office of information technology

8/14/2019 OfficeofInformationTechnology

1/41

OfficeofInformationTechnology

Access2007FormsDesign


2/41

Access2007FormsDesign Page2of41

BasicFormControls........................................................................................................................ 3

AddingaControl......................................................................................................................... 3

UsingtheControlWizard............................................................................................................ 9

Cutting,Copying,Pasting,andMovingaControl..................................................................... 10

FormattingaControl

.................................................................................................................

14

AdvancedFormControls.............................................................................................................. 15

ModifyingaControlsProperties.............................................................................................. 15

ChangingaControlsDataSource............................................................................................. 18

ChangingaControlsDefaultValue.......................................................................................... 20

CreatingaCalculatedControl................................................................................................... 21

UsingFormProperties.............................................................................................................. 24

FormattingYourForm................................................................................................................... 25

FormattingGridlines................................................................................................................. 25

ModifyingtheFont................................................................................................................... 26

AddingLogos............................................................................................................................. 28

ChangingtheLayout................................................................................................................. 29

FormattingControls...................................................................................................................... 30

ChangingtheColorofaControl................................................................................................ 30

UsingControlProperties........................................................................................................... 31

Aligning

Controls

.......................................................................................................................

32

FormattingRecords....................................................................................................................... 34

ModifyingFonts........................................................................................................................ 34

UsingAutoFormat..................................................................................................................... 34

UsingtheArrangeRibbon......................................................................................................... 39


3/41


BasicFormControlsBy

now

you

should

be

very

comfortable

with

creating

and

controlling

data

contained

in

the

tablesofyourdatabase.Inthecominglessons,wewilllearnhowtomakethedatabasemore

usablebyusingforms.

Formsinadatabasearejustlikepaperforms:informationiswrittenonaform,andthe

informationontheformisenteredintoadatabaseorkeptonfileinsomewayforretrieval

later.Accesscanmakesomeverypowerfulandfunctionalformsforusewithyourdatabases,

soletsexplorehowtheywork.

AddingaControlFormshavetwobasicfunctions:theyprovideameanstoinputdataandtheycanperform

actionsonthedatabase.Therefore,thethingsthatyouinteractwithonaformareeithertext

fieldswheredataisenteredinsomeway,orcontrolsthatperformsomeactiononthedatain

theformoronthedatabase.

Everyformincludessomesortofcontrol.Inthislesson,wewillexploresomeofthe

functionalityprovidedbyforms.UsetheCreateribbontoviewtheFormcommands:

Hereiswhatthedifferentcommandsdo:

Form Thiscommandisusedtocreateaformbasedonatableinyourdatabase.Accesswillautomaticallycreateaformthatcontainsall

ofthefieldsinthehighlightedtable.SplitForm Thiscommandcreatesaformthatcontainstwoparts.Thetoppart

isjustlikedatasheetview;youcanseeallrecordscontainedinthe

tableorqueryuponwhichtheformisbased.Thebottomsectionis

anormalform.

MultipleItems Thiscommanddisplaysalltheinformationinatableorqueryinaspecialdatasheetview.Thisviewallowsyoutoseeseveralrecords

atatime,eachdisplayedlikeasingleformentry.


4/41


PivotChart PivotChartsareusedbyAccessasawaytoquicklydisplayinformationinagraphicalway.Thoughtheyarebeyondthescope

ofthismanual,PivotChartsletyoudragtwoormorefieldstothe

axesofachart.Thenumericaldatacontainedinthefieldswillbe

displayed.Thetermpivotmeansyoucanclickanddragoneor

morefields

from

one

axis

to

the

other,

therefore

pivoting

the

data

todisplayitinadifferentway.

BlankForm Thiscommandcreatesanewemptyformwithablankcanvas.MoreForms Thiscommandopensasmallmenucontainingothercommands

relevanttotheuseofforms:

FormWizardwalksyouthroughthecreationofaform.Theendresultisacompleteworkingformthatcanbeusedright

away.

