ListBox Transparent Border in Form

[csperati]

I am using a form that will be filled out and saved as a PDF, it has comboboxes, listboxes, tabbed field, and text fields that all work perfectly for what I am trying to accomplish. Woo-hoo!

Now I am trying to pretty it up some, I've successfully added titles and graphics, but as I try to get rid of all the ugly grid lines I'm finding it to be impossible to remove the grid lines from list boxes for printing. Setting them to transparent doesn't seem to work; changing the color to match the background doesn't seem to work, trying to overlay a transparent box with a border the same color as the background doesn't seem to work; even trying to use special effects doesn't get rid these gridlines when you print; and it seems that none of this has worked since at least 2001, based on the forums I've read.

Is there something easy I am missing? The transparent controls exist and seem to work for the form view, but they always show in the print preview and on the printed form, whether I print from Adobe or an actual printer; I've even tried on a different computer. Does anyone have any idea why these controls don't seem to work?

 

[isladogs]

Forms are for data entry & not intended to be printed.
Use a report when you want to print something

 

[csperati]

I appreciate the quick response.

I am using the form to enter data, which I then want to print and save as a PDF, but I'm new to Access so okay, I can recreate this as a report.

Before I do this though, I just created a test listbox, formatted it, and exactly the same thing happened. The border doesn't show up in in the report view, however, it shows up in the print preview and on the printed page. This happens regardless of what color I make the background, what special effects I use, or what settings I change in the control properties.

Is it simply not possible to remove this border on a list box?

 

[isladogs]

I've don't think I've ever used a listbox on a report in 20 years of using Access
However I just checked & I think the answer is that you can't hide the border

Listboxes and comboboxes are really intended for use in forms in order to select items.
Although you can use both on a report, there is little point as you can't select (in preview mode anyway).
Use a textbox instead in the detail section & you will get a list!
Textbox borders can be made invisible

 

[csperati]

Thank you for the response.

Please excuse my ignorance. I have been searching for a bit now and I don't understand how you can get a list in a text box.

 

[isladogs]

Hopefully the attached screenshots will explain what I mean
The detail section contains a list of addresses and another field called UDPRN for a UK postcode

In design view, the detail line contains 2 textboxes, address & UDPRN
In print preview, these appear as a list without borders

NOTE: If I had wanted it, each field or the whole section could have been given a border

HTH

 

[csperati]

Thanks, but that won't work for me. I need to be able to make a selection from a combobox in one section that will narrow the selections into either another combobox or a listbox, from which I can then make a single choice...and I want to be able to see all the narrowing selections. These choices will then affect other text fields based on the back end calculations, to provide me with my overall values.

The form works, its just not pretty because of the lack of control on these listboxes.

I can turn the listboxes into comboboxes and the final product will look good and work right, it's just a few more steps because I will have to make each of the narrowing selections when the first option that shows in the list box would be the correct choice about 60% of the time. I spent soem long hours trying to get the first field of the combobox to display to no avail and thought I had solved the issue with list boxes only to be turned away again.

I'm still earning, perhaps I will come across something else in time.

Thank you again.

 

[isladogs]

Thanks, but that won't work for me. I need to be able to make a selection from a combobox in one section that will narrow the selections into either another combobox or a listbox, from which I can then make a single choice...and I want to be able to see all the narrowing selections. These choices will then affect other text fields based on the back end calculations, to provide me with my overall values.

The form works, its just not pretty because of the lack of control on these listboxes.

I can turn the listboxes into comboboxes and the final product will look good and work right, it's just a few more steps because I will have to make each of the narrowing selections when the first option that shows in the list box would be the correct choice about 60% of the time. I spent soem long hours trying to get the first field of the combobox to display to no avail and thought I had solved the issue with list boxes only to be turned away again.

I'm still earning, perhaps I will come across something else in time.

Thank you again.

