Using Jet Report NF Function

In my previous post I have explained usage of NL Function, if not seen please check this Link.

The NL function works great if you want a single field from a record, but if you want to retrieve more than one field from the same record, retyping all the filters for each field can be tedious.

The NF function is a shortcut that will return the value of a field in a record. One or more NF functions can be used with a single NL function that has the NL field parameter left blank.


Similarly we can enter Formula in other cells:

The output of Above Report will be as below:

You need to press Report or Refresh Button on the Ribbon to view the output of the Report.

If we see in above output column D is not having any valid information for reporting point of view so we can Hide them. Also Colum Headings will add more meaning full information. Let’s do some Formatting to the Report too.

To Return to Designer mode you need to press Design button on Ribbon.

The First Row & First Column is reserved for Jet Commands, so don’t use for your data purpose.

The A1 cell is auto populated when you run the Report First time.

The Hide in D1 instructs Jet to Hide this column at Report run.

E3 to G3 I have added the Column Heading for my Data. You can use any Formula or Formatting Supported in Excel.

E5 to G…. is the data area which retrieves the value from database using the Jet Functions.

Let’s See the output of above Report. Press Report or Refresh Button to view the output of the Report or execute the Report.

The Report & Refresh button is having different purpose:

Report: Retrieves data from catch, help full in testing report while Designing.

Refresh: Retrieves fresh data from the database, you will get updated data if any between earlier run.

If you closely monitor the Report you will find that the First Row/Column [1] and Column D is hidden from Report output.

If there is no primary key in the table, Jet Reports will give an error message if you leave the Field parameter of the NL blank so you can try leaving the Field blank, then fill in a list of field names if necessary.

See my upcoming posts for more details of NL & NF Functions with more usage.