Access VBA DoCmd.OutputTo Method

This Access tutorial explains how to use DoCmd.OutputTo Method and DoCmd.TransferSpreadSheet Method to export different objects to specific file types, for example, export Query to xlsx.

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Syntax of DoCmd.OutputTo Method

DoCmd.OutputTo(ObjectType, ObjectName, OutputFormat, OutputFile, AutoStart, TemplateFile, Encoding, OutputQuality)

Name	Required/Optional	Description
ObjectType	Required	Type of object to export Name Value Description acOutputForm 2 Form acOutputFunction 10 User-Defined Function acOutputModule 5 Module acOutputQuery 1 Query acOutputReport 3 Report acOutputServerView 7 Server View acOutputStoredProcedure 9 Stored Procedure acOutputTable 0 Table
ObjectName	Required	The Name of the Object to export, such as Query Name, Report Name.
OutputFormat	Required	The output format acFormatHTML acFormatPDF acFormatRTF acFormatSNP acFormatTXT acFormatXLS acFormatXLSB acFormatXLSX acFormatPS
OutputFile	Required	A string expression that’s the full name, including the path, of the file you want to output the object to.For example, “C:\test\test.xlsx”
AutoStart	Optional	Type True to open the exported file, False to disable opening. Default is False.
TemplateFile	Optional	A string expression that’s the full name, including the path, of the file you want to use as a template for an HTML, HTX, or ASP file.
Encoding	Optional	The type of character encoding format you want used to output the text or HTML data.
OutputQuality	Optional	The type of output device to optimize for. The default value is acExportQualityPrint. Name Value Description acExportQualityPrint 0 The output is optimized for printing. acExportQualityScreen 1 The output is optimized for onscreen display.

Example – export Query to xlsx (DoCmd.OutputTo acOutputQuery)

The below example export “Query1” to C:\test\test.xlsx.

DoCmd.OutputTo ObjectType:=acOutputQuery, ObjectName:="Query1", OutputFormat:=acFormatXLSX, Outputfile:="C:\test\test.xlsx"

You may also use DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet Method, the syntax is slightly different.

DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet acExport, acSpreadsheetTypeExcel12Xml, "Query1", "C:\test\test", True

DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet vs DoCmd.OutputTo

DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet Method has other functions other than exporting, such as import files and exporting to an Excel template. In terms of exporting Query to XLSX, Transferspreadsheet is quicker and the file size is smaller because it does not contain any Query formatting, and error handling is different as well.

For exporting Query to Excel, I personally prefer OutputTo Method because I can adjust the column width in Query before export.

But there is one problem with DoCmd.OutputTo Method. If you export the Query to XLSX format. Some Access formats cannot be perfectly supported, and an error pops up when users try to open the exported workbook, and users have to save the file as a new one for auto repair. To work around this issue, you can export as XLS format instead.

DoCmd.OutputTo ObjectType:=acOutputQuery, ObjectName:="Query1", OutputFormat:=acFormatXLS, Outputfile:="C:\test\test.xls"

Outbound References

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff844793.aspx