previewing forms full frame while designing?

[merlin777]

Is there a way to preview a form you are designing to see how it will look when it's full frame?

 

[MarkK]

Hi, it's not clear to me what you mean by "full frame." Just open the form, so it's not in design mode anymore. That's how it will look.

 

[merlin777]

if i open it in form view there is still the ribbon and navigation pane and other paraphernalia and its only around 3/4 of the screen size. I'd like to preview it so it fills the screen as it would be presented to the end user.

 

[MarkK]

You can set the form size--whether they're full screen or windowed--and the visibility of the nav pane, in Access Options, but you either do that or you don't. There's no additional "end user" mode. You can minimize the ribbon, but it's essential for some operations when there are visible records, which is almost always. Apart from that you can customize the ribbon, Google "Access Ribbon StartFromScratch USysRibbons" for more info on that, but it gets a bit advanced in a hurry.

Hope this helps,

 

[merlin777]

Thanks for this Mark. Sorry to keep asking such basic questions. After being a quite experienced excel user, since I recently started access I feel quite stupid!

May I ask you just one more and I promise I'll go to bed...

When I click on my database file, access opens with all the tool bars and ribbons and everything. When you give the database to a user and they click on it, you don't want it to open with all those options - you just want to start with a form or something filling the screen with the interactive parts of the database on it so they can start using it. What do you need to do to have it open like that?

 

[MarkK]

Change the filename extension of your database from .accdb to .accdr. See if that does what you want.

 

[merlin777]

Thanks, Mark - that gives me a foothold. Grateful for all your help!

 

[CJ_London]

Not sure if this meets your requirements but set the form popup property to true, then when opened click on the maximise button to make it full screen

 

[CJ_London]

you just want to start with a form or something filling the screen with the interactive parts of the database on it so they can start using it. What do you need to do to have it open like that?

In response to this you can make the form popup and modal and then hide the access window completely.

The user will not be aware of access except for the first time when the db is opened and the user has to enable the code. Even if you code to allow trusted locations, this still needs to run.

 

[merlin777]

I've been playing with the settings set the bd to hide the ribbon and navigation and to open a form on startup. Pretty much gave me what I want except now I can't get any of them back! I can see the form I selected to open on startup and it's nearly full screen apart from a very limited toolbar at the top.

When I click on the file button now it has virtually no options except exit access/bluetooth/close database.

I had also been playing with renaming as .accdr but I'm definitely opening the .accdb file.

Any idea how to get out of this one?

 

[merlin777]

forgot to add, it basically looks like it does when I open the .accdr file, as if it's opened in runtime.

 

[CJ_London]

provided you haven't disabled the function, hold down the shift key whilst opening the db.

 

[merlin777]

wow - I would never have found that. Thanks!