Sorry but I'm confused (again)
Forms are for data entry / editing
As previously stated, reports are normally for printing the outcomes

So you do the combobox/listbox selections in the form - not the report
You can have cascading combo boxes to gradually narrow your search
Do a forum search for examples

 

[csperati]

Well, we don't all use Access in the same ways. I'm using the forms to pull information off a series of static tables that make up the database in order to run calculations that quickly provide me with results based on that information; I then output the results into a sheet that is easy to read and reference. The combo boxes provide me a wide array of variables that effect factors across the entirety of the form, so that I can go back at any time and alter any of the individual variables to provide me with different results. I then have another set of variables that I can add, via combobox, to further alter the results.

In places where one combobox narrows variables into a second combobox in the same section, I found that by using a list box instead, I was able to have the most common variable for that list defaulted, which cleaned up the process and made it more efficient, yet allowed me to choose other variables in the list if I so desired.

The problem is that the border on the list box ruins the artistic flow of the sheet and makes it look like part of a crappy Excel spreadsheet.

I've played with multiple database programs, but taking into consideration cost and the fact that I am not a programmer, nor do I want to be, Access offers me the most dynamic capabilities with a ton of support so that when I run into difficulties after I have exhausted all the options myself I can usually find someone who can help me over these hurdles. I started three weeks ago with no experience in Access at all and through the use of forums and YouTube videos have put together a sizable database using expressions, queries, VB coding, and all the best practices I could incorporate to provide me with the results I want.

This little listbox border issue has been needling at me for several days now, so I thought I might ask for some help in resolving it. At this point it seems that there is simply no way for me to use a list box and get the aesthetic output results I want, so I have gone back to comboboxes. I very much appreciate your time and assistance. Thank you.

 

[Mark_]

csperati,

I can understand your frustration, how ever what you ask is akin to the question "Why won't this hammer take screws out without messing up the wall?"

How a form appears on the screen is optimized for visual display on a monitor. It is not intended to appear nicely when printed. This is simply how the program was written. The expectation is users would use a Report to output to a printer.

 

[csperati]

I appreciate your analogy, but working within the confines of the program's capabilities I have very successfully achieved my goal while using the hammer to remove the screw. My frustration lies in the fact that every field that I am working with--except the listbox--allows me make the border transparent and the best answer anyone can provide for it not working is that I'm not using the program the way it's intended.

It doesn't work that way, and it's fine, I will work around it. I apologize for bothering you with the question, I just couldn't understand why everything else with the exact same controls allows me make the border transparent on output--except the listbox. That makes absolutely no sense to me.

 

[isladogs]

You don't need to apologise for the question
However, you did seem to oscillate between talking about forms and reports which made it more difficult to understand you.
Why not post screenshots of the relevant items or post a stripped down version of your db so that we can see exactly what you mean and perhaps provide helpful suggestions.

 

[Acropolis]

If the variable in the combo box is the same most of the time and you only change it occasionally, then you could just set the default value of the combo box to the most common selection and only change it when you need to, therefore speeding up your process.

Having the list boxes working on the form and then outputting to a report would be a better way of doing it and give you exactly what you are after, but the above could give a workaround.

 

[MarkK]

...I have very successfully achieved my goal while using the hammer to remove the screw.

If you experienced removing screws with a hammer as "very successful," I strongly recommend you research the concept "screwdriver." It will: Blow. Your. Mind.
hth
Mark

 

[bastanu]

csperati,

Check out the following post from back in 2005, I think it will give you what you need (in a report, not your original form). You can save your original form as a report to save you time recreating it and then replace your listbox with a label control and use the code in the link to populate it:

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/remove-list-box-border-on-print-out.1659024/

Good luck!
Vlad

 

[csperati]

I guess a big part of this problem is that I have been so busy putting all the information into the form, that I have only taken an ancillary look at the reports and saw no obvious way to output the data from the form to the report. This very likely is the screwdriver that everyone is talking about while I continue bludgeoning forward with my hammer.