Microsoft Access 2010 Bible

Part IV: Professional Database Development

1014

Only one option in the SplitButton list can be selected. As soon as an item in the list is selected, the

SplitButton closes and the action selected by the user is performed.

The button portion of the SplitButton control is independently programmable.

DropDown

The DropDown is shown in Figure 29.5. Although the DropDown looks very much like a combo

box, they are not the same type of object. Notice that the items in the drop-down list in Figure

29.4 include not only text (Clear All Filters, Filter By Form, and so on), but also an image and

ToolTip help (not shown in Figure 29.5) associated with each item.

FIGURE 29.5

The DropDown control simplifies a user’s selections.

Only one item in the list can be selected at a time, providing an easy-to-understand interface for

your users, when a limited number of options exist.

The SplitButton and DropDown are very similar in many ways. They both expose a list when

clicked and present a list of single-select items. The main difference is that a SplitButton is, liter-

ally, split into two portions (horizontal or vertical), whereas the DropDown simply drops down the

list when clicked.

Gallery

The Gallery presents the user with an abbreviated view of different options for formatting and

other tasks. Figure 29.6 shows a Gallery of famous fictional characters.

Gallery controls are used extensively in Access for displaying options such as ForeColor,

BackColor, and font selections.