TheDatasheetcommandcreatesanewemptyform,butonethatyoucanusetoinsertdatalikeatable.Datasheet

formsarebeyondthescopeofthismanual.

Modaldialogueallowsyoutocreateanewformthatlooksjustlikeadialoguebox.ModalDialogueformsalsofeature

OKandCancelbuttonsbuiltin.

PivotTablesareawaytodisplaynumericaldataquickly.JustlikePivotCharts,fieldscanbemovedfromoneaxisto

anothertodisplayinformationaboutyourdataina

differentway.

FormDesign ThiscommandopensthecurrentlyselectedforminDesignview.

Letsaddacontroltoablankform.First,openanewblankformbyclickingtheBlankForm(

)commandintheCreateribbon.


5/41


Next,usetheViewmenuintheFormTools FormattingorHomeribbonandswitchtoDesign

view:

ThemajorityofcontrolsinAccesscanbeaddedtoaforminAccessbyclickinganddraggingan

areayou

want

to

designate

for

the

control.

For

example,

if

you

wanted

to

add

aText

box

to

the

emptyform,clickthetextboxcommandandthendraganarea:

Asyouclickanddrag,youwillseeacertainareaoftherulersturnblacktoindicatehowlarge

thecontrolis.Dontworryaboutmakingthecontrolsanexactsize;everycontrolcanbemoved


6/41


andresizedlater.Thetextboxcannowhavetextaddedtoit,andthelabelbesidethetextbox

canbemodifiedtodescribewhatthetextboxisfor:

Access2007featuresawiderangeofcommandsthatcanbeusedinaform.

ManyofthecommandsyoucanuseareverysimilartoonesusedintheMicrosoftWindows

operatingsystem.Letsquicklylookatwhateachicondoes:

Logo ThelogocommandpromptsyouforanimagefiletouseintheFormHeadersectionoftheForm.Itwillalwaysbepresentatthe

beginningofthepage.

Title ThiscommandaddsatitletotheFormHeadersection.

PageNumbers ClickthiscommandtoshowthePageNumbersdialoguebox.Selecttheoptionsandpositionyouwanttouseforyourform.


7/41


DateandTime ThiscommandshowstheDateandTimedialoguebox.Itallowsyoutoselecttheformattingoptionsyouwantforyourform:

TextBox Clickthiscommandandthenclickanddraganareaonthecanvastoaddthetextbox.Atextboxcanholdanytypeofdata

exceptgraphical.

Label Nearlyeverycontrolhasanassociatedlabel,onethattellsyouwhatthecommandiscalled.Clickanddraganareainthe

canvas.

Button Abuttonisusedtoperformsomesortofaction,liketheOKandCancelbuttonsofadialoguebox.Clickanddragthesizeof

buttonyouwant.

ComboBox Youshouldbeveryfamiliarwiththefunctionofcomboboxesbynow.Usecomboboxestohavetheuserpickanoptionoutofa

listofoptionsbyclickingthepulldownarrow.

ListBox Aboxthatworkssimilartoacombobox,butitcanbeexpandedto

show

all

of

its

contents.

A

user

simply

picks

the

option

out

of

thelisttheywanttouse.

Subform/Subreport Letsyoucreateaforminsideaformorareportinsideareport.

Line Clickanddragtodrawalineintheform.Usefulfordividingup


8/41


theformcomponentsintogroupssotheyareeasiertoread.

Rectangle Drawrectanglesintheformtohelpprovideavisualgroupofrelatedcomponents.

BoundObjectFrame Allowsyoutoenterandcontrolvariousexpressionsandlowleveloperationsthatcanbeperformedonthedatabase.OptionGroup Clickanddragaboxaroundagroupofcontrolstogroupthem

together.Usefulwhenusingradiobuttons;userscanselectone

optionoutofthegrouptoperformacertainaction.

