The Form View

Introduction

Microsoft Access supports various types of views for forms (and reports). One of them, the most regularly used as we have seen so far, shows one record at a time. This is referred to as the Form View or the Single Form.

To create a form view:

• On the Ribbon, click Create. In the Forms section:
  • Click Form
  • Click Blank Form
• Start the Form Wizard. After selecting the columns in the first step, in the second step, accept or select the Columnar option:

  

If the form exists already or if you are designing the form, in the Property Sheet of the form, click Format and set the Default View to Single Form:

Practical Learning: Introducing Form Views

1. Start Microsoft Access
2. Click Blank Desktop Database
3. Set the file name to Metro System1
4. Click Create
5. Leave the default table without closing it.
   On the Ribbon, click Create
6. In the Tables section, click Table Design
7. Create the fields as follows:
    

   Field Name	Field Size	Caption
   MetroLine	10	Metro Line
   Summary

8. In the top section of the window, right-click MetroLine and click Primary Key
9. Right-click the table's tab and click Datasheet View
10. When asked whether you want to save the table now, click Yes
11. Set the table name to MetroLines and press Enter
12. Create a few records as follows:
     

    MetroLine	Summary
    Red	Connects Shady Grove to Glenmont, goes through DC, intersects with Orange, Blue, Green, Yellow and Silver Lines.
    Green	Connects Greenbelt to Branch Ave, goes through DC, intersects with Orange, Blue, and Silver Lines, tracks with Yellow Line.
    Blue	Connects Franconia-Springfield to Largo Town Center, on one part shares tracks with Yellow Line, on another part shares tracks with Orange and Silver Lines.
    Yellow	Connects Fort Totten to Huntington, on one part shares  tracks with Yellow Line, on another part shares tracks with Blue Line.
    Orange	Runs from Vienna to New Carollton, through DC, intersects with Green and Yellow lines, shares tracks with Blue and Silver lines.

13. Close the table
14. On the default table, double-click ID to edit it
15. Type StationID and press Enter
16. Right-click the table's tab and click Design View
17. Set the table name to MetroStations and press Enter
18. Complete the table as follows:
     

    Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Caption
    StationID (Primary Key)			Station ID
    StationNumber	Number		Station #
    StationName		50	Station Name
    MetroLine		10	Metro Line
    Location

19. Right-click the table's tab and click Datasheet View
20. When asked whether you want to save the table now, click Yes
21. Create a few records as follows:
     

    Station #	Station Name	Metro Line	Location
    2014	Shady Grove	Red	Rockville, MD
    1862	Greenbelt	Green	Greenbelt, MD
    1862	Greenbelt	Yellow	Greenbelt, MD
    1660	Rockville	Red	Rockville, MD
    7940	Vienna/Fairfax-GMU	Orange	Fairfax, VA
    3940	College Park-U of MD	Green	College Park, MD
    2747	Largo Town Center	Blue	Largo, MD
    9722	Twinbrook	Red	Rockville, MD
    3940	College Park-U of MD	Yellow	College Park, MD
    9283	Prince George's Plaza	Green	Hyattsville, MD
    2938	Morgan Boulevard	Blue	Landover, MD
    9571	Dunn Loring-Merrifield	Orange	Vienna, VA

22. Close the table
23. On the Ribbon, click Create
24. In the Forms section, click Form Design
25. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers
26. In the Property Sheet, click Data and click Record Source
27. In the Record Source, select MetroLines
28. Save the form as MetroLines
29. In the Tools section of the Ribbon, click Add Existing Fields
30. In the Field List, double-click LineName
31. Double-click Summary
32. Design the form as you see fit. Here is an example:

    

33. Close the form
34. When asked whether you want to save, click Yes

Charateristics of a Form View

A form should have a tab or a title bar. If you want to allow the user to select one or more records, the form view should have a record selector, which is controlled by the Record Selectors property.

