I have a blank page at the beginning of my report.

Question

I have a report that is based on a select query. The select query does not return any blank records. The report has page breaks at each change in product so that all information for each product is grouped together. When the report is opened in print preview and/or is printed, the first page always contains the report header and footer but no product information. The product information always starts on the second page. How do I get the blank page to stop showing up on the print preview and when it is printed?

Answer 1

You shouldn’t need page break controls in your report design. You can set page breaks after in the Grouping properties of the report.

Answer 2

Can you show us the report in design view? Are you using the grouping and sorting feature in your report? What happens if you take out the page break?

Answer 3

The blank first page is almost always caused by the report body (its controls) extending beyond the printable page width or by an unnecessary page break at the top of the report.

Use these checks in Design/Layout view:

1. Check for controls extending past page width
   1. Open the report in Layout view.
   2. Look for the vertical dashed line that indicates the current page width.
   3. Make sure every control in the Report Header and the first detail/group section (including lines and labels) is completely to the left of that dashed line.
   4. If any control crosses that line, reduce its width or move it left until all controls are within the page width.
2. Adjust page width or orientation (if needed)
   1. If the layout genuinely needs more width, increase the defined page width or switch from Portrait to Landscape in the Page Setup tab (Design or Layout view).
   2. After changing page setup, re‑check that no controls extend beyond the new page width.
3. Check for page breaks in the header/group
   1. In Design view, inspect the Report Header, Page Header, and the first Group Header.
   2. Remove any page break control placed at the very start of the report or in the first group header before the first record.
   3. Keep page breaks only where a new page is actually required.

Once all controls are within the defined page width and any unnecessary page breaks at the top are removed, the report header and the first product’s data should appear together on page 1, and the blank first page will no longer be printed.

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References:

• Your report width is greater than the page width
• Insert a page break control in an Access report