How to Create Forms with Subforms in Microsoft Access on Windows 11
Posted on 18th June 2023
Introduction
Microsoft Access is a database management system (DBMS) from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of applications, included in the Professional and higher editions or sold separately.
Access is used to develop application software. When deploying the final product, the developer has the option of either packaging the required runtime components with the application (an Access Deployment file), or deploying the application and required runtime components (the Access Runtime).
Creating Forms with Subforms
In Access, forms are used to display and edit data, and to perform various tasks. Subforms are forms that are embedded in other forms. Subforms are used to display data from related tables. For example, you might have a form that displays data from a customer table, and you might want to display data from the customer’s orders in a subform.
To create a form with a subform, you first create the form that will contain the subform, and then you create the subform.
Creating the Main Form
To create the main form:
- Open the Access database that will contain the form.
- On the Create tab, in the Forms group, click Form.
Access creates a new form and displays it in Layout view.
Creating the Subform
To create the subform:
- On the Create tab, in the Forms group, click Form.
- In the New Form dialog box, click From Design View, and then click OK.
- In the Fields list, double-click each field that you want to add to the form.
- When you have added all the fields that you want, click Close.
Access creates the subform and displays it in Layout view.
Adding the Subform to the Main Form
To add the subform to the main form:
- Open the main form in Layout view.
- On the Design tab, in the Controls group, click Subform.
- Click the subform control, and then drag it to the location on the main form where you want to display the subform.
When you release the mouse button, the Subform Wizard starts.
- In the Subform Wizard, click the subform that you want to use, and then click Next.
- In the Link Master Fields list, click the field in the main form that you want to use to link the two forms, and then click Next.
- In the Link Child Fields list, click the field in the subform that you want to use to link the two forms, and then click Next.
- Click Finish.
The subform is added to the main form, and the two forms are linked.
Saving and Opening Forms
When you save a form, Access saves the form design, and also saves any data that you have entered into the form. To save a form:
- On the File tab, click Save.
- In the Save As dialog box, enter a name for the form, and then click Save.
To open a form, on the File tab, click Open. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the folder that contains the form, click the form, and then click Open.
Conclusion
This article has described how to create forms with subforms in Microsoft Access on Windows 11.
When you have a form with subforms, you can use the Tab key to move between the controls on the main form and the controls on the subform.
To create a form with a subform, you first need to create a form and a subform. To do this, open the Forms tab in the Navigation Pane, and then click the New Form button.
In the New Form dialog box, select the Form Wizard option, and then click OK.
In the Form Wizard, select the Tables/Queries option, and then click the double arrow button to move all of the fields from the Available Fields list to the Selected Fields list.
Click the Next button, and then select the Columnar option.
Click the Next button, and then select the Define My Own Tab Sequence option.
Click the Next button, and then click the Finish button.
Your form should now look something like this:
To add a subform, click the Subform/Child Form button in the Toolbox.
Click and drag to draw a subform on your form.
In the Subform Wizard, select the Tables/Queries option, and then click the double arrow button to move all of the fields from the Available Fields list to the Selected Fields list.
Click the Next button, and then select the Columnar option.
Click the Next button, and then click the Finish button.
Your form should now look something like this:
You can now use the Tab key to move between the controls on the main form and the controls on the subform.
When you use a subform, the data is presented in a more organized way, making it easier for the user to understand. In addition, subforms can be used to create forms that are more interactive and easier to use.
To create a subform, you first need to create a form. To do this, open the Forms toolbox and click on the Form icon. This will open the Form Wizard.
In the Form Wizard, select the fields that you want to include in your form. If you want to include a subform, select the option to “Create a form with a subform”.
Click Next and then Finish to create the form.
When the form is open, click on the subform icon. This will open the Subform Wizard.
In the Subform Wizard, select the fields that you want to include in the subform. Click Next and then Finish to create the subform.
Your form is now complete and you can add data to it. To do this, open the form in the Forms toolbox and click on the Data Entry icon. This will open the Data Entry form.
Enter the data that you want to add to the form and then click on the Save icon. This will save the data to the form.
