MS Access - Create

Form
Forms
Forms in Access are like display cases in stores that
make it easier to view or get the items that you want.
Since forms are objects through which you or other users
can add, edit, or display the data stored in your Access
desktop database, the design of your form is an
important aspect. There's a lot you can do design-wise
with forms in Microsoft Access. You can create two basic
types of forms −
•Bound forms
•Unbound forms
Bound Forms
Let us now understand what Bound Forms are −
•Bound forms are connected to some underlying data source such as a table,
query, or SQL statement.
•Bound forms are what people typically think of when they think of the
purpose of a form.
•Forms are to be filled out or used to enter or edit data in a database.
•Examples of bound forms will typically be what users use to enter, view or
edit data in a database.
Unbound Forms
Let us look into Unbound Forms −
•These forms are not connected to an underlying record
or data source.
•Unbound forms could be dialog boxes, switch boards,
or navigation forms.
•In other words, unbound forms are typically used to
navigate or interact with the database at large, as
opposed to the data itself.
Types of Bound Forms
There are many types of bound forms you can create in Access. Let us
understand the types −
Single Item Form
This is the most popular one and this is where the records are displayed —
one record at a time.
Multiple Item Form
This displays multiple records at a time from that bound data source.
Split Form
The form is divided into halves, either vertically or horizontally. One half
displays a single item or record, and the other half displays a list or provides
a datasheet view of multiple records from the underlying data source.
Creating Forms
There are a few methods you can
use to create forms in Access.
For this, open your Database and
go to the Create tab. In the
Forms group, in the upper right-
hand corner you will see the
Form Wizard button.
Click on that button to launch the Form
Wizard.
On this first screen in the wizard, you can
select fields that you want to display on
your form, and you can choose from fields
from more than one table or a query.
Let us assume we want to simply have a
quick form that we are going to use for data
entry for our employee information.
From Tables/Queries drop-down list,
select tblEmployees table. Click on the
double arrow to move all the fields at once.
Let us just leave it with
that one table, and
click Next.
The following screen in
the Form Wizard will ask
for the layout that we
would like for our form.
We have columnar,
tabular, datasheet
and justified layouts.
We will choose the
columnar layout here
and then click Next.
In the following screen, we
need to give a title for our
form. Let us call
it frmEmployees.
Once you have given your
form a title, you can open the
form to see what that form
looks like, or you can begin
entering information into your
table. Or you can choose the
option to modify the form's
design. Let us choose the first
option to open the form to
view or enter
information and
click Finish.
Now, take a look at the following
screenshot. This is what your
form looks like. This is a single
item form, meaning one record
is displayed at a time and
further down you can see the
navigation buttons, which is
telling us that this is displaying
the record 1 of 9. If you click on
that button then, it will move to
the next record.
If you want to jump to the very
last record in that form or that
table, you can use the button
right beside that right arrow,
the arrow with a line after it,
that's the last record button. If
you want to add new employee
information, go to the end of
this records and then after 9
records you will see a blank
form where you can begin
entering out the new
employee's information.
This is one example of how you can
create a form using the Form Wizard.
Let us now close this form and go to
the Create tab. Now we will create a
slightly more complicated form using
Wizard. Click the Form Wizard and
this time, we will choose fields from
a couple of different tables.
In this Form Wizard, let us
choose tblProjects for Tables/Quer
ies, and select a few Available Fields
such as ProjectID, ProjectName,
ProjectStart, and ProjectEnd. These
fields will now move to Selected
Fields.
Now
select tblTasks for
Tables/Queries and
send over the
TaskID, ProjectID,
TaskTitle, StartDate,
DueDate and
PercentComplete.
Click Next.
Here, we want to retrieve data
from a couple of different objects.
We can also choose from options
on how we want to arrange our
form. If we want to create a flat
form, we can choose to arrange
by tblTasks, which will create
that single form, with all the fields
laid out in flat view as shown
above.
However, if we want to create a
hierarchical form based on that
one-to-many relationship, we can
choose to arrange our data by
tblProjects.
In the above window, we have
the option to include
a subform for tblTasks, or we
can make that a linked form.
This linked form is where
tblProjects will have a button
that will launch that second
form filtered to the project that
we have selected in that
underlying projects form. Let
us now select the Form with
subform(s), and then
click Next.
In the following screen,
you can choose a layout
for your subform. The
Datasheet View gets
selected by default. The
Datasheet View is similar
to Table View. Now,
click Next.
In the following screen, you need
to provide a name for your
forms. Enter the name you want
and click Finish.
Access will give you a preview
of what your form looks like. On
top, you have the controls on
your main form, which is from
our Projects table. As you go
down, you will see a subform.
It's like a form within a form.
Multiple Item Form
You may also want to
create a specific kind of
form. For this, you can
click on the More
Forms drop-down menu.
From the menu, you can create
a Multiple Items form,
a Datasheet form, a Split form,
or even a Modal Dialog form.
These are typically bound forms;
select the object that you would
like to be bound to that form.
This does not apply to the Modal
Dialog forms.
To create this type of form, you
will need to select the object in
navigation pane first. Let us
select tblEmployees here.
Proceed by clicking
on More
Forms and Multiple
Items.

The above step will

further create a Multiple
Items form, listing out all
the employees.
Split Form

This type of form is divided in equal

halves, either vertically or
horizontally. One half displays a
single item or record, and the other
half displays a list or a datasheet
view of multiple records from the
underlying data source.
Let us now select tblEmployees in
the navigation pane and then
on Create tab. Select Split
Form option from More Forms
menu and you will see the following
form in which the form is divided
vertically.