Today, one of the best programs databases present in the computing environment, is Access. This refers to a tool available in the office suite of Microsoft and it is characterized by functioning as an optimal data management system, thus facilitating the creation of database documents.
Therefore, it allows search, organize and present any type of information, in a technical way. In addition, it is useful to collect data in an intuitive and agile way, as well as to enrich these documents through the different elements it provides. Such as: queries, tables, reports, and forms.
In addition to this, it has been classified as an ideal program for be able to personalize the user experience, according to the requirements of each person. That is why it offers the possibility of adjusting the layout view of forms for easy customization and here, we will show you how to do it.
What is Form Design View and what is it for in Access databases?
Although it is true, the Design view in the databases of Access is defined as a more detailed view that the program provides to acquire certain benefits. Since, from it, you can visualize the form structure in a more precise, optimal and effective way. In this sense, it allows look at the header, detail, and footer sections of each form, so it is very useful. In addition to this, it is a panel that It is used to carry out some tasks in a simpler way.
These tasks consist of:
- Modify the size of form sections. That is, from the details section or the header, for example.
- Change certain properties of the form in question. Which, by default, cannot be varied in the Presentation view (either in “Allow Form view” or by “Default view”).
- Add a greater variety of controls to the Access form. Such as: images, lines, rectangles and labels.
- Edit text box control sources in the same text boxes, without having to use the property sheet.
Learn step by step how to customize your forms from the Microsoft Access design view
In case you did not know yet, it is essential that you understand that, to make any modification to the design or structure of a form in Access in order to personalize it, It is mandatory to enter the Design view. Since, the property sheet of the field is the one that offers access to various properties that can be adjusted to stylize the form.
That is why, to make any of the changes that we will explain below, first of all, you will have to change in sight Design to run it from there. To do this, simply click on the form name via the navigation pane and in the lower right, select “Design View”.
Thus, it begins to make any of the following adjustments:
Add fields from table or query in form layout
For this, you can make use of the Field List panel, just by carrying out the steps mentioned below:
- On the program’s ribbon, click on the “Design” tab member of the Table Tools group.
- After that, proceed to select “Add existing fields” and press the keyboard shortcut “Alt + F8”.
- You can then start dragging the fields directly from the Field List pane onto the form. If you only want to add a field, double click on it and drag it to the section of the form where you want it to be seen.
- On the other hand, for add multiple fields simultaneously, you must press and hold the key “Ctrl” and click on the fields you want to add. Then it only remains to drag the chosen fields onto the form.
Customize the form header
The header of a form is the one that displays the name of the table or query that originated said form and is at the top. Which, It is possible to customize by modifying its size and width. In this sense, for freely resize the header of a form, in order to increase or decrease it, you have to enter Design view and click while holding its lower edge with the main mouse button until the new desired size is achieved based on its height.
In addition to this, you can also vary the width of the header. In this case, in the rest of the elements will also adjust, automatically, to keep the proportions. Thus, you will only have to click and hold with the main mouse button from the right edge to the new position that you prefer. Also, for further customization, you can add any controls inside the form headers (either: labels, text boxes, check boxes, etc.) and modify its properties.
For which, you will have to access the property sheet in the Design tab and from there, change what you want between the following alternatives:
- Background color: Used to change the background color of the form header or assign one. Thus, you will only have to press the button that contains three points to see the palette of default color combinations and choose one of them.
- Special effect: Add an effect to the header background. For that, you can choose several available options and customize it (no relief, low relief, embossed, engraved, shaded, chiselled, etc. But, these designs will only be displayed in the Form View.
- Show when: It is useful to define when you want the header to be displayed (always, only when printing or only on screen).
Insert labels manually
In the forms of Access, labels are one of the most used controls because each field requires one of them to display your name or identification. That is why, in order to configure the Form Design view effectively, you can also insert labels manually. In this way, the user will see the text in question and will not be able to modify it, as they will only be informative.
So, to add such tags, you need to perform the following procedure:
- In the tab Design, go to the Controls group.
- Then, click on “Label” and click holding on a section of the form, be it the Header, Detail or Footer.
- After creating the label frame, you simply have to enter the text you want to display and ready.
- Next, if you want to modify the text format of the labels, go to the Source group of the contextual tab. There, you can choose the font, color, size, alignment, and even the background color.
Add separate text boxes
To execute it, the steps to follow consist of:
- To start, proceed to select Text Box, in the Controls group. This, from the tab Design.
- Thereafter, click holding a section of the form and thus, automatically, a label will be created.
- Then, to fix your identification, proceed to enter the text you want.
- Then you can increase or decrease the width of the field, through the checkpoints. This, if the size is larger or smaller than the content, respectively.
On the other hand, if you want to make the text box dependent so that it displays information based on some field, you have to use the Origin property of the control. Through it, you can establish that the content is linked to the information saved in a specific field.