A simple breakdown of the rather obscure XOR operator Help topic. The Help topic for the XOr operator starts out rather obscurely by explaining that the operator is used to perform a logical exclusion on two expressions. Then it goes from bad to worse: “If one, and only one, of
How to format a cell or row in a list or combo box using conditional formatting. Q:Dale Stark writes that he has Access 2000, and would like to make a row or cell in a list or combo box a different color or font based on some condition. He had
How to print reports from a printer that’s not the default. Q:Bronwyn Pugh wrote to ask how to print certain reports to a color laser printer, when the default printer is (and should be) another printer. A: I have two laser printers (color and b&w), so I have the same
A reader’s having some problems after installing Access 2000 over Access 97. Q:Bob Timms wrote to say he was having problems after installing Access 2000 over Access 97. A:If you don’t need to use Access 97 any more, it is advisable to first uninstall it, then install Access 2000, but
Here’s a code that attaches a saved file to an outgoing fax, using a DDE command. In response to Access Archon #112 (Faxing from Access with WinFax using DDE), Susan S. writes that she needs to fax files as attachments. This can also be done in code. You could, for
How to customise the captions on MessageBox buttons. Q:Piet Boden wants to know if it is possible to change the text displayed on the buttons in a MessageBox.A: Not on a message box produced by the MsgBox function, though you do have a choice of various buttons. You will need
How to suppress printing of a record or a control on a report. Q: Luis Pelaez is looking for a way to suppress printing of a record on a report if the Balance Due field is zero. A: If you wish to just suppress printing of one or more controls,
Here’s another way to strip a character from a text string, a simpler alternative to the StripCharacter function. Q: Robert Greiff writes to say that there is a simpler way to strip a character from a text string than the StripCharacter function I described in WAW 4.24. He proposes using
How to create a functional drop-down list control on an Access toolbar. Q: Charles Duwel wants to make a custom toolbar for an Access 2002 form, with a drop-down list control. He tried dragging a combo box to a toolbar, but it just worked like a button. Is it possible
A reader suggests using Acrobat Distiller to print forms as they look on screen, and more. Gabriel Linart wrote to suggest using the Acrobat Distiller to print forms as they look on screen, for checking form design or keeping a printed record of data entry.This is an excellent solution if
How to print a report footer “page X of Y”, where X is the current and Y is the total. Q: Don Fox wants to know how to print a report footer “Page x of y”, where x is the current page and y is the total number of pages.
How to print larger Memo fields without truncation. Q: Tara Santmire wants to know how to print Memo fields with more than 255 characters on an Access report, without truncation. A: All you need to do is set the CanGrow property of the text box bound to the Memo field
A reader suggests a quick way to re-attach all procedures. Mark Plumpton, responding to the Orphaned Code tip in WAW 4.22, suggests that a quick way to re-attach all procedures is to open the original form’s code module, select all (Ctrl-A), copy (Ctrl-C) and then open the new form’s module
How to change the color of a specific control on a report. Q: Huber Stevan wants to know whether there is a way to change the color of a specific control on a report record by record, depending on whether certain criteria are met. A: For a report, this can
How to import the contents of a specific Word document into a Memo field on an Access form. Q: John Piper asks if there is a way to import the contents of a specific Word document, in a specific folder, into a Memo field on an Access form. A: The
How to get full justification in a Memo field on a form. Q: Bronwyn Pugh writes to ask if there is a way to get full justification in a Memo field on a form (no jagged right edge).A: From Access 2000 on, there is an alignment selection (oddly named Distribute)
A reader responds to my tip on wrapping text values in quotes, suggesting a function to streamline it. In response to my tip on wrapping text values in quotes using the Chr$ function, Stuart R Ainsworth contributed a function that streamlines this process (I have modified it slightly, and split
How to skip mailing labels in Access Reports. Q: Dan Holme wants to be able to print just a few labels on a sheet of labels, to avoid wasting a partially used page.A: There is a KB article on this topic — Q299024. I haven’t tried, it, though.
How to create a query that returns the number of visitors (not the number of visits). Q:Adam Nims wants to create a query that returns the number of patients who have visited (not the number of visits). Each patient should be counted only once, regardless of the number of visits.
How to use conditional formatting to change the color of the highlighted record in a tabular form. Q:Ashjan Al Mahmeed wants to know how to change the color of the highlighted record in a tabular form.A:This can be done with conditional formatting (a feature added to Access in Office 2000).
Here are a couple of codes for passing parameter values to a query. Q:Michael O’neill Johnston wrote to ask how to pass a variable (created from a value in a table field) to a parameter query. A:There are many ways of passing a parameter value to a query. If you
How to print envelopes directly from Access. Q:Jim Coxon writes: “What I need to do is to print envelopes directly from Access. i.e. Customer rings up for tickets, agent enters details into Access using a form, form is printed, agent puts tickets into envelope. If we could print the envelope
A reader wants to know how to create a mask for a credit card. Q: Melody Overstreeet writes: “How do you create a mask for a credit card? I want the last for digits to show and the rest I want to be an *” A: I like to use
How to make a datasheet column invisible. Q: Mary H. has a datasheet column that is needed for doing calculations, but she doesn’t want it to show. She set its Visible property to No, but it still appears in datasheet view. How can the column be made invisible? A: The