A form behaves like a wizard, which is a windows made of contiguous pages that follow one another. As we know already, to move from one record to another, the user can click the navigation buttons in the bottom part of the form.

A Form for Data Entry

To create a new record, the user can click the New (Blank) Record button and start typing. Microsoft Access provides an alternative that allows you to present a ready-made form to the for data entry only. The most important characteristics of this form is that its Data Entry field in the Property Sheet must be set to Yes.

To create a form specially made for data entry, start or display a form in Design View. In the Property Sheet, set the following characteristics:

• Record Source: Set it to the table that holds the records
• Navigation Buttons: Set this property to No because the user will not need to move back and forth among records
• Data Entry: This is the most important property for this purpose. Its default value is No. For a data entry form, set this property to Yes

Introduction to the Tabular Form

Overview

A tabular form displays its data in rows, that is, many records in the same view:

Actually, a tabular form displays its record in a section. Instead of showing one record at a time, the form can show as many records as its size allows. Here is an example:

This type of form is referred to as continuous because the records are displayed continuously in the same view. If the number of records is not too high, all of them would display. If there are more records than the form's size can allow to view, some records would be hidden. To view them, you can use the scroll bars.

Introduction to Creating a Tabular Form

To create a tabular form:

• On the Ribbon, click Create. In the Forms section, click More Forms, and click Multiple Items
• Start the Form Wizard. After selecting the columns in the first step, in the second step, click the Tabular option

If the form exists already or if you are designing the form, in the Property Sheet of the form, click Format and set the Default View to Coontinuous Forms

Creating a Tabular Form from Juxtaposed Controls

A tabular form has its controls positioned next to each other in their respective sections. This means that they appear like cells of a table. Instead of adding and positioning them manually, Microsoft Access provides faster means. To proceed, select the control. Then, in the Table section of the Arrange tab of the Ribbon, click Tabular .

To select the controls of a juxtaposed group, click one of them and click the cross cursor on the left. As an alternative, click one of the controls. On the Ribbon, click Arrange and use the buttons in the Rows & Column section.

Practical Learning: Creating a Tabular Form from Juxtaposed Controls

1. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
2. In the list of files, click StatesStatistics1
3. On the Ribbon, click Create
4. In the Forms section, click Form Design
5. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers.
   In the Property Sheet, click the All tab
6. Change the following characteristics:
   Caption: States Statistics - Summary
   Record Source: States
   Default View: Continuous Forms
7. To save the form, press Ctrl + S
8. Set the form name as Summary and press Enter
9. In the Tools section of the Ribbon, click Add Existing Fields
10. In the Field List, click Abbreviation
11. Press and hold Shift
12. Click Capital
13. Release Shift
14. Drag the selection to the form

    

15. On the Ribbon, click Arrange
16. Make sure all controls are selected on the form.
    In the Table section, click Tabular

    

17. In the Form Header section, click the square button and hold your mouse down

    

18. Drag the selected controls to the left so that the group aligns with the left border of the form

     
    

19. Click an unoccupied area of the form to dismiss the selection
20. In the Detail section, click and drag Abbreviation up to position it just under the Detail bar

    

21. Press Ctrl + A to select all controls on the form
22. In the Table section of the Arrange tab of the Ribbon, click the Remove Layout button
23. Resize the Detail section to be just enough for the controls on the form
24. In the Form Footer section, drag the bottom border completely up

    

25. Change the caption of the Abbreviation label (you can click it, then click it again to put it into edit mode) to Abbrv
26. Change the caption of the StateName label to State
27. Resize the abbreviations label and text box to be just wide enough for the Abbreviation label
28. Resize the state label and the text box to be enough to accommodate the widest name of a state
29. On the form,. click the Form Header bar
30. On the Ribbon, click Home
31. In the Text Formatting section, click the down-pointing arrow of the Background Color and select Blue, Accent 5, Darker 50% (Theme Colors: 9th column, 6th row)
32. Click inside the vertical ruler on the left of the Form Header section to select all labels
33. In the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Font combo box and select Century (if you don't have that font, select Times New Roman)
34. Click the arrow of the Font Size combo box and select 12
35. Click the arrow of the Font Color button and select Blue, Accent 1, Lighter 80% (Theme Colors: 5th column, 2nd row)

