access vba courses in london - Forms

Hello Kirsten

Thanks for your Access question. This is a frequently asked one.

To achieve what you want to here, you will need to modify some of the settings in Access. A user can edit the tables and design of a form or report if the have access to two things:

1. DESIGN VIEW BUTTON
2. DATABASE WINDOW

Both of these can be switched off, however, you need a way of allowing them to access the form, and also a way of accessing the database window yourself to make changes.

You need to use a SWTICHBOARD, which will allow a user to open only the objects you specify. You can find this under TOOLS > DATABASE UTILITIES > SWITCHBOARD MANAGER
Simply add some commands to the switchboard (OPEN FORM or OPEN REPORT), give them a label and specify the form or report you want to open.

The switchboard manager creates a new table and form called SWITCHBOARD. See if you can do this, and test to see that it works.


Next you will need to hide the database window, the design view button, and make sure that the SWITCHBOARD is showing.

Go to: TOOLS > STARTUP
In there you will see several tick boxes and other settings.
In the top-right area, you will see a box that says DISPLAY FORM/PAGE. Drop this down and select SWITCHBOARD. This will display the switchboard when the database starts.

Next untick the ALLOW FULL MENUS and SHOW DATABASE WINDOW. This will hide the database window, and the toobars

Now, exit the database, and reload. See if this achieves your goals. If so, great, if not, let me know.

There is just one last thing to cover - how to get back into your database to make changes to the structure.
TWO WAYS.

- press F11 - this will show the DATABASE window. You can not access all the objects. Very few users know about this, so no fear about them using it to access to he tables.

- hold SHIFT key when opening the database - this will override all the settings wer have discussed above, and will allow FULL ACCESS to the database. You are then able to edit all settings in STARTUP or the database tables.

Hope that helps
Regards

Richard
Microsoft Office Specialist