How to Count Missing Data in Access Reports

You can set up a field in Access to count empty records.

Microsoft Access is a database program included with the Microsoft Office suite that allows you to organize large amounts of data and run reports that summarize it. If you are working with a large number of records, you may have trouble identifying those entries that are empty or missing data. You can use the "null" function when running an Access report to count the total number of records with missing data.

Instructions

1. Launch the Microsoft Access program and open the database file in which you want to count records that are missing data.

2. Double-click on the name of the report you want to use from the list on the left side of the window.

3. Click on the "Text Box" button in the toolbar at the top of the window and then click on the part of the report where you want to place the count of missing data.

4. Right-click on the text box you just added and choose "Properties" to display the "Control Source" window on the right side of the screen.

5. Go to the "All" tab at the top of the "Control Source" window.

6. Type "=Sum(IIf(IsNull([FieldName])=True,1,0))" into the "Control Source" section and replace "FieldName" with the exact name of the field you want to check for missing data. Now when you run the report, Access will automatically count the number of records missing data in the chosen field and display the total in your new text box.

References

• Tech on the Net: Counting the Number of Records with a Blank Field in Access 2003/XP/2000/97