    

36. Click inside the vertical ruler on the left of the Detail section to select all text boxes
37. On the Ribbon, click Format
38. Click the arrow of the Font combo box and select Century (if you don't have that font, select Times New Roman)
39. In the Control Formatting section, click the arrow of the Shape Fill button and click Transparent
40. In the Control Formatting section, click the arrow of the Shape Outline button and click Transparent:

    

41. Click the Detail bar
42. In the Font section of the Format tab of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Background Color and select Blue, Accent1, Lighter 40% (Theme Colors: 5th column, 4th row)

    

43. Save the form

Characteristics of a Tabular Form

Introduction

A tabular form has some characteristics that set it apart from the Form View. For example, a tabular form should (must) have a form header and a Detail section. It can also have a form footer section. When desining the form, you should (must) put the labels of the controls in the form header.

The Record Selectors

On a tabular form, the record selector is the box on the left side of each individual record. This means that the view of the form can display many record selectors, one for each record:

The Alternate Color

An alternate color is one that displays in every other record. For example, if you create a tabular form or report, you can make all rows show their backgrounds in the same color. Here is an example:

To make even rows show their background in one color and odd rows show their background in another color, first set the background color as seen in the previous section. For the alternate color, display the form or report in Design View. On the Ribbon, click Format:

• In the Background section of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Alternate Row Color button and proceed to select or create a color:

• Right-click the Header bar or an empty area in the header section, position the mouse on Alternate Fill/Back Color and select a color from the window

• Access the Property Sheet of the header section. In the Format or the All tab, click the Alternate Back Color field. Use either the arrow of the combo box to select a color by name or use the ellispsis button to select color by viewing it:

Here is an example:

Practical Learning: Setting the Alternate Color

1. On the form, click the Detail bar if necessary.
   In the Font section of the Format tab of the Ribbon, click the arrow of the Alternate Row Color button and select Blue, Accent1, Lighter 80% (Theme Colors: 5th column, 2nd row)
2. To preview the form, on the right side of the status bar, click the Form View button :

   

3. Save the form
4. After viewing the form, on the right side of the status bar, click the Design View button

The Navigation Buttons

Remember that all records of a tabular form displayin the same view. For this reason, when desigging the form, you should set its Navigation Buttons to No.The lower left section of a form displays the same navigation buttons as the table: the First Record button , the Previous Record button , the Current Record text box , the Next Record button , the Last Record button , and the New (Blank) Record button

Unlike the table, the form does not require the navigation buttons. To let you display or hide the navigation buttons, the Property Sheet of the form is equipped with the Navigation Buttons property.

Practical Learning: Hiding the Navigation Buttons of a Form

1. Double-click the button at hte intersection of the rulers.
   In the Property Sheet, click the Format tab
2. In the Property Sheet, double-click Navigation Buttons to set its value to No
3. To preview the form, right-click the Central tab and click the Form View button

   

4. Close the form
5. When asked whether to save the changes, click Yes
6. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
7. In the list of files, click FunDS1 from the previous lesson
8. On the Ribbon, click Create
9. In the Forms section, click Form Design
10. Right-click the form and click Form Header/Footer
11. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers.
    In the Property Sheet, click the All tab and change the following properties:
    Record Source: StoreItems
    Caption: Fun Department Store - Store Items
    Default View: Continuous Forms
    Navigation Buttons: No
12. Save the form as StoreItems
13. In the Tools section of the Ribbon, click Add Existing Fields
14. In the Field List, double-click ItemNumber, Manufacturer, Category, SubCategory, ItemName, and ItemSize
15. On the form, right-click the left ItemSize (the label) and click Cut
16. Right anywhere in the Form Header section and click Paste
17. Move the label to the right side to make room
18. In the same way, cut the other labels from the Detail section, paste them in the Form Header section
19. Design the form as follows:

