Chapter 31: Distributing Access Applications
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An application switchboard
An application switchboard is essentially a steering wheel for users to find their way through the
functions and forms that are available in the application. Use the switchboard itself as a navigation
form, using buttons to display other forms, as shown in the switchboard example in Figure 31.7.
This is the switchboard named frmSwitchboard created for the Collectible Mini Cars database
in this book.The switchboard provides a familiar place where users can be assured that they won’t get lost in
the application.FIGURE 31.7The switchboard provides a handy way to navigate throughout the application.
Tip
Make sure that the switchboard redisplays whenever the user closes a form.
An About box
The About box (like the one shown in Figure 31.8) contains your company and copyright informa-
tion, as well as the application name and current version. Including your application’s licensee
information (if you keep such information) in the About box is also a good idea.The About box serves as legal notice of ownership and makes your application easier to support by
giving your users easy access to the version information. Some advanced About boxes call other
forms that display system information. You can make the About box as fancy as you want, but usu-
ally a simple one works just fine.