Access 2007: The Missing Manual

Chapter 13. Designing Advanced Forms

Forms suit a database like pocket protectors on a programmer. They streamline day-to-day tasks and give your database a sharp, distinctive look. In order to be a master database builder, you need to be able to craft top-notch forms.

In the previous chapter, you learned how to design several common types of forms. In this chapter, you’ll take form building to the next level with a whole new arsenal of techniques. First, you’ll learn how to create a form in the no-holds-barred Design view, where you can tweak and polish every square inch of your form. Then, you’ll take a tour of Access’s different controls, and jazz up your form with links, tabbed panels, and buttons. You’ll also learn how to work with linked tables by creating special types of forms called subforms that work in harmony with other forms.

Customizing Forms in Design View

In the previous chapter, you learned how to quickly create different forms using the ribbon’s buttons and the Form wizard. But serious form gurus take a different approach—they build a form by hand. There are two ways you go about this task:

• Create a form in Layout view. Choose Create → Forms → Blank Form. Then, drag the fields you want from the Field List pane onto your form (Figure 13-1). You learned everything you need to pull this off in Chapter 12. You can quickly create a standard form with a stacked or tabular layout, but it doesn’t give you any extra frills.

  Figure 13-1. When you drop your first field onto a ...