Formatting Issues

How to Remove Gray Lines or Shading from a Long Access Report

WPS Content Manager Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to remove unexpected gray lines or shadow banding that appears across alternating records when viewing or printing a long report.

How to Remove Gray Lines or Shading from a Long Access Report

Product: Microsoft Access
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Formatting a long data report for presentation or printing where uniform background colors are required.
Observed behavior: Gray lines, bands, or shadows appear on every other record throughout the report.

Before you start

Ensure you have your report open in Design View or Layout View, as you will need access to the Property Sheet to adjust the background color settings.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable the Alternate Back Color Property

Turn off the default alternating record shading in the report's design settings to remove the gray lines.

By default, some database reporting tools apply shading to every other row to improve readability for long datasets. If you prefer a solid background, you must manually disable this property in the report's design settings.

Open Design View

Right-click your report in the navigation pane and select 'Design View' or 'Layout View'.

Select the Detail Section

Click directly on the background of the 'Detail' section of your report to select it.

Open the Property Sheet

Press F4 on your keyboard, or click the 'Property Sheet' button located in the Design ribbon.

Change Alternate Back Color

Navigate to the Format tab within the Property Sheet, locate the 'Alternate Back Color' property, and change its value to 'No Color' or select your desired uniform background color.

Disable the Alternate Back Color Property

Formatting Tip: You can apply this same method to other report sections, such as Group Headers or Footers, if they are also exhibiting unwanted shading.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my printed report have gray lines that aren't in my source data?

This is often caused by alternating row colors (known as banding) designed to make wide rows easier to read across a page. It defaults to a light gray in many reporting tools and applies formatting visually without altering the underlying data.

Can I change the alternate shading to a different color instead of removing it?

Yes, in the Property Sheet under the Format tab, you can select 'Alternate Back Color' and choose a custom color from the palette that matches your report's design instead of selecting 'No Color'.

How do I remove alternating row colors if I export my report to a spreadsheet?

If you open the exported data in a spreadsheet application, select your formatted table, navigate to the Table Tools or Table Design tab, and uncheck the 'Banded Rows' option to instantly remove the alternating shading.

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