    

20. To preview the form, right-click its title bar and click Form View
21. Create the following records:
     

    Item #	Manufacturer	Category	Sub-Category	Item Name	Item Size
    290699	Ralph Lauren	Women	Shoes	Whip Snake Print Perfect	6.5
    379367	Calvin Klein	Men	Shoes	Hervey Square-Toe Leather	11
    746827		Women		Oyster Long Satin Nightgo
    388729	AK Anne Klein	Women	Shoes	Claw Buckle-Detail Wedge	1
    668156	Ralph Lauren	Girls	Dresses	Girls 2-6x Casey Cotton T	4/4T
    345500	Calvin Klein	Women	Skirts	Petite Crossing Paths Pri	12
    430669	Kenneth Cole New York	Women	Jewelry	Goldtone Beaded Double-Dr
    426643	Calvin Klein	Men	Accessories	Knit Scarf
    136843	AK Anne Klein	Women	Watches	Ladies White Ceramic Crys
    366154	Coach	Girls	Dresses	Girls 2-6X Cotton Tiered	6X
    735312	Cole Haan	Women	Watches	Ladies Black Python-Embos
    388663	Lauren by Ralph Lauren	Women	Belts	Braided Leather Belt	Medium
    441180	Ralph Lauren	Girls	Shirts	Girls 2-6X Short-Sleeved	3/3T
    211771	Ralph Lauren	Women	Dresses	Petite Knit Tweed Short S	12
    545127	Calvin Klein	Men	Shoes	Suede Desert Boots	9.5
    239679	Lauren by Ralph Lauren	Women	Dresses	Sleeveless Shimmer Dress	6

22. Close the form
23. When asked whether you want to save the form, click Yes

Datasheet Forms

Introduction

A datasheet form displays exactly like a table. To create a datasheet form:

• On the Ribbon, click Create. In the Forms section, click More Forms, and click Datasheet
• Start the Form Wizard. After selecting the columns in the first step, in the second step, click the Datasheet option

You can also display any form in Datasheet View. To do this:

• If the form is currently displaying in Form View
  • Right-click somewhere on the form (either its tab/title bar or any part of its body), and click Datasheet View
  • On the Ribbon, click Home. In the Views section (on the left side of the Ribbon), click the arrow button under View, and click Datasheet View
• On the status bar, click the Datasheet View button

On a datasheet form, the record selector is the same as for a table in datasheet view.

Characteristics of a Datasheet Form

A datasheet form is primarily designed like a Form View. This means that during designs, you can include the form header and the footer sections. You can then add the controls as you see fit. When the form displays, only the controls of the Detail section will display. This is not an anomaly but made by design. For example, you can add controls in the form footer section so that those control would hold values that you are aware of and can use in your expressions but the user doesn't need to see such values or controls.

A Split Form

A split form is made of two sections:

To automatically generate a split form, in the Navigation Pane, click the table that holds the records. Then, on the Ribbon, click Create. In the Forms section, click Split Form. To create a split form by design, start a form in Design View or display an existing form in Design View. In the Property Sheet of the form, set its Record Source to the table that holds the value andset its Default Value to Split Form. If it is a brand new form without some previously created fields, use the Field List to add the desired fields to it.

Sub-Forms (and Sub-Reports)

Introduction

A sub-form (or a sub-report) is a form (or a report) that is position on the body of another form (or another report). In order to "include" one form (or report) into another form (or report), both objects must have a relationship. The form (or report) that is hosting the other form (or the other report) is the parent and has (or must have) a primary key. The form (or report) that is added to the parent is called the child form (or child report) and must have a foreign that will communicate with the primary key of the parent table.

