Every control on a form or report has dozens of different or settingsso how do you keep them all straight? Table 7-4 shows you howthis lesson is really a cheat sheet that you can use whenever you're not sure what exactly a particular control property is or does. The most important properties are marked with a *.
Table 7-4. Common Form and Report Control Properties
Property | Tab | Description |
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Caption * | Format | Displays a descriptive caption for a form or text label. |
Format * | Format | Customizes the way numbers, dates, times, and text are displayed and printed. |
Decimal Places * | Format | Determines the number of decimal places displayed. |
Visible * | Format | Shows or hides a control. Useful if you want to use information on the form without it being visible. For example, you could use the value in a hidden control as the criteria for a query. |
Display When | Format | Determines whether a section or control always appears or only appears when it is displayed on screen or printed. |
Scroll Bars | Format | Determines whether scroll bars appear in the control. |
Left * | Format | Determines the horizontal position of the control. |
Top * | Format | Determines the vertical position of the control. |
Width * | Format | Determines the width of a control. |
Height * | Format | Determines the height of a control. |
Back Style | Format | Determines whether a control is transparent or not. |
Back Color | Format | Determines the color of a control. Click the button to select a color from a palette. |
Special Effect | Format | Applies a 3-D effect to a control. |
Border Style | Format | Determines the line style of a control's borderselect from transparent lines, solid lines, dashed lines, etc. |
Border Color | Format | Determines the color of a control's border. Click the button to select a color from a palette. |
Border Width | Format | Determines the width of a control's border (in points). |
Fore Color | Format | Determines the color of text in a control or the fill color of an object. Click the button to select a color from a palette. |
Font Name | Format | Determines the font used in a control (such as Arial or Times New Roman). |
Font Weight | Format | Determines the thickness (boldface) of text in a control. |
Font Italic | Format | Determines whether the text in a control appears in italics. |
Font Underline | Format | Determines whether the text in a control is underlined. |
Text Align | Format | Determines how text should be aligned in a control. |
Control Source * | Data | Determines the data that appears in the control. |
Input Mask * | Data | Limits the amount and type of information that can be entered in a field, such as (___) ___ _-_____ _ for a phone number. Click the button to create an input mask using the Input Mask Wizard. |
Default Value * | Data | Specifies a value that is automatically entered in this field for new records. |
Validation Rule * | Data | Allows you to enter an expression that is evaluated when data in the field is added or changed. |
Validation Text * | Data | Allows you to enter a message that is displayed when data doesn't meet the Validation Rule property. |
Locked * | Data | Determines whether changes can be made to a field's data. |
Event Tab | Event | Allows you to assign a macro or Visual Basic procedure to a specific event, such as when you click or update a control. |
Name * | Other | Specifies the name of the control that identifies it in expressions, macros, and Visual Basic procedures. |
Status Bar Text | Other | Specifies a message to display in the Status bar when the control is selected. |
Enter Key Behavior | Other | Determines if pressing the Enter key adds a new line of text in a control or if it moves to the next field. |
Allow AutoCorrect | Other | Determines if AutoCorrect (i.e., "teh" "the) is used in a control. |
AutoTab | Other | Used with the Input Mask property. Determines whether an automatic tab to the next field occurs when the last character permitted by a text box control's input mask is entered. |
Tab Stop | Other | Determines whether users are able to tab to the control. |
Tab Index | Other | Determines the tab order. |
Shortcut Menu Bar | Other | Specifies a user-created shortcut menu that appears when the control is right-clicked. |
ControlTip Message | Other | Specifies a brief message that appears when a user points at the control for a couple of seconds. |
Help Context Id | Other | Specifies an identifier number for a user-created Help file that appears when the user selects the control and presses F1. |
Tag | Other | Specifies extra, user-defined information that is stored in the object. |