Building a User Interface with Forms

Creating Simple Forms Creates a readymade form based on a table or query: In the navigation pane, select the table or query use to generate the form. Choose Create ➝ Forms ➝ Form.

Using Forms Finding and Editing a Record Adding a Record Deleting a Record Printing Records Sorting and Filtering in a Form Quick filter Filter by selection Filter by condition Advanced filters

More Useful Form Properties The Property Sheet to change the view of your form, letting an ordinary form show multiple items or a split view. However, the Property Sheet is packed with many more settings. (reference to Table 12-2, Page 396)

The Form Wizard The Form wizard asks you a series of questions and then builds a form to match. Choose Create ➝ Forms ➝ Form Wizard. From the drop-down list, choose the table you want to use. Add the fields you want to include, click Next. Choose a layout option for your form.

The Form Wizard Layout options include: Columnar similar to clicking Create ➝ Forms ➝ Form on the ribbon. Tabular similar to clicking Create ➝ Forms ➝ More Forms ➝ Multiple Items in the ribbon. Datasheet creates a datasheet form. It’s similar to selecting Create ➝ Forms ➝ More Forms ➝ Datasheet in the ribbon.

Designing Advanced Forms Customizing Forms in Design View: Create a form in Layout view: Choose Create Forms  Blank Form. Drag the fields from the Field List pane into form. Create a form in Design view. Choose Create  Forms Form Design. Start with a blank form in the design window. Drag fields from the Field List pane into form.

Form Sections Newly created forms start with only one section: the Details section, which defines the content for each record.

Form Sections To add a title or logo at the top of form, or some sort of summary information or message at the bottom, must include a header and footer section. To add these elements to form, right-click anywhere on the form’s surface, and then choose Page Header/Footer.

Adding Controls to Your Form To add a control, follow these steps: Head to the ribbon’s Form Design Tools Design Controls section. Optionally, switch on the Use Control Wizards button. Click the icon for the control you want. To place your control on the form, drag the mouse cursor to draw the control on the form. If control has a Control wizard and use Control Wizards, the wizard appears now.

Adding Controls to Your Form If you’re adding a label, supply some text for the control. Change the appropriate settings in the Property Sheet. Give control a better name by setting the Name property. Format your control. Form controls (reference Table 13-1. Page 407)

Arranging Controls on Form Working with controls in Design view: Create a control: Select the control you want, and then draw it in the right place. Move a control: Just click and drag it. You can also move several controls at Once. Resize a control: Drag the edges of the rectangle that surrounds it. Modify a control: Select control and set property in the Property Sheet. Delete a control: Select it  press Delete

Arranging Controls on Form Aligning controls: Select the control, right-click Choose an option in the Align submenu Or select Arrange  Align

Arranging Controls on Form Sizing controls: Select the controls, right-click the selection, choose an option from the Size menu. Use To Widest to make all the controls as wide as the widest one of the bunch. Spacing controls: To modify the space appears between the controls:

Arranging Controls on Form Select all the controls  Form Design Tools | Arrange ➝ Sizing & Ordering ➝Size /Space menu. Select the commands to adjust the spacing between controls: Equal Horizontal. Equal Vertical. Increase Horizontal and Increase Vertical. Decrease Horizontal and Decrease Vertical.

Anchoring: Automatically Resizing Controls Normally, the controls have a fixed, unchanging size. Fixed size controls make for easy design, but they’re inflexible. Anchoring lets you create controls that can grow to fill extra space when the Access window is resized.

Anchoring: Automatically Resizing Controls Making controls as wide as the form In Design view, shrink the width of the Details section so it’s just wide enough to fit controls. Choose the controls that you want to expand along with the window’s size. Choose Form Design Tools Arrange  Position  Anchoring  Stretch Across Top.

Taking Control of Controls Locking Down Fields: Every bound control provides the following two properties that you can use to control editing by using the Property Sheet in Design view. Locked determines whether you can make changes in a field. Enabled lets you deactivate a control altogether.

Taking Control of Controls Prevent Errors with Validation: Validation Rule sets an expression that the value must meet to be considered valid. Validation Text. Input Mask. Default Value

Performing Calculations with Expressions To create an expression on form: Add a text box control to your form In the Property Sheet, choose the Data tab. Place expression in the Control Source setting. Optionally, set Enabled to No to hammer home the point that this value can’t be edited. Optionally, apply formatting.

Organizing with Tab Controls Tab control is used: Present large amounts of content in a limited space. Organize this content into separate pages. At a time, can see only one page. In forms that are primarily designed for editing or reviewing data, data can be subdivided into logical groups, and editing tasks often involve just one group.

Organizing with Tab Controls To use a tab control, follow these steps: In the ribbon’s Form Design Tools  Design Controls section , click the Tab Control. Draw the tab control onto form Every new tab control starts with two pages. To create a new page, right-click any tab and choose Insert Page. To remove an existing page, right-click it and choose Delete Page. Place controls on the different pages.

Navigating with Lists There are two list controls in Access forms: the list box and the combo box. There are two ways to use list controls: Use to edit a field. Access automatically creates a combo box control when there’s a lookup defined for the field Use to navigate to the record, the list shows the field value for every record in the table. When choose one of the values, Access jumps to the corresponding record.

Navigating with Lists Create List control: Make sure the Control Wizard feature is turned on. In Form Design Tools  Design  Controls section, click List Box or Combo Box. Draw the control on the form. Choose “Find a record on my form” Next. Choose the field you want to use for the lookup  Next. Enter a caption for list  Finish

Command Buttons Command buttons let you trigger just about any action, like opening a new form, printing a report… Crate Button by using wizard: In the ribbon’s Form Design Tools Design  Controls section, click the Button. Draw the button into form.

Command Buttons Choose one of the actions: Record Navigation Record Operations Form Operations Report Operations Application Miscellaneous Click Next Enter some text and choose a picture  Next Supply a name for the button  Finish

The Sub form Control The sub form control shows linked records Three properties determine what the sub form control shows: The Source Object property identifies the object in the database that has the related records. Link Master Fields: is the field in the form. Link Child Fields: is the field in the source object.

Navigation Forms Creating a Single-Level Navigation Form: To create navigation form, pick one of the top three options from the Create ➝ Forms ➝ Navigation menu. To add a navigation button for one of forms, click the form in navigation pane, and drag it into the navigation control. If want to change the navigation button caption, double-click the caption and type the new name.

Navigation Forms Creating a Two-Level Navigation Form: To create navigation form, pick one of the bottom three options from the Create ➝ Forms ➝ Navigation menu.

Navigation Forms Add a heading for your top-level menu by click “[Add New]” and type in a new caption. To add the submenu for this heading, drag a form from the navigation pane into the submenu.

Linking to Related Data Showing Linked Records in Separate Forms: By adding a button to form that pops open another form with the linked records Open the parent form in Design view. Click the Button icon, and draw the button onto form. Choose the Form Operations  Open Form, Next. Choose the child form that has the related records , Next.

Linking to Related Data Choose “Open the form and find specific data to display” Next. In the list on the left, choose the unique identifying field from the first table. In the list on the right, choose the matching field from the second table. Click the two-way arrow button  Next Finish.