Microsoft Access Automatic Sub-Forms

Microsoft Access provides various techniques you can use to create a sub-form. The simplest technique consists of using a wizard. To generate a form that contains a sub-form, start the Form Wizard. In the first page of the wizard, in the Tables/Queries combo box, select the parent object and, in the Available Fields list, select the fields you want to display on the form. Then, in the Tables/Queries combo box again, select the child list. In the Available Fields list, select the fields that the sub-form should display. Continue with the wizard. In the second page, you must be able to identify the relationship that will control the link between both lists. In other words, you must be able to identify the primary key from the parent table and the foreign key from the child table. Once this is clear, you can continue. In the third page of the wizard, you will decide how you want the subform to display, as a tabular list or as a datasheet. After making this decision, you can continue.

Practical Learning: Automatically Creating an Auto-Subform

1. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
2. In the list of files, click VideoCollection1
3. On the Ribbon, click Create
4. In the Forms section, click Form Wizard
5. In the Tables/Queries combo box, select Table: Directors
6. In the Available Fields list box, double-click Director

   

7. In the Tables/Queries combo box, select Table: Videos
8. In the Available Fields list box, double-click the following fields to select them: Title, CopyrightYear, Length, and Rating

   

9. Click Next
10. In the second page, make sure by Directors is selected (if not, click it)

    

    Click Next
11. In the 3rd page, click the Tabular radio button

    

12. Click Next
13. In the 4th page of the wizard, accept the name of the (main) form as Directors.
    Change the name of the subform to sfVideos

    

14. Click Finish

    

15. After viewing the form, close it

Sub-Forms and Sub-Report Design

The alternative to the Form Wizard is to design your own sub-form or sub-report. You have various options:

• You can create a form using the Form Wizard, then design a separate sub-form and add it to the form
• You can create both the form and its sub-form using the Form Wizard, then modify their designs
• You can design both the form and the sub-form separately, then join them

A sub-form can be created as a tabular form. To use a tabular form as sub-form, its record source must include a foreign key that corresponds to the primary key of the record source of the hosting form.

Practical Learning: Creating and Using a Sub-Form

1. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
2. In the list of files, click Metro System1
3. On the Ribbon, click Database Tools
4. In the Relationships section, click the Relationships button
5. In the Show Table dialog box, double-click MetroLines
6. Double-click MetroStations
7. Close the Show Table dialog box
8. Drag MetroLine from MetroLines and drop it on MetroLine in MetroStations
9. In the Edit Relationships dialog box, make sure MetroLine is selected in both combo boxes and click Create

   

10. Close the Relationships window
11. When asked whether you want to save the changes, click Yes
12. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
13. In the list of files, click Ceil Inn1 from the previous lesson
14. On the Ribbon, click Create
15. In the Forms section, click Form Design
16. Right-click the form and click Form Header/Footer
17. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers
18. In the Property Sheet for the form, click the All tab and change the following properties:
    Record Source: Occupancies
    Default View: Continuous Forms
    Width: 6.5
    Navigation Buttons: No
19. Save the form as sfOccupancies
20. In the Tools section of the Ribbon, click Add Existing Fields
21. In the Field List, double-click DateOccupied, RoomNumber, RateApplied, and PhoneUse
22. Click an unoccupied area of the form to dismiss the selection
23. On the form, right-click the left Location (the label) and click Cut
24. Right-click the area under Form Header and click Paste
25. Move the label to the right side
26. In the same way, move the labels from the Detail section to the Form Header section
27. Position the labels so you can see them and complete the design of the sub-form as you like. Here is an example:

    

28. Close the form
29. When asked whether you want to save the changes, click Yes
30. In the Navigation Pane, right-click the Customers form and click Design View
31. In the Navigation Pane, drag sfOccupancies and drop it on the form
32. Complete the design of the form as you see fit. Here is an example:

    

