Watching with interest as I need to learn more Excel. My first thought would be to look at the content and see if would be possible to use in MS Word i.e. like a mail-merge and create/format the report there.

But as I said, I have minimal experience with Excel so eager to see what the more qualified people suggest.

Lyle

Going from Access to Excel is literally going backwards from what you need.  I would get a group of personnel to all escalate the situation to get Access.

Using Excel will be a horrible workaround with ridiculous restrictions.

You don't need a paid version of Access to use it.  You can run Access with runtime.

Excel has no report designer.  What you see in Excel is what you print out.  If you want different reports for the same data, you may use Excel VBA to automate the process.  Everything you need to print has to be put on a worksheet first.

Excel can be powerful as a tool for printing, since you can place data anywhere on a worksheet, thus allowing any conceivable report layout.  Below is an example from my old job, generated entirely from VBA.  Access could not possibly create a report format like this.

Raymond I totally agree but you know how the govt works, make everything harder.

Lyle

Yes, but sometimes you really have to push back to make your point.  Make them fully aware of the impact their decisions are having.  

I would sell it as:
- Here is the necessary capability we have lost
- We have a solution that works (that you're already trained and able to use)
- If they won't allow you the solution you already have, tell them THEY need to provide you with a solution (more work for them)
- If they say they'll provide a solution (which will take time), find out if you can use your solution until their's is ready.

-Raymond

Lyle  Let them know that moving to Excel may incur additional costs for re-designing workflows, training for new tools and new environment, losing features that were needed in Access, etc.  In short, this decision could reduce productivity and cost them MONEY, which is always the bottom line that everybody cares about, even the government.

That's it. The government has gone too far now - banning Access. Revolution!

Seriously though, that's a tough one, Lyle. Excel's great for crunching numbers, but trying to make reports in it after using Access is like trying to fly a jet with a lawnmower engine. You can build something close with VBA or mail merges in Word, but none of it will ever be as flexible or efficient as a real Access report. I'd definitely push back and make sure whoever made the decision understands the loss in productivity (and sanity).