CheckBox Whenchecked,theconditionboundtothecheckboxistrueoractive.Whenunchecked,theconditionisfalseorinactive

Option(Radio)Button

Usedtoselectacertainoption,andalmostalwaysingroupsof

twoor

more.

ToggleButtons Atogglebuttonscommandstaysineffectwhenclickedandwillremainsountilitisclickedagain.

TabControl Letsyoucreateaseriesoftabsinyourform,eachwithitsownoptions.Usefulifyouhavealargenumbersofcontrolsina

framethatcanbecategorized.

InsertPage Usethiscommandtoinsertapageintoacertainsectionofaform.

InsertChart ClickanddraganareaintheformtoopentheChartWizard.ThisWizardwillanalyzethedatacontainedinaqueryorreport

anddisplaydataforyouinagraphicalway.

UnboundObjectFrame Allowsyoutocreateaspecialwindowinsideaframethatyoucanusetoviewsomeotherdocumentwhilelookingatyour

form.Forexample,youcouldhaveasmallwindowcontaininga

PDFdocumentoraPowerPointpresentation.

Image Allowsyoutoplaceapictureinyourform.PageBreak Usedtocreateacutoffpointwhenprintingadocument.Even

thoughyoumaybeabletoseeeverythingonyourscreen,a

newpagewillalwaysprintoffwhenapagebreakis

encountered.

Hyperlink Thiscommandwillcreatealinktoanotherfile,Webpage,orresourceexternaltoyourdatabase.


9/41


Attachment Usethiscommandtoviewnonalphanumericdatacontainedinyourdatabase.

LineThickness Choosethethicknessofthelineyouhavecurrentlyselectedorareabouttomake.

LineType Choosealinepattern.LineColor Choosealinecolor.SpecialEffect Youcanapplyaspecialeffecttoabuttonorothercontrolto

makeitlooklikeitis3D,flat,orsunkenintotheform.

SetControlDefaults Usethiscommandtorevertacontrolspropertiesbacktothedefaultsetting.Select

All

Use

this

command

to

select

all

controls

contained

in

a

form.

Select Thiscommandletsyouselectacontrolsoyoucanmoveitaroundthecanvas.

UseControlWizards TogglethiscommandtohaveAccessautomaticallystartaWizardtohelpwiththecreationofdifferentcommandsina

form.

ActiveXControls ActiveXcontrolsarespecialtypesofcontrolsthatareusedtoenhancethefunctionalityofaform.Theycanbeusedassmall

toolbarsorapplicationsthatexecutefrominsideaform.

UsingtheControlWizardTheControlWizardoption,whenselected,willstarttheappropriateWizardtoguideyou

throughsettingupOptionGroups,ComboBoxes,ListBoxes,CommandButtons,Subforms,and

Subreports.Itisagoodideatoleavethistoggled(indicatedasactivewhenitisorangeincolor)

toguideyouthroughsettingupacontroluntilyoureachapointwhereyouarecomfortable

designingacontrolonyourown.


10/41


Whenyouclickanddragtheareayouwanttouseforthecontrol,theappropriateWizardwill

begin:

FollowthedirectionsprovidedintheWizardtoformatyourcontrol.

Cutting,Copying,Pasting,andMovingaControlThankstotheinteractiveandgraphicalcontrolprovidedbymostcomputerprograms(including

MicrosoftOffice)manyobjectscanbecut,copied,pasted,andmovedonyourscreen.When

workingwithaform,Accessletsyouperformalloftheseoptionswithyourmouse.


11/41


Letsconsiderthefollowingform,completewithafewbasiccontrols:

Youdecidethatthisformisnolongercompletelyservingyourpurposesandneedssome

adjusting.Thecomboboxisnotneeded,soitcanbecut.Youwilluseanothercheckbox,soyou

cancopyandpastetheoneyoualreadyhave.Andeverythingcanbeshiftedupintheformto

accountforthelossofthecombobox.

