Creating a Form with AutoForm


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	10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Access 2002 By Joe Habraken
	Table of Contents

	Lesson 12. Creating a Simple Form

The easiest way to create a form is with AutoForm. AutoForm takes the fields from a specified table and creates a form; it's not very flexible, but it is very convenient . To use the AutoForm feature, follow these steps:

From the database window, click the Forms object type.
Click the New button on the database window toolbar. The New Form dialog box appears (see Figure 12.1).

Figure 12.1. Choose how you want to create your form.
You can click several types of forms, including
- AutoForm:Columnar?/b> A columnar form (the most popular kind). This creates a form that contains your fields in a single column, from top to bottom.
- AutoForm:Tabular?/b> A form that resembles a table.
- AutoForm:Datasheet?/b> A form that resembles a datasheet.
Open the drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog box and choose the table or query you want to use as the source of the form's fields.
Click OK. The form appears, ready for data entry (see Figure 12.2).

Figure 12.2. AutoForm creates a form based on a single table.

Forms created with AutoForm can be edited using the Form Design view, which is discussed later in this lesson. When you attempt to close the AutoForm, you are asked whether you want to save it. If you do, click Yes . Then, enter a name for the form into the Save As box and click OK .

Tip

Create an AutoForm in the Table Datasheet View You can also create an AutoForm while you are working on a table in the Datasheet view. Click the AutoForm button on the Table Datasheet toolbar. A new form appears, based on the table's fields.


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Team-Fly

	10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Access 2002 By Joe Habraken
	Table of Contents

	Lesson 12. Creating a Simple Form

Creating a Form with the Form Wizard

The Form Wizard offers a good compromise between the automation of AutoForm and the control of creating a form from scratch. The wizard allows you to select the fields for the form and select +the layout and look for the form. Follow these steps to use the Form Wizard:

From the database window, click the Forms object type.
Double-click Create Form by Using Wizard to open the Form Wizard (see Figure 12.3).

Figure 12.3. The Form Wizard enables you to choose which fields you want to include from as many different tables in the database as you like.
From the Tables/Queries drop-down list, choose a table or query from which to select fields. (By default, the first table in alphabetical order is selected, which probably isn't what you want.)
Click a field in the Available Fields list that you want to in clude on the form, and then click the Add ( > ) button to move it to the Selected Fields list.
Repeat step 4 until you've selected all the fields you want to include from that table. If you want to include fields from another table or query, go back to step 3 and choose another table.

Plain English

Selecting All Fields You can quickly move all the fields from the Available Fields list to the Selected Fields list by clicking the Add All ( >> ) button. If you make a mistake, you can remove a field from the Selected Fields list by clicking it and then clicking either the Remove ( < ) button or the Remove All ( << ) button.
Click Next to continue. You're asked to choose a layout: Columnar , Tabular , Datasheet , or Justified . Click each button to see a preview of that type (Columnar is the most common). Select the layout you want to use, and then click Next .
The next screen asks you to select a style for your form (see Figure 12.4). Click each style listed to see a preview of it; click Next when you've selected a style.

Figure 12.4. You can select from several form styles.
On the last screen, enter a title for the form into the text box at the top of the dialog box (if you want a title other than the default).
Click the Finish button. The form appears, ready for data entry (see Figure 12.5).

Figure 12.5. The Form Wizard creates a usable form using the fields, format, and style that you selected.

If your form's field labels are cut off or need some additional layout work, you can fix them in the Form Design view. You learn about modifying a form in Lesson 13, "Modifying a Form."


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Creating a Form with AutoForm

Figure 12.1. Choose how you want to create your form.

Figure 12.2. AutoForm creates a form based on a single table.

Figure 12.3. The Form Wizard enables you to choose which fields you want to include from as many different tables in the database as you like.

Figure 12.4. You can select from several form styles.

Figure 12.5. The Form Wizard creates a usable form using the fields, format, and style that you selected.

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