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OpenForm macro action

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Applies to: Access 2013, Office 2013

You can use the OpenForm action to open a form in Form view, Design view, Print Preview, or Datasheet view. You can select data entry and window modes for the form and restrict the records that the form displays.

Setting

The OpenForm action has the following arguments.

Action argument

Description

Form Name

The name of the form to open. The Form Name box in the Action Arguments section of the Macro Builder pane shows all forms in the current database. This is a required argument. If you run a macro containing the OpenForm action in a library database, Microsoft Access first looks for the form with this name in the library database, and then in the current database.

View

The view in which the form will open. Click Form, Design, Print Preview, Datasheet, PivotTable, or PivotChart in the View box. The default is Form.

NOTE: The View argument setting overrides the settings of the form's DefaultView and ViewsAllowed properties. For example, if a form's ViewsAllowed property is set to Datasheet, you can still use the OpenForm action to open the form in Form view.

Filter Name

A filter that restricts or sorts the form's records. You can enter the name of either an existing query or a filter that was saved as a query. However, the query must include all the fields in the form you are opening or have its OutputAllFields property set to Yes.

Where Condition

A valid SQL WHERE clause (without the word WHERE) or expression that Access uses to select records from the form's underlying table or query. If you select a filter with the Filter Name argument, Access applies this WHERE clause to the results of the filter. To open a form and restrict its records to those specified by the value of a control on another form, use the following expression: [fieldname] = Forms![formname]![controlname on other form] Replace fieldname with the name of a field in the underlying table or query of the form you want to open. Replace formname and controlname on other form with the name of the other form and the control on the other form that contains the value you want records in the first form to match.

NOTE: The maximum length of the Where Condition argument is 255 characters. If you need to enter a more complex SQL WHERE clause longer than this, use the OpenForm method of the DoCmd object in a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) module instead. You can enter SQL WHERE clause statements of up to 32,768 characters in VBA.

Data Mode

The data entry mode for the form. This applies only to forms opened in Form view or Datasheet view. Click Add (the user can add new records but can't edit existing records), Edit (the user can edit existing records and add new records), or Read Only (the user can only view records). The default is Edit. Notes

  • The Data Mode argument setting overrides the settings of the form's AllowEdits, AllowDeletions, AllowAdditions, and DataEntry properties. For example, if a form's AllowEdits property is set to No, you can still use the OpenForm action to open the form in Edit mode.

  • If you leave this argument blank, Access opens the form in the data entry mode set by the form's AllowEdits, AllowDeletions, AllowAdditions, and DataEntry properties.

Window Mode

The window mode in which the form opens. Click Normal (the form opens in the mode set by its properties), Hidden (the form is hidden), Icon (the form opens minimized as a small title bar at the bottom of the screen), or Dialog (the form's Modal and PopUp properties are set to Yes). The default is Normal.

NOTE: Some Window Mode argument settings do not apply when using tabbed documents. To switch to overlapping windows:

  1. Click the File tab and then click Options.

  2. In the Access Options dialog box, click Current Database.

  3. In the Application Optionssection, under Document Window Options, click Overlapping Windows.

  4. Click OK, then close and reopen the database.

Remarks

This action is similar to double-clicking a form in the Navigation Pane, or right-clicking the form in the Navigation Pane and then selecting a view.

A form can be modal (it must be closed or hidden before the user can perform any other action) or modeless (the user can move to other windows while the form is open). It can also be a pop-up form (a form used to collect or display information that remains on top of all other Access windows). You set the Modal and PopUp properties when you design the form. If you use Normal for the Window Mode argument, the form opens in the mode specified by these property settings. If you use Dialog for the Window Mode argument, these properties are both set to Yes. A form opened as hidden or as an icon returns to the mode specified by its property settings when you show or restore it.

When you open a form with the Window Mode argument set to Dialog, Access suspends the macro until the form is closed or hidden. You can hide a form by setting its Visible property to No by using the SetValue action.

Tip

You can select a form in the Navigation Pane and drag it to a macro action row. This automatically creates an OpenForm action that opens the form in Form view.

The filter and WHERE condition you apply become the setting of the form's Filter property.

Examples

Set the value of a control by using a macro

The following macro opens the Add Products form from a button on the Suppliers form. It shows the use of the Echo, CloseWindow, OpenForm, SetValue, and GoToControl actions. The SetValue action sets the Supplier ID control on the Products form to the current supplier on the Suppliers form. The GoToControl action then moves the focus to the Category ID field, where you can begin to enter data for the new product. This macro should be attached to the Add Products button on the Suppliers form.

Action

Arguments: Setting

Comment

Echo

Echo On: No

Stop screen updating while the macro is running.

CloseWindow

Object Type: FormObject Name: Product List Save: No

Close the Product List form.

OpenForm

Form Name: Products View: FormData Mode: AddWindow Mode: Normal

Open the Products form.

SetValue

Item: [Forms]![Products]![SupplierID] Expression: SupplierID

Set the Supplier ID control to the current supplier on the Suppliers form.

GoToControl

Control Name: CategoryID

Go to the Category ID control.

The following macro opens a Product List form in the lower-right corner of the Suppliers form, displaying the current supplier's products. It shows the use of the Echo, MessageBox, GoToControl, StopMacro, OpenForm, and MoveAndSizeWindow actions. It also shows the use of a conditional expression with the MessageBox, GoToControl, and StopMacro actions. This macro should be attached to the Review Products button on the Suppliers form.

Synchronize forms by using a macro

Condition

Action

Arguments: Setting

Comment

Echo

Echo On: No

Stop screen updating while the macro is running.

IsNull([SupplierID])

MessageBox

Message: Move to the supplier record whose products you want to see, then click the Review Products button again. Beep: YesType: NoneTitle: Select a Supplier

If there is no current supplier on the Suppliers form, display a message.

...

GoToControl

Control Name: CompanyName

Move focus to the CompanyName control.

...

StopMacro

Stop the macro.

OpenForm

Form Name: Product List View: DatasheetFilter Name: Where Condition: [SupplierID] = [Forms]![Suppliers]![SupplierID] Data Mode: Read OnlyWindow Mode: Normal

Open the Product List form and show the current supplier's products.

MoveAndSizeWindow

Right: 0.7799" Down: 1.8"

Position the Product List form in the lower right of the Suppliers form.