Toperformtheseactions,opentheforminDesignview.Whenyouclickonaform,youwillsee

thefollowinghandlesappear:

Inthediagramabove,thelabelforthecomboboxwasclickedtoselectit.Thelargebrownbox

intheupperlefthandcornerofthecontrolisusedtomovethecontrol,andthesmallerboxes

aroundtheoutsideedgeareusedtoexpandtheobjectinacertaindimension.Noticetoohow

thereisalargebrownboxintheupperlefthandcornerofthecomboboxitself;thismeans

thatthecomboboxisrelatedtothelabelthatiscurrentlyselected.

Tocutthecontrolwhenselected,pressCtrl+Xonyourkeyboard.Thelabeldisappearsandisplacedintheclipboardofthecomputer,butthecomboboxitselfstaysbehind.Thismightbe

usefulinsomescenariostohaveonlythecomboboxvisible,butforthisexamplewewantto

removetheentirecomboboxandlabel.


12/41


PressCtrl+ZtoundotheCutoperation,andinsteadclickanddragaselectionboxaroundthe

controls:

Nowpress

Ctrl

+Xto

cut

the

control.

If

you

are

planning

on

removing

the

combo

box

for

good,

youmightconsiderjustdeletingitinstead;simplyhighlighttheobject(s)andpressDeleteon

yourkeyboard.

ClickanddragaboxaroundtheCheckBoxanditslabel,andthenpressCtrl+C.Thisstoresa

copyofthecontrolintheclipboardofthecomputer.NowpressCtrl+Vtopastethecopied

checkbox:

Thenewcheckboxispasted,butdoesntlookverygoodwhenpastedontopofanother

control!


13/41


Usethearrowkeysonyourkeyboardtomovethecontrolupandtotherightofthefirstcheck

box:

Nowallofthecontrolsintheformcanbemoveduptooccupythespaceleftbehindbythe

combobox.Clickanddragaselectionboxaroundallofthecontrols,andthenusetheuparrow

onyourkeyboardtoshiftallofthecontrolstothetopoftheform:


14/41


FormattingaControlThedefaultstyleofformmaybefunctionalbutnotverygoodlooking.Youcanenhancethe

lookofacontrolbyusingtheFontsectionoftheFormTools Designribbon(ortheFont

sectionof

the

Home

ribbon).

If

you

are

familiar

with

Microsoft

Word

or

Excel,

or

other

such

softwareapplications,thistoolbarshouldlookfamiliar:

Hereyou

can

adjust

the

font,

font

size,

make

the

font

bold,

change

the

color,

or

apply

a

backgroundcolor.Ifyouapplyanewformattoacontrolanddontlikethelookofit,youcan

pressCtrl+Zonyourkeyboardtoundotheformattingchange.Also,ifyoumakeafontlarger

butcantseetheentirelabel,clickthelabelyoujustmodifiedanddragthesmallbrownboxes

aroundtheoutsideedgeinthedimensionyouneedtoexpand.


15/41


AdvancedFormControlsInthelastlessonwelearnedthataddingcontrolsandformattingthemiseasytodo.Nowwe

willintroducehowtomaketheformsworkforyoubymakingcontrolsinteractwitheachother

andyourdatabase.

ModifyingaControlsPropertiesLetsexamineoneoftheformsthatisalreadyconstructedintheNorthwindsampledatabase,

theEmployeeDetailsform:

Thisformisdesignedtoshowthedetailsofeachemployee.Itfeaturesacomboboxthatallows

youtoswitchbetweenemployees,alogo,atitle,manytextfields,andanattachmentfield(the

picture).


16/41


ThisformisbasedupontheEmployeestableinthesampledatabase:

Toseehowtheformisconstructedandtomodifypropertiesoftheform,opentheformin

Designview:


17/41


Thecomboboxintheupperlefthandcornerisusedtoswitchfromoneemployeetoanother.

Clickthecombobox(nottheGotolabel)andthenclickthePropertySheetcommandinthe

FormTools Designribbon.ThePropertySheetpanewillappearontherighthandsideofthe

screen:

Thereisnoshortageofpropertiestomodifyforacontrol(infactthereare102different

propertiesyou

can

modify

for

acombo

box!).

