Better-Access-PivotTable

Better pivot tables for Access with pivottable.js

Why Better PivotTable for Access?

Microsoft Access has lost the ability to create pivot tables and pivot charts with version Access 2013. The official recommendation is to use Excel for this purpose.

But why use Excel when we can have it in Access. There are many solutions for pivot tables based on Java Script available on the web. This project makes use of this. We create pivot tables using the Pivottable.js library and display them in the edge browser control. The whole logic is hidden in a class module.

Take a look at the demo and let yourself be inspired by the possibilities.

You want to give it a try?

1. Download the latest release
2. Unpack the files to a trusted folder
3. Run the database
4. Push the button: "Create Pivot Table"

How to integrate into your own database?

1. Import of the class modules

First, all modules with the name "BAPT_*" must be imported from the demo database into your Access database.

2. Insert edge browser control on form

The second step is to add an edge browser control to display the chart on a form. It is best to give the control a meaningful name. This is required later in the VBA code. I like to use the name "ctlEdgeBrowser" for this.

3. First lines of code for the basic functionality

The best thing to do is to add another button. In the click event, paste the following code:

Dim myPivot As BAPT_PivotTable  
Set myPivot = BAPT.PivotTable(Me.ctlEdgeBrowser)
myPivot.ShowPivot

• In line 1 a variable of the type BAPT_PivotTable is declared.
• In line 2 a new instance of this class is created and the edge browser control is assigned to the class module.
• The pivot table is created in line 3.

When you run this code, you will see a pivot table with some data. At the moment no data source is assigned. In such a case, Better-Access PivotTable simply shows a standard data source with 6 entries. This is particularly practical for our example. We have now done a quick test and fundamentally implemented the pivot table.

4. Add a data source and define some basic attributes

In order for the pivot table to show something, it needs a data source. You can use the DataSource.ObjectName property for this, for example. Enter the name of a table or a query that contains the data to be displayed.

Finally, use the Aggregator and the AggregatorField properties specify how the data is initially summarized in the pivot table. Use the RendererName property to define how the data is initially displayed.

The necessary VBA code could look like this, for example:

myPivot.DataSource.ObjectName = "tbl_DemoData"
myPivot.Aggregator = "Sum"
myPivot.AggregatorField = "ExtendedPrice"
myPivot.RendererName = "Table"

• In line 1, the table "tbl_Demo_Data" is specified as the data source.
• Line 2 sets the aggregator to "sum".
• Line 3 defines the aggregator field.
• In line 4, the renderer name is set.

5. Set further attributes for the pivot table

The next step is to adapt the pivot table to your own needs. For example, you can define the filed names for rows and columns or adjust the some styles.

The project currently has 25 subclasses with lots of properties. You can see all of them in the documentation on the Wiki. I have also presented the individual progress in the blog.

As you can see, there are a multitude of sources. Take a look around and make use of the options provided.