Office Button / Current Database / Application Options / Document
Window Options
if I select Tabbed Documents with Display Document Tabs is checked,
the interface opens a new tab when a form/report is opened - this is
good

first tab is a list (continuous form) of orders, where I can double
click an order to open a form with more details
now I have two tabs with two forms - this to is good, but

now I click on the first tab, back to my list, and I double click on a
different order, it flips me to the second tab, where it is still
displaying the details from the first order - this is bad cause the
user doesn't notice this and changes data for the wrong order

not wanting and not knowing exactly how to change the application, I
unchecked the 'display document tabs' option, so that it behaves more
'overlapping windows' - except I don't have the option to switch
windows, and in design mode, I don't have the option to minimize /
close the form I'm designing

is there vba that allows me to change the 'display document tabs'
option setting ?

?"Roger" wrote in message
news:2b99b797-b942-48dd-96c8-b60246b0f039 (AT) j33g2000vbb (DOT) googlegroups.com...

Even if there was an option to change that, it would still be problem since
the current setting simply turns off all tabs. It is for all forms and not
individual lines. You've just pointed out that you actually want to keep
the tab(s) display, but want to control how the user jumps from form to
form.

The typical solution in controlling a user when they open a form and when
they're done completing that for them to close that form and thus return to
the previous form. How you control this in access has not really changed
since the early 90's. The solution to this problem is to make the second
form modal (NOTE VERY VERY CAREFUL: I said not say dialog, and notice I said
not say pop up, those types of forms are SIGNIFICANTLY different than a
modal form).

When you launch a form as modal from another form, that modal setting means
that you either are able to launch additional forms, or you MUST close the
current form before you can have focus return to the previous form. And
that's pretty much what you're asking to accomplish here anyway. So which
are trying to accomplish here is typically dealt with by using the forms
modal setting.

If you make your second form modal, then what will occur is the previous
tab(s) will be automatically become grayed out and become disabled. The user
will thus fast learn they have to close the current form they are on. Not
only does this setup ensure that that form is safely and securely closed and
saved its data, but it also means you back to your previous form and you
don't have to write a bunch of code or worry about what record that other
form is on, and you also do not have to write a bunch of code to test of the
form is already opened (if it's already opened, open it again with a where
clause can often fail and does not work and can cause a whole bunch of
issues if the form is not already closed ).

So, now you don't have to worry about writing code trying to determine what
the status of that other form is, you know it MUST have been closed and thus
and edit + verification + data checking and whatever else that form does
during editing is now correctly completed and done with, and the form was
safely and correctly closed (with all of its close and after update events
and everything else running correctly )

So in these cases where you have a continuous type form displaying detailed
data from which you launch another form to edit one row, you can most
certainly continue to use the new tabbed interface as opposed to overlapping
windows, and you can continue to do what all access developers have done in
the past and that is to simply use that modal setting.

So the forms modal setting is how you control user flow. If I have a user
two or three forms deep launched one after another, I usually want the user
to RE turn exactly the same way as how they came to that point in time. So,
if those forms are set as modal, then each form will have to be closed and
you un cork back in the reverse order that you came down that road.

This also prevents the user from trying to sneak around back to a previous
form(s) without first completing their closing the current form they are on
..

The only thing you should be aware of when using modal forms in the tabbed
interface mode is that a modal for means that you can't move the focus to
the navigation pane, and it'll automatically minimize on you, so hopefully
you have the navigation pane minimized or hidden anyway, otherwise this will
cause the navigation pane to do so.

There's a number of great advantages to using tabbed interface mode over
overlapping windows. One other really great advantage is you can now start
to anchor your controls using the new anchoring features in access. This
means your forms can resize controls without having to use any third party
controls or code. Another nice advantage of using the tabbed interface is
also fact that the user never gets to see the access gray background and in
fact with one line of code you can hide ALL of the access interface.
That one line of code is:

DoCmd.ShowToolbar "Ribbon", acToolbarNo

So my best guess here is to simply to make the second form modal, and the
rest will be taking care for you automatically. The previous tabs will
automatic dim and become disabled for you. You users will learn quick that
they must close the current form to return to previous and as noted with the
previous tabs' disabled and a end, they even get a visual cue.

--
Albert D. Kallal (Access MVP)
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Pleasenospam_kallal (AT) msn (DOT) com

intact interface mode

is make sure that the purse to safely and securely close that one form, and
also means that you now don't have to worry about trying to worry

are significantly different kinds of forms)