We

will

cover

how

to

modify

some

of

these

propertiesaswecontinuewiththislesson.

AtthetopofthePropertySheetisacomboboxyoucanusetoselectacontrolfromthelistof

controlsinthecurrentform.ThePropertySheetalsofeaturessometabsatthetopofthesheet

tobreakdownthelistofcommandsintocategorizedpieces:

FormatTab Controlshowanobjectwilllook.DataTab Performdatamodifications,includingaddingavalidationrule,makinga

defaultvalue,andmodifyingthecontrolsource.

EventTab Controlswhataparticularobjectwilldowhenyouinteractwithit(clickit,movethemouseoverit,etc.).

OtherTab AlternatecontrolslikeallowingAutoCorrectandadjustingthetaborder.AllTab Allcontrolscombined.


18/41


YoucanmodifythevaluesinthePropertiesdialogueboxbeenteringavaluedirectly,pickinga

YesorNooption,orselectinganoptionfromacombobox.

ChangingaControlsDataSourceThevastmajorityofformsarebuiltonthedatafromasingletable.InthecaseoftheEmployee

Detailsform,shownintheprevioussectionofthislesson,theformisconstructedfromallthe

datacontainedintheEmployeestable.Eachtextfieldcorrespondstoonefieldinthetable.

Accessmakesitveryeasytochangethecontrolsourceofanobject.First,opentheformin

Designview,clicktheobjectthatyouwanttochangethedatasource,andclicktheProperty

Sheetcommandintheribbon.WhenthePropertySheetpaneappears,clicktheDatatab.


19/41


Then,adjusttheControlSourcefieldbyusingthecombobox:

Asthe

form

is

created

from

asingle

table,

all

of

the

available

fields

in

that

table

are

listed

in

the

combobox.TheFirstNamecontrolintheformisbasedontheFirstNamefieldinthetable.

However,youarenotlimitedtousingthefieldsinonetable.Ifyouwanttoaddthevaluesfrom

someotherdatabaseobject,clickthe button.


20/41


ThiswillopentheExpressionBuilderdialoguebox:

TheExpressionBuilderletsyoudoanumberofthings.Youcanconstructlogicalexpressions,

extractinformationfromqueries,andcreatecalculations.Inthediagramabove,thenew

controlsourcewouldbethefirstnameofanemployee.Thisapplicationdoesntmakemuch

sense,buttheExpressionBuildermakesiteasytochangethecontrolsourcewithonlyafew

clicks.WewillexploretheuseoftheExpressionBuilderlaterinthismanual.

ChangingaControlsDefaultValueYoumayrecallthetermdefaultvalueusedearlierinthismanualwhenwediscussedtablesin

depth.Adefaultvalueisonethatwillbeautomaticallyfilledinuntilitischangedtosomething

else.

Addingormodifyingadefaultvalueforaformisnodifferentfromchangingthecontrolsdata

source.First,openaforminDesignviewandthenopenthepropertiesofaparticularobject.


21/41


TheDefaultValuefieldislocatedundertheDatatab:

Enteradefault

value

for

the

field

or

use

the

Expression

Builder

to

pick

another

value

from

a

table,query,orsomeotherdatabaseobject.

CreatingaCalculatedControlAcalculatecontrolisanobjectinaformthatperformssomesortofcalculationbasedondata

intheformordataextractedfromanothersource.Virtuallyeverycontrolcanbemadeintoa

calculatedcontrol.Considerthefollowingexample:

ThisformtakesthevaluesfromtheSubtotalandShippingtextboxesandaddsthemtogetherin

theTotaltextbox.


22/41


Morespecifically,theTotaltextboxcontainsamathematicalexpressionastheControlSource

property.

