location for the HTML document.
Click Export; this opens the HTML Output Options dialog box.
Select an optional HTML template that Access applies to the HTML document. By selecting an HTML template, you can easily maintain a consistent look for your Web publications. Select the type of encoding that you want to use, and click OK.
Access exports the file to HTML so that you can view it from any Web browser. You can also view the HTML source.
You can save reports and their formatting as HTML, too, which is an elegant way to publish data on an Internet or intranet site. To publish a report as HTML, just follow these steps:
Click Reports in the Objects list of the Database window.
Click to select the report whose results you want to save as HTML.
Choose File, Export to open the Save As dialog box.
Use the Save As Type drop-down list to select HTML documents.
Select a filename and location for the HTML document.
Click Export to open the HTML Output Options dialog box.
Select an optional HTML template that Access applies to the HTML document. Select the type of encoding you want to use and click OK.
Access exports the file to HTML so that you can view it from any Web browser. You can also view the HTML source. Figure 26.3 shows a report published as HTML.
Because the report is a multipage report, Access generates several HTML files. Each page of the report is linked, and the user can easily navigate from page to page by using the First, Previous, Next, and Last hyperlinks automatically generated during the export process.