Access Menu sub form - No default Tab stop

0
votes

I have a main form...imagine that...that for most of my users will be the only form they use. Naturally, it contains tabs with sub forms.

I have a navigation sub form on the left side of this form that changes based on the user's rights level. Currently, this sub form is all buttons...and 1 always is selected as the default tab stop for that form.

I don't want to highlight any of them at first...and I can remove the highlight by switching off Tab Stops for all buttons. However, I'm not sure that I want to remove that functionality all together...and it still highlights a button. I'd just like for there to not be a default button highlighted.

enter image description here

As you can see, Add Course is 'selected'. I can't seem to find the correct terminology to search for a way to do this. I tried using a smaller button set behind another button, but since it has the focus, it moves to the front. Using a text field with the same colors as the background shows the cursor in a random, blank area...not visually ideal.

I'm sure that there is someone here clever enough to have this figured out. Please enlighten me. I don't care if this can be handled in VBA code or through design view.

2
formsms-accesstabs

2 Answers

1
votes

"Focus" is the word you're looking for - you don't want any visible control to have the focus when opening the form.

The easiest method is an invisible button: create a button with Transparent = True, and an empty OnClick (i.e. the button does nothing, even when accidentally clicked).

Move this button to the top in the Tab Order, so it has the focus when opening the form.

But if your users use TAB to walk through the buttons, there will be one position where the focus disappears (when circling around from the last to first control). I don't know if it will confuse them.

0
votes

Create a button on the main form itself. Named is cmdDummyButton with the following GotFocus event code. Set the tab order property to 0 (ie first) Make the button transparent.

This will cause no control on the form to have the focus when it starts up.

Private Sub cmdDummyButton_GotFocus()

    Static IveHadFocusAlready As Boolean

    If Not IveHadFocusAlready Then
        Me.cmdDummyButton.Enabled = False
        IveHadFocusAlready = True
    End If

End Sub

Sweet.