TheControlSourcefieldhasasimpleexpressionthataddstheSubtotalandShippingfields

togetheranddisplaystheresult.Letsusethisknowledgetomakeabasic(andcompletely

impractical!)calculatorusingAccess.WewillmakeanewforminDesignview,andthenadd

threetextboxes:


23/41


OpenthePropertySheetforthefirsttextfieldandclicktheOthertab.Entervalue1asits

Name.

Repeat

for

the

second

and

third

text

boxes,

naming

them

value2

and

total

respectively.

Now,

changetheFormatofeachtextboxtoGeneralNumber(intheFormatTab).ClicktheDatatab

forthetotaltextboxandenter=[value1]+[value2]intotheControlSourcefield.

Nowthatthecalculatorissetup,switchbacktoFormviewandentersomenumbers:


24/41


UsingFormPropertiesInFormDesignview,weknowthatclickingthePropertySheetcommandwilldisplaythe

propertiesforaselectedobject.Thecomboboxatthetopofthesheetletsyouviewthe

propertiesof

each

active

object

in

the

form,

as

well

as

the

Form

itself:

Therearealmost120propertiesthatcanbemodifiedinaform.Themajorityoftheproperties

youcanmodifygobeyondthescopeofthismanual,butAccessoffersmanyexamplesof

differentsettingsinitshelpfile.Beitatable,form,query,orreportproperty,whenyourcursor

isinsideapropertybox,pressF1onthekeyboardtoreaddetailsaboutthatspecificproperty

andhow

it

relates

to

the

parent

object.


25/41


FormattingYourFormWehaveseenhowtoadjustthepropertiesofthecontrolsinaform.Inthislessonwewill

exploreafewmoreusefuloptionsandcustomizablefeaturesofforms.

FormattingGridlinesIfyouhavetriedtomoveacontrolusingyourmouse,youhavenodoubtbecomealittle

frustratedtryingtogeteverythinglinedupneatly.Fortunately,Accessgivesyoutheabilityto

usethegridlayoutthatisvisibleinformDesignview:

Thesolidblacklinesaredefinedasa1grid.Youcanmodifytheresolutionofthedotmatrix

visibleinDesignview.Tomodifythissetting,openthePropertySheetfortheformordouble

clicktheformselectorbuttonwhileinDesignview:

ClicktheFormattabinthePropertieswindowandscrolldownuntilyoucanseetheGridXand

GridYproperties:


26/41


Thenumbersineachfielddenotehowmuchyoucansubdividethe1squaregridvisiblein

Designview.Thedefaultvalueis24,meaningthatthespacebetweenthedotsis1/24th

ofan

inch.Youcanadjustthesepropertiesfrom1to64.Bothvaluescanbeadjustedindependently,

thoughit

is

agood

idea

to

keep

both

values

either

the

same

or

multiples

of

each

other.

Changingthevaluesto12foreachfielddecreasestheresolutionbyhalf:

If

you

want

to

turn

off

the

gridlines

completely,

click

the

Show

Grid

command

in

the

Form

Tools

Arrangeribbon:

ModifyingtheFontFontscaneasilybechangedatanytimeineitherDesignorLayoutview.Simplyclicktheform

objectyouwanttomodifyandusetheFontsectionoftheFormTools Designribbon:


27/41


Youcan

change

the

font,

size,

style,

orientation,

and

color

with

these

commands.

But

imagine

youhaveaverylargeformwithseveralfieldsyouwanttomodifyatonce,suchasthe

EmployeeDetailsform:

ApplytheformattingyouwishtousefortheformtoasinglecontrolinDesignview:


28/41


29/41


30/41


UsingLayoutview,alongwithothertechniquessuchaschangingtheresolutionofthe

formattinggrid,letsyoucreateaformexactlytoyourliking.Ifyoudontlikeacertainchange

youmade,pressCtrl+Zonyourkeyboardtoundotheoperation.

FormattingControlsInthislessonwewillcoverafewmorecommandsthatareavailablewhenworkingwithaform.

