Hiding Access

[KHogwood-Thompson]

Hi,
I have been trying to hide access and just display the form to the user, I
found a thread on this site and used the following function code:

Option Compare Database
Global Const SW_HIDE = 0
Global Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Global Const SW_SHOWMINIMIZED = 2
Global Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3


Private Declare Function apiShowWindow Lib "user32" _
Alias "ShowWindow" (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal nCmdShow As Long) As Long

Function fSetAccessWindow(nCmdShow As Long)
'Usage Examples
'Maximize window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)
'Minimize window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
'Hide window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_HIDE)
'Normal window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_SHOWNORMAL)
'
Dim loX As Long
Dim loForm As Form
On Error Resume Next
Set loForm = Screen.ActiveForm
If Err <> 0 Then 'no Activeform
If nCmdShow = SW_HIDE Then
MsgBox "Cannot hide Access unless " _
& "a form is on screen"
Else
loX = apiShowWindow(hWndAccessApp, nCmdShow)
Err.Clear
End If
Else
If nCmdShow = SW_SHOWMINIMIZED And loForm.Modal = True Then
MsgBox "Cannot minimize Access with " _
& (loForm.Caption + " ") _
& "form on screen"
ElseIf nCmdShow = SW_HIDE And loForm.PopUp <> True Then
MsgBox "Cannot hide Access with " _
& (loForm.Caption + " ") _
& "form on screen"
Else
loX = apiShowWindow(hWndAccessApp, nCmdShow)
End If
End If
fSetAccessWindow = (loX <> 0)

End Function

The switchboard form that is called from the startup option is set as popup
and modal, when I use the open event to call the function I get the following
message:

Cannot hide Access unless a form is on screen

The switchboard form is only then displayed when I click on OK and Access is
still on display. Can anyone advise please?

 

[Dirk Goldgar]

In

Hi,
I have been trying to hide access and just display the form to the
user, I found a thread on this site and used the following function
code:

Option Compare Database
Global Const SW_HIDE = 0
Global Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Global Const SW_SHOWMINIMIZED = 2
Global Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3


Private Declare Function apiShowWindow Lib "user32" _
Alias "ShowWindow" (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal nCmdShow As Long) As Long

Function fSetAccessWindow(nCmdShow As Long)
'Usage Examples
'Maximize window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)
'Minimize window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
'Hide window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_HIDE)
'Normal window:
' ?fSetAccessWindow(SW_SHOWNORMAL)
'
Dim loX As Long
Dim loForm As Form
On Error Resume Next
Set loForm = Screen.ActiveForm
If Err <> 0 Then 'no Activeform
If nCmdShow = SW_HIDE Then
MsgBox "Cannot hide Access unless " _
& "a form is on screen"
Else
loX = apiShowWindow(hWndAccessApp, nCmdShow)
Err.Clear
End If
Else
If nCmdShow = SW_SHOWMINIMIZED And loForm.Modal = True Then
MsgBox "Cannot minimize Access with " _
& (loForm.Caption + " ") _
& "form on screen"
ElseIf nCmdShow = SW_HIDE And loForm.PopUp <> True Then
MsgBox "Cannot hide Access with " _
& (loForm.Caption + " ") _
& "form on screen"
Else
loX = apiShowWindow(hWndAccessApp, nCmdShow)
End If
End If
fSetAccessWindow = (loX <> 0)

End Function

The switchboard form that is called from the startup option is set as
popup and modal, when I use the open event to call the function I get
the following message:

Cannot hide Access unless a form is on screen

The switchboard form is only then displayed when I click on OK and
Access is still on display. Can anyone advise please?

In some versions of Access, the timing is such that you have to force
the form to be visible before hiding the application window:

Private Sub Form_Open(Cancel As Integer)
Me.Visible = True
DoEvents
fSetAccessWindow SW_HIDE
End Sub

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

You can certainly build some custom menu bars and completely hide the
ms-access interface. However, like word, Excel etc, each form is a "child"
of the application. Office has always been this way. (each Excel window does
not have a menu bar..but the menu bar is at the top, and each sheet (or word
doc) is inside the window).

The apple mac is also this way (each window for the application is a child).

About the best approach is to make your own menu bar.

You most certainly can, and should hide all of the ms-access interface. The
options to complete hide and keep people out of the ms-access interface can
easily be done using the tools->start-up options. Using those options allows
you to complete hide the ms-access interface (tool bars, database window
etc). Also, using these options means you
do not have to bother setting up security.

Try downloading and running the 3rd example at my following web site that
shows a hidden ms-access interface, and NO CODE is required to do
this....but just some settings in the start-up.

Check out:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/DownLoad.htm

After you try the application, you can exit, and then re-load the
application, but hold down the shift key to by-pass the start-up options. If
want, you can even disable the shift key by pass. I have a sample mdb file
that will let you "set" the shift key bypass on any application you want.
You can get this at:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

 

[KHogwood-Thompson]

Many thanks Dirk, that works fine.