Commands on a switchboard...

[nita.s]

I'm looking for information about switchboards and what each command can do
for me. I looked through other posts and found sites that are hard to
navigate for information... I just need to know how and when to use each
command to build my own functional switchboard.

 

[KARL DEWEY]

There are two kinds of switchboards that I know of.

One kind is a form where you add command buttons. The commands will be what
ever you put by calling a macro, building an event expression, or code module.

The other is built by a wizard function in Access and uses a table named
'Switchboard Items' that contain labels, command calls, and arguments.
NOTE - Always make a backup of the database before doing anything in this
area.
The commands for this type can be found by opening in design view and
clicking on menu VIEW - Code.

 

[Ken Sheridan]

If you are referring to the switchboards built by means of the built in
switchboard manager these have the following options (in my version of Access
at least) for buttons;

1. Open Form in Add Mode: opens a form to add new records.

2. Open Form in Edit Mode: opens a form to edit data in existing records.

3. Open Report: opens a report in print preview.

4. Design Application: opens the switchboard manager to enable the
switchboard to be modified by the user.

5. Exit Application: closes the current database.

6. Run Macro: runs a macro to do whatever the macro has been set up to do.

7. Run Code: runs a VBA function to do whatever the function has been set
up to do.

With the first three you'll need to design the forms and reports in question
first of course.

Switchboards can include several pages, which are selected via buttons on
the main switchboard opening page. There is an option for a button on each
page top return to the main switchboard page.

As Karl said the options for each button are contained in a 'switchboard
items' table and the rows in this table are addressed by code in the
switchboard form's module to carry out the actions for each button. It is
possible to edit this code, and even the data in the table, to modify the
behaviour of the switchboard, but normally you'd design and modify the
switchboard through the built in switchboard manager.

While a switchboard created in this way does provide an easy way to set up a
central interface for a database, it does impose a rather standardised 'look
and feel'. If you want something more individual to your own requirements
you can create an unbound form and add buttons to execute code or macros (the
button wizard will generate code for you for many common tasks, more so than
the limited number available in the switchboard manager). Personally I would
always design my own switchboards rather than using the switchboard manager.
Anything that the switchboard manager can do (and a lot more) can be easily
replicated in a form of your own design by means of the wizards, and if a
suitable wizard isn't available writing your own code is not so scary as you
might think. If you need guidance on how to set up buttons or other controls
on a form to carry out particular tasks post a question here.

Ken Sheridan
Stafford, England