Microsoft Access - Tip # 4: Other Form (and Report) Design Tips

(NOTE: A 'control' is any field/item within the form or report, e.g. text box, checkbox.)

The following features are particulary useful when designing forms and reports in MS Access. Firstly, open the form or report in design view - within the Database Window Forms Objects list, select the form or report and either click on the Design Button, , or press CTRL + ENTER.

Selecting Multiple Form Controls

• To select two or more random controls, use the SHIFT key. (I.e. click on the first control, then hold down the SHIFT key, then click on second control, then click on third control, etc.)
• To select a (rectangle) range of controls, move the mouse pointer to the top-left area of the required selection. CLICK and HOLD and DRAG the around the required controls.
• To select a horizontal (vertical) line of controls, position the mouse pointer at the left-hand side (top) of the screen within the vertical (horizontal) ruler area, adjacent to (above) the controls to be selected, and CLICK. An example when this would be convenient is aligning controls top or bottom (left or right).
• Following on from the above example (selecting a horizontal or vertical line of controls), to select a 'band' of controls/fields. As above, position the mouse pointer within the vertical (horizontal) ruler area on the left-hand side (top) of the screen. Then CLICK and HOLD and either (a) DRAG vertically (horizontally) until the required controls are selected, or (b) for a large (long) report when it is necessary to select a large number of controls (vertically), press the PAGE DOWN key and DRAG upward or downward until the required controls are selected. RELEASE the mouse button. An example when this would be convenient is moving a large range of controls upward or downward.

Aligning, Spacing, Sizing Controls

These features are available on the FORMAT menu. To make them more readily available the equivalent toolbuttons can be added to any toolbar (RIGHT CLICK on any toolbar and select CUSTOMIZE).

• Controls can be aligned Left, Right, Top, Bottom or To Grid.
• The vertical or horizontal spacing between the selected controls can be Made Equal, Increased or Decreased.
• The size of controls can be adjusted subject to the range of controls selected - the Tallest, Shortest, Widest, Narrowest. Or To Fit (resizes the text box to fit the font size applied to the control or resizes the label to fit the text entered for the label) or To Grid.