Chapter 7: Creating Basic Access Forms......................................................................................
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l (^) Multiple Items: This is a simple tabular form that shows multiple records bound to
the selected data source.
l (^) Datasheet: Creates a form that is displayed as a datasheet.
l Split Form: Creates a split form, which shows a datasheet in the upper, lower, left, or
right area of the form, and a traditional form in the opposite section for entering infor-
mation on the record selected in the datasheet.
l (^) Modal Dialog: Provides a template for a modal dialog form. A modal dialog form
(often called a dialog box) stays on the screen until the user provides information
requested by the dialog, or is dismissed by the user.
l PivotChart: Instantly creates a PivotChart form.
l (^) Pivot Table: Creates a form consisting of a PivotTable.
If any of the terminology in the preceding bullets is new to you, don’t worry — each of these terms
is discussed in detail in this chapter. Keep in mind that the Access ribbon and its contents are very
context dependent, so every item may not be available at the time you access the Create tab.
Creating a new form
Like many other aspects of Access development, Access provides multiple ways of adding new
forms to your application. The easiest is to select a data source, such as a table, and click the Form
command in the Create ribbon tab. Another is to use the Form Wizard and allow the wizard to
guide you through the process of specifying a data source and other details of the new form.
Using the Form command
Use the Form command in the ribbon’s Form group to automatically create a new form based on a
table or query selected in the Navigation Pane.
Note
This process was called AutoForm in previous versions of Access.
To create a form based on tblProducts, follow these steps:
- Select tblProducts in the Navigation Pane.
- Select the Create tab on the ribbon.
- Click on the Form command in the Form group.
Access creates a new form containing all the fields from tblProducts displayed in
Layout view, shown in Figure 7.2. Layout view lets you see the form’s data while chang-
ing the layout of controls on the form. (The form shown in Figure 7.2 is included in the
Chapter07.accdb example database as tblProducts_AutoForm.)