33. Save and close the sub-form
34. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
35. In the list of files, click FunDS1
36. On the Ribbon, click Create
37. In the Forms section, click Form Design
38. Right-click the form and click Form Header/Footer
39. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers.
    In the Property Sheet, click the All tab and change the following properties:
    Record Source: SoldItems
    Default View: Continuous Forms
    Navigation Buttons: No
40. Save the form as sfSoldItems
41. In the Tools section of the Ribbon, click Add Existing Fields
42. In the Field List, double-click SoldItemID, ItemNumber, ItemName, and ItemSize
43. On the form, right-click the left ItemSize (the label) and click Cut
44. Right anywhere in the Form Header section and click Paste
45. Move the label to the right side
46. In the same way, cut the other labels from the Detail section, paste them in the Form Header section
47. Design the form as follows:

    

48. Close the form
49. When asked whether you want to save the form, click Yes

A Datasheet as a Sub-Form

A sub-form can be presented as a datasheet, in which case it would display exactly like a table, a series of columns and cells.

Practical Learning: Using a Datasheet as a Sub-Form

1. On the Ribbon, click File and click Open
2. In the list of files, click Road System1
3. On the Ribbon, click Create
4. In the Forms section, click Form Design
5. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers
6. In the Property Sheet for the form, click the All tab and change the following properties:
   Record Source: to Intersections
   Default View: Datasheet
   Navigation Buttons: No
   
7. Save the form as sfIntersections
8. In the Tools section of the Ribbon, click Add Existing Fields
9. In the Field List, double-click Road2
10. Double-click InNear
11. On the form, remove 2 from the left Road2 (the label) to display Road
12. Change the caption of the left InNear (the label) to display In/Near

    

13. In the Design View of the Ribbon, in the Views section, click the View button
14. Double-click the right border of the In/Near column to make it fit the widest text
15. Using the buttons in the Formatting section of the Datasheet tab and the buttons in the Text Formatting section of the Home tab of the Ribbon, design the datasheet as you see fit. Here is an example:

    

16. Close the datasheet sub-form
17. When asked whether you want to save the changes, click Yes

Dialog Boxes

Introduction

A dialog box is a rectangular object that is used to host or carry other controls:

Creating a Dialog Box

To create the dialog box, start a form in Design View. To convert an existing form into a dialog box, set its Border Style property value to Dialog:

This reduces the system buttons to the Close button only. There are two types of dialog boxes: modal and modeless.

Practical Learning: Creating a Modal Dialog Box

1. On the Ribbon, click Create and, in the Forms section, click Form Design
2. Double-click the button at the intersection of the rulers to access its properties.
   In the Property Sheet, click the Format tab and click Border Style
3. Click the arrow of the Border Style field and select Dialog
4. Switch the form to Form View to preview
5. Switch it back to Design View
6. To complete the dialog box, in the Format tab of the Property Sheet, change the following properties:
   Auto Center: Yes
   Record Selectors = No
   Navigation Buttons = No

Modal Dialog Boxes

A dialog box is characterized as modal if the user must close it before continuing with another task on the same application.

Modeless Dialog Boxes

A dialog box is referred to as modeless if the user does not have to close it in order to continue using the application that owns the dialog box. To create a modeless dialog box, or to convert a form into a modeless dialog box, in Design View, set the Popup property (Other and All tabs) to Yes.

Practical Learning: Creating a Modeless Dialog Box

1. The dialog box should still be opened in the Design View.
   To make it a modeless dialog box, in the Property Sheet, click the Other tab. Double-click Pop Up to change its value from No to Yes
2. Close the form
3. When asked whether you want to save, click No

A Message Box

Introduction

A message box is a smaller and simpler version of a dialog box. It is used to display a piece of information to the user. The message box is equipped with a button the user can click to dismiss the message box.

Creating a Message Box

Unlike a form or a dialog box, a message box is not designed. Instead, to create a message box, you use MsgBox() (in the next lesson, we will see where you can type it. In the parentheses, enter the message you want to display. Obviously the message is provided as t3ext. Therefore it should be included inside double-quotes.

Practical Learning: Ending the Lesson

1. Close Microsoft Access

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