Adding Total etc. to Datasheets in Access 2007
Gayle Fink (gfink@bowiestate.edu)

This corner of the newsletter is reserved for readers to share practical tips, techniques and shortcuts that can make a difference in our work. Send your tips to Gayle Fink (gfink@bowiestate.edu).


Recently, I built an Access database with student term credit hours attempted, earned, and term GPA as part of a retention analysis. Part of the summary I was building included a term breakdown by student type. Normally I would do this in a pivot table in Excel. However, you can also do this quickly while in Access using a combination of filters and the Total button.

  1. Start Access 2007 and open a database. A sample of the term standing file is shown below.

  2. On the Home tab, click the Totals button in the Records group. A Total row is created in your datasheet.

  3. Click the field you want to total and select the type of summary.

  4. To calculate for undergraduate students only, click the Filter button in the Sort & Filter Group, select “UGRAD” and then click the GPA column to obtain the average for undergraduates.

This is a quick and easy analysis that gives you the feel of Excel!