ChangingtheColorofaControlThelookandfeelofnearlyeverycontrolcanbemodifiedinsomewaybymakinguseofthe

FormTools Designribbon.Considerthefollowingform,completewithafewdifferent

controls:


31/41


TheonlyoneofthecontrolsthatcannotbemodifiedarethetabsoftheTabControlobject

(withPage8andPage9asthetabs).Anythinginsidethetabscan,however,bemodified.

TheLineobjectcanhaveathickness,astyle,andacolor,asdefinedintheControlssectionof

theribbon:

AnyoftheothercontrolsthatincludetextofsomesortcanbemodifiedbyusingtheFont

sectionoftheribbon:

UsingControlPropertiesConsiderthecheckboxinthefollowingdiagram:

Itconsistsoftwodifferentobjects;thecheckboxitselfandalabel.Eachobjecthasitsownset

ofindividualproperties.Toviewthepropertiesofthisoranyobject,selecttheobjectandclick

thePropertySheetcommandintheribbon.Propertiesaremodifiablebyusingacombobox,

enteringavaluebyhand,andoccasionallyusingthe icontoopenaWizardorexternal

resourceinordertosetaproperty.Wewillusethecheckboxitselfasanexample.

FormatTab Modifyhowthecontrolwillappearintheformincludinghowwidetheborderaroundthecheckboxwillbe,whatsortofstylethecheckboxwill

have,thecoloroftheborder,andhowmuchspaceisaroundthecheck

box.

DataTab Acheckboxcanhaveacontrolsource(suchasaBooleanortrue/false)fromatable,avalidationrule,whethertheoptionisenabledand/or

locked,andevenifyouwouldliketohaveatriplestatecheckbox(one

thatiseithertrue,false,ornull.)

EventTab Controlswhatthecheckboxwilldowhenitisinteractedwith.Thisincludeswhatwillhappenifthemouseismovedontop,isclicked,is


32/41


33/41


Thiswillalignallcontrolstothebottomofthelowestcontrolintheform:

ClickingtheToWidestcommandexpandsallcontrolstothesamewidthasthewidestone

currentlyselected:


34/41


FormattingRecordsInthefinallessononforms,wewillcoverthelastofthecommandsandfunctionalityavailable

for

use.

ModifyingFontsRegardlessofifyouareinLayoutorDesignview,youalwayshavetheabilitytochangethefont

quicklyandeasily.UsetheFontsectionoftheHomeribbon(whichisalwaysaccessible),the

FormTools FormattingribbonwhileinLayoutview,andtheFormTools Designribbonwhen

inDesignview.

UsingAutoFormatWhenyoufirstbeginmakingforms,youwilllikelyusetheformWizardtogetyoustarted.

However,theWizardmaynotprovidethefunctionalityyouneed.Designingformsbyhandisa

bitmoretimeconsuming,andsometimesmakingaformlookabitpresentablegetspushed

downthelistofimportance.Luckily,Accessfeaturesformattingcolorschemesthatcanbe

appliedanytimebefore,during,orafterthecreationofaform.

ConsidertheEmployeeDetailsformfromtheNorthwindsampledatabase:


35/41


Thelinksatthetopofthepagehaveacertainlook,thelabelseachhavetheirownfontsizeand

color,andthetextboxesareallbrightandeasytoread.

However,iftheformwascurrentlyunformatted,orifyoudidntlikethelookoftheform,you

canusetheAutoFormatcommandtoapplyaformattingchange.


36/41


OpentheforminDesignview,andthenclickthepulldownarrowunderneaththeAutoFormat

commandintheFormTools Arrangeribbon:

Chooseanyofthe25predefinedformatstoapplytoyourform:


37/41


Accessalsogivesyoutheabilitytocustomizeaparticularformat.ClicktheAutoFormatWizard

buttonatthebottomoftheAutoFormatpulldownmenutoopentheAutoFormatdialogue

box:

Then,clicktheCustomizeb

Using the Format Ribbon

uttonontherighthandsidetomodifythespecificsofatemplate.

