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How to loop through the references to view their properties in Microsoft Access

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Access for Microsoft 365, Access 2019, Access 2016, Access 2013, Access 2010, Microsoft Office Access 2007, Microsoft Office Access 2003, Microsoft Office Access 2000

Original KB number:   209849

Summary

When you view the location of references with the References dialog box on the Tools menu, the trailing portion of the path name may be truncated because of the limitations of the dialog box. This article shows you how to use a Visual Basic for Applications procedure to loop through the References collection and retrieve the properties of each reference.

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements.

More information

To loop through the References collection and retrieve the properties of each reference, follow these steps:

  1. Create a module and type the following line in the Declarations section if it is not already there:

    Option Explicit

  2. Type the following procedure:

    Function ReferenceInfo()

    Dim strMessage  As String
    Dim strTitle    As String
    Dim refItem     As Reference

    On Error Resume Next

    For Each refItem In References
        If refItem.IsBroken Then
            strMessage = "Missing Reference:" & vbCrLf & refItem.FullPath
        Else
            strMessage = "Reference: " & refItem.Name & vbCrLf _
                       & "Location: " & refItem.FullPath & vbCrLf
        End If
        Debug.Print strMessage
    Next refItem

End Function

  3. To test this function, type the following line in the Immediate window, and then press ENTER:

    ? ReferenceInfo

    Note

    Each reference is listed in the Immediate window.

References

For more information about the References collection, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type reference object in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For more information about enumerating through the References collection by using the For Each...Next statement, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type next in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.