Microsoft Access 2010 Bible

Part III: More-Advanced Access Techniques

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In Access, you can change a control to any other compatible type (a process sometimes called mor-

phing the control). For example, a text box can be changed to a label, list box, or combo box.

Simply right-click the control and select the Change To command from the shortcut menu to see

the options. Figure 19.8 shows the options for changing a text-box control.

FIGURE 19.8

Access lets you change the type of a control without losing the properties you’ve already set.

The choices you see in the shortcut menu are specific for the type of control you’re changing. For

example, an option button can be changed to a check box or toggle button, but not to a text box.

Using the Format Painter

Access includes a format painter that functions much like the same feature in Word. When creating

a form, you set the appearance of a control (its border, font, special effects, like sunken or raised)

and then click the Format Painter button on the Font group in the ribbon’s Design tab to copy the

properties to a special internal buffer. When you click another control of the same type, the

appearance characteristics of the selected control are transferred to the second control. In Figure

19.9, the format properties of one text box are about to be “painted” onto the City text box. (The

little paintbrush adjacent to the mouse pointer that tells you you’re in Paint mode.)

You can lock the Format Painter by double-clicking its button in the Access ribbon. Note that not

all properties are painted onto the second control. The size, position, and data properties of the

control are not affected by the Format Painter. Only the most basic text properties are influenced

by the Format Painter.