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September: After my PC installed recent MS Office updates (within the last two weeks), currently running Version 2508 Build 16.0.19127.20192 (32-bit), setting the TabIndex property is no longer behaving as expected. I have procedures, in MS Access forms, to set the TabIndex property of all the form's controls during the Form_Load event. This has worked without any issue for years, until recent updates have changed the TabIndex behavior to, what appears to be, the preset Tab Order values for the control's TabIndex property. It looks like when setting the TabIndex property, in VBA, the command processes without throwing an error, but the TabIndex value of the control remains unchanged. I have tried testing a brand new DB file and the behavior bug persists. I really hope that this bug will be fixed by the dev team quickly, I have many users which are affected across the multiple DB files they use.
October: I have been installing all of the available updates and am currently on Version 2509 Build 16.0.19231.20138. The issue still persists.
The inability to change the TabIndex value in the Form Designer, contrary to the documentation, can be considered an issue too. However, the order of controls can be adjusted using the "Tab Order" dialog. (This will change the TabIndex).
Hi,
Can you post the relevant part of your code? If I can reproduce the problem and a change in behaviour in recent builds, I can report it to the Access team at Microsoft.
Servus
Karl
Access Forever, News, DevCon
Access-Entwickler-Konferenz AEK
Sure! Here is the code that I am using to set the TabIndex property, and there's also some print debugging to evaluate the before/after when setting the property. It's a basic form with 6 textbox controls (Txt_1 through Txt_6)
Private Sub Form_Load()
Debug.Print "Logging TabIndex of controls BEFORE setting via VBA..."
Debug.Print "Txt_1.TabIndex = " & Txt_1.TabIndex
Debug.Print "Txt_2.TabIndex = " & Txt_2.TabIndex
Debug.Print "Txt_3.TabIndex = " & Txt_3.TabIndex
Debug.Print "Txt_4.TabIndex = " & Txt_4.TabIndex
Debug.Print "Txt_5.TabIndex = " & Txt_5.TabIndex
Debug.Print "Txt_6.TabIndex = " & Txt_6.TabIndex
Txt_1.TabIndex = 0
Txt_3.TabIndex = 1
Txt_5.TabIndex = 2
Txt_6.TabIndex = 3
Txt_2.TabIndex = 4
Txt_4.TabIndex = 5
Debug.Print "Logging TabIndex of controls AFTER setting via VBA..."
Debug.Print "Txt_1.TabIndex = " & Txt_1.TabIndex & "; Expected: 0"
Debug.Print "Txt_2.TabIndex = " & Txt_2.TabIndex & "; Expected: 4"
Debug.Print "Txt_3.TabIndex = " & Txt_3.TabIndex & "; Expected: 1"
Debug.Print "Txt_4.TabIndex = " & Txt_4.TabIndex & "; Expected: 5"
Debug.Print "Txt_5.TabIndex = " & Txt_5.TabIndex & "; Expected: 2"
Debug.Print "Txt_6.TabIndex = " & Txt_6.TabIndex & "; Expected: 3"
End Sub
After the form opens & loads, this is what I see logged in the Immediate window:
Logging TabIndex of controls BEFORE setting via VBA...
Txt_1.TabIndex = 0
Txt_2.TabIndex = 1
Txt_3.TabIndex = 2
Txt_4.TabIndex = 3
Txt_5.TabIndex = 4
Txt_6.TabIndex = 5
Logging TabIndex of controls AFTER setting via VBA...
Txt_1.TabIndex = 0; Expected: 0
Txt_2.TabIndex = 1; Expected: 4
Txt_3.TabIndex = 2; Expected: 1
Txt_4.TabIndex = 3; Expected: 5
Txt_5.TabIndex = 4; Expected: 2
Txt_6.TabIndex = 5; Expected: 3
Hi,
Ok, thanks. All clear.
Meanwhile I've seen another report that the tab index can't also be changed in the properties dialog and I can reproduce it in version 2509 and 2508. So, there seems to be a general problem in the newer versions.
I'll discuss it further with a few colleagues and then Microsoft and let you know if there are any news.
Servus
Karl
Access Forever, News, DevCon
Access-Entwickler-Konferenz AEK
I've been able to repo the bug in the property sheet in the 32 bit version. I'll grab the repo code and test in VBA next.
Thank you, @Karl Donaubauer & @George Hepworth
Yes, the TabIndex property can be manually set by typing in the desired property value in Form Designer Mode, or by using the 'Tab Order' tool to set the order, but I actually never use those to set my tab index values, I use a VBA procedure that does this programmatically. Thanks for looking into this, and I appreciate the quick responses!
Hi,
We have reported the problem to the Microsoft Access team. It was introduced with version 2508 and they plan to fix it before this version reaches the slower update channels. In the Current Channel, it should be fixed in the next or next-but-one build of version 2509.
Servus
Karl
Access Forever News DevCon
Access-Entwickler-Konferenz AEK 18.+19.10. Nürnberg
Hi,
Today, the bug has disappeared even from the versions and builds affected so far. So, it looks like the fix was done with a non-detectable Change/Feature Gate and you don't even need a new build.
Servus
Karl
Access Forever News DevCon
Access-Entwickler-Konferenz AEK 18.+19.10. Nürnberg
Thanks @Karl Donaubauer
I have confirmed that the behavior of TabIndex is now back to what was expected before the bug was introduced (without changing office versions or applying updates).