TheFormatribbonisvisiblewhenviewingaforminLayoutview.Letsexaminewhateach

sectionoftheribbonisusedfor:

Views Usethispulldowncommandtoswitchbetweendifferentviewsintheform:

Font Thissectionisusedtomodifythefontandstyleoftext.TheConditionalcommandisusedtoapplydifferentformattingstyles

accordingtocertainscenarios.Forexample,ifyouarecalculating


38/41


monetaryfigures,allpositivevaluescanbeboldandblackwhileall

negativevaluescanbehighlightedinred.

Formatting Theformattingsectionisusedtoapplyadifferenttextstyletocertainnumericaldata.Forexample,clickingthe$commandwill

formatanumbertolooklikecurrency.

Gridlines Ifyoucreateaformbaseduponanexistingtable,allofthefieldsintheformareconstructedasatable.Usethecommandsinthis

sectiontochangethelookofthedividinglinesinthetableorgrid.

Controls Thecontrolssectionletsyouaddotherfieldstothetable,addalogo,title,dateandtime,aswellasmodifythelookofanylinesor

rectanglesyourformmayalreadycontain.


39/41


AutoFormat Clicktheupanddownarrowsontherighthandsideofthesectiontoscrollthroughtheavailableformats.Clickthepulldownarrowto

displayallavailableformatoptions.

UsingtheArrangeRibbonInLayoutview,theLayoutribboncontainsthebasiccontrolsneededtoadjustthepositionof

theobjectsintheform:

ControlLayout Thissectionallowsyoutomoveacontrolorgroupofcontrolsaroundtheform,setmarginsoffreespacearoundcontrols,andset

thetaborderofthedifferentcontrols.

ControlAlignment Thissectionallowsyoutolineuptwoormorecommandssothatthey

are

all

as

left

as

the

leftmost,

as

right

as

the

rightmost,

or

as

highorlowasthehighestorlowestcommandintheselected

group.Thesecommandsareveryusefulwhenbuildingaformby

handandkeepingeverythingneatandtidy.

Position Thesecommandsdealwithhowobjectsinyourformrelatetoeachother

in

position.

The

Anchoring

command

allows

you

to

pin

a

controltotheformortoanothercontrolsuchthatiftheparent

controlshouldbechanged,thepinnedcontrolisformattedinthe

sameway.Othercontrolsinvolvemovingcontrolsasiftheywerein

layers,whereonecontrolisconcealedorontopofanother.


40/41


Tools Thissectioncontainsthecommandtoopenthepropertiesrelatingtothecurrentlyselectedobject.


41/41


ExpressionBuilder................................................................................................................... 20,21

FormatPainter.............................................................................................................................. 28

Forms

Addingcontrols........................................................................................................................... 5

Addinglogo

to

...........................................................................................................................

28

Aligningcontrols....................................................................................................................... 32

Andgridlines............................................................................................................................. 25

Arrangeribbon........................................................................................................ 26,32,36,39

AutoFormat............................................................................................................................... 34

Calculatedcontrols................................................................................................................... 21

Controloverview......................................................................................................................... 6

Controlproperties............................................................................................................... 15,31

Controlwizard............................................................................................................................. 9

Controlsdefaultvalue.............................................................................................................. 20

Designribbon...............................................................................................14, 17,26,28,30,34

Editingcontrolsin..................................................................................................................... 10

Formattingcontrols............................................................................................................ 14,30

Formattingribbon..................................................................................................................... 37

Modifyingacontrolsdatasource............................................................................................ 18

Properties.................................................................................................................................. 24

Typesof....................................................................................................................................... 3

Whatare?.................................................................................................................................... 3

PDF.................................................................................................................................................. 8

Ribbons

Create...................................................................................................................................... 3,4

Home...............................................................................................................................

5,

14,

34

Tables

Defaultvalue....................................................................................................................... 17,26

office of information technology

Documents