Create a pop-up form in Access

by Mary Ann Richardson | Dec 06, 2005 7:53:00 PM

Tags: Microsoft Office, Mary Ann Richardson, command button, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Office Suite Access Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: If users need to access data that is not on their forms, you could add a subform; or, you can add a command button that, when clicked, will pop open the form that contains the necessary data. Find out how to create a pop-up form in this Access tip.

The Microsoft Access Order Entry form you created contains all the information that your customer reps need to take a phone order. But every now and then the customer rep needs to access another form that has information that isn't on the order form.

Instead of adding a subform to the order form, you can add a command button that let's your rep pop open the desired form when needed. For example, a customer may need to change their e-mail address, which may be kept on the Customer E-mail Address form.

To create a command button that, when clicked, will pop open the necessary form, follow these steps:

1. Open the Order Entry form in design mode.
2. Click the Command Button tool on the toolbox and click and drag it to insert the command button control on the Order Entry form.
3. Right-click the command button and select Properties.
4. Under the Format tab, change the caption to E-mail Address.
5. Select the Event tab, click the On-Click Property's drop-down menu, and then select Event Procedure.
6. Click the On-Click Property's Build button.
7. Enter the following command at the prompt:

DoCmd.OpenForm "Customer E-mail Addresses"

8. Press [Alt][Q].

Now when your reps' customers need to update their e-mail addresses, the rep can click the command button to access the correct form and make the necessary changes.

Note: In Access 2000, when you click and drag to create the command button, a wizard pops up; you should cancel out of that and proceed to the next step, right-click the button, and select Properties.

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