Need to cleanup form that has too many unused commands.

J

JoanOC

Is it possible to copy my existing form so that the commands are not also
copied?
I have over 4,000 commands. I noticed this when I entered a new command and
saw what # was automatically assigned to it.
I look in SQL and saw that all but about 15 are not in used.
They were created over the years.
Help appreciated for this will be a daunting job.
 
J

John Vinson

Is it possible to copy my existing form so that the commands are not also
copied?
I have over 4,000 commands. I noticed this when I entered a new command and
saw what # was automatically assigned to it.
I look in SQL and saw that all but about 15 are not in used.
They were created over the years.
Help appreciated for this will be a daunting job.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm confused. Forms don't have "commands". Do you mean
Controls? Forms have a lifetime limit of 768 controls so I doubt that
too.

Try creating a new, empty form; open the old form, select the controls
on it, type Ctrl-C to copy them, select the new form, and type Ctrl-V
to paste them onto the new form.

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
J

JoanOC

Clarification: On my form I go to toobox and insert what I call a command
onto the form using the Wizard to carry out whatever: open form, run query,
ctc. by clicking on what I call a command button.
I think you wrote me several months ago that a form should not have an
excessive number of command buttons on it.
I shall try your suggestion.
Thanks.
Joan
 
J

John Vinson

Clarification: On my form I go to toobox and insert what I call a command
onto the form using the Wizard to carry out whatever: open form, run query,
ctc. by clicking on what I call a command button.
I think you wrote me several months ago that a form should not have an
excessive number of command buttons on it.
I shall try your suggestion.
Thanks.
Joan
Click to expand...

Ok... what exactly do you mean, then, that you have 4000 commands on a
form? Are you changing the *DESIGN* of the form using the wizard,
adding new command buttons or changing the code behind buttons? It
would certainly be preferable to have a (reasonable) number of command
buttons on a form (although other techniques can be used) than to be
continually changing the structure of the form, if only because of the
database bloat that the constant changing will cause!

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
J

JoanOC

Please advise what other techniques may be used on a form to carrry out
commands. The attorneys that I am designing their form on is ongoing. Because
the do not know much about computers I am forever creating buttons marcros
commands so they only need to hit one button to either get their cases
filtered on the form, run a report of their cases, status notes, etc.
Appreciate your input.
Joan
 
J

John Vinson

Please advise what other techniques may be used on a form to carrry out
commands. The attorneys that I am designing their form on is ongoing. Because
the do not know much about computers I am forever creating buttons marcros
commands so they only need to hit one button to either get their cases
filtered on the form, run a report of their cases, status notes, etc.
Appreciate your input.
Click to expand...

so...

there have been 4000 *DIFFERENT* operations needed over a time span?
And every time they want to perform a different operation you redesign
the form?

I'm just trying to figure out the context here. Typically there is a
somewhat limited set of *generic* operations that an application
should support, such as "print something out". The "something" can be
presented in (say) a listbox - the user would click on the line that
says "case report" or "status notes" or whatever, and then click the
"print this" button; or the form could be set up to ALSO print the
desired report when they doubleclick the line.

SOME effort should be required of the user to make the computer aware
of what they want. Having a developer restructure the form so that it
contains only one button which says "Do what I want" - and then having
a person reprogram it to do what the user verbally conveys - is the
extreme end of your approach, but it's even less efficient than taking
the attorney's computers away and just having a basic form which *you*
would use to generate what they want.

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
J

JoanOC

I am not making myself clear. The reason I put buttons on the form for each
attorney is that they don't know how to run a query for reports. And they
don't want to learn. At least now they are able to click on a button and
print out their own cases.
However, you are correct. Soon the form will be a collections of command
buttons.
I will try to learn how to use the list box as you suggested.
It is rewarding that the attorneys are beginning to use Access to generate
status reports to the boss; look up phone , fax numbers ,e-mail addresses
with the alpha buttons phone list.
Is there a book that would be helpful?
Joan
 
J

John Vinson

I am not making myself clear. The reason I put buttons on the form for each
attorney is that they don't know how to run a query for reports. And they
don't want to learn. At least now they are able to click on a button and
print out their own cases.
Click to expand...

It's not necessary for there to be *a command* button for each
attorney. It's also not necessary that an attorney (or any other user)
should ever need to see the query window.

Would it be reasonable for the attorney to select his or her own name
from a listbox or a combo box, and have code (very like the code you
now have in your command button) to launch the appropriate report? Or
even to select their name from one listbox, and the type of report
from another listbox, and click a "print it!" button?

You can have a friendly user interface *without* reducing everything
to one button!
However, you are correct. Soon the form will be a collections of command
buttons.
I will try to learn how to use the list box as you suggested.
Click to expand...

It's pretty easy. You may need to base the Report on a query
referencing the form control - e.g.

=Forms!frmSwitchboard!cboAttorneyID

on the AttorneyID field.
It is rewarding that the attorneys are beginning to use Access to generate
status reports to the boss; look up phone , fax numbers ,e-mail addresses
with the alpha buttons phone list.
Is there a book that would be helpful?
Click to expand...

Quite a few. "Access 200x Inside Out" by my colleague John Viescas is
one good one.

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
D

Douglas J. Steele

John Vinson said:
Would it be reasonable for the attorney to select his or her own name
from a listbox or a combo box, and have code (very like the code you
now have in your command button) to launch the appropriate report? Or
even to select their name from one listbox, and the type of report
from another listbox, and click a "print it!" button?
Click to expand...


Assuming each attorney has to log onto Windows, why not use code such as
http://www.mvps.org/access/api/api0008.htm at "The Access Web" to determine
which attorney it is, and not bother making them pick from the list!

(Of course, if their admin assistant, or an articling attorney needs to
print out the reports for another attorney, that wouldn't work.)
 
J

JoanOC

I shall purchase the book by John Viescas this weekend.
Maybe it will clarify a lot of my questions.
I do not have an Application, just a form.
Those in the office don't want to do more than click on ONE ITEM.
Nuts.
I will try to create an Application as suggested. Maybe they will just have
to learn.
Joan
 
J

John Vinson

I shall purchase the book by John Viescas this weekend.
Maybe it will clarify a lot of my questions.
I do not have an Application, just a form.
Those in the office don't want to do more than click on ONE ITEM.
Nuts.
I will try to create an Application as suggested. Maybe they will just have
to learn.
Joan
Click to expand...

Just to clarify - an "application" just means "an Access database
frontend which does things". You HAVE an Application already, and
John's book won't have a chapter on "how to turn a form into an
Application"; however it will give you lots of excellent ideas on how
to work with the tools that Access provides.

I guess I'm trying to understand your coworkers. Is what they want a
grey screen with a big button in the center labeled "DO WHAT I WANT",
and that their only interaction with the database would be to open the
database, click the button, and pick up the printout? This can
certainly be done, by your ascertaining what each employee wants, and
giving each of them a database with one form containing one button,
which does something different for each of them.

Maybe I'm overstating things - but that's certainly the impression I'm
getting!

John W. Vinson[MVP]
 
J

JoanOC

I am now using the Switchboard that allows the individual attorneys to
view/edit all the cases
view/edit only their own cases based on qry
preview and print their own case report based on their qry
alpha phone list of all clients with faxes, emails and phone# [One attorney
said this alone has saved her a lot of time-saved her getting up from her
desk to get the file to look up the info. Nice to get positive feedback.]
I am in the process of creating a clean form.
Thanks for help.
Joan
 
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