Fields disappear in Form View

[CASmith]

I have a Form that has a couple of dozen fields. User error (I'm sure) causes all fields to disappear when I switch to Layout View or Form View. Any idea what I did to cause that?



Thanks!

[John_G]

Hi -

If you switch to form view and see no fields, it means there are no records to display. If you want to use the form to add records where none yet exist, set the DataEntry property of the form to Yes. I don't have A2010 yet, so I can't say if that will work for Layout view.

John

[CASmith]

I probably wasn't very clear. There is data in the table the form is based on, and the field labels are in the design view but when I switch to Form View nothing appears in the Detail section of the Form (field names and data is not visible) The Header is there...just nothing else.

[Missinglinq]

...If you switch to form view and see no fields, it means there are no records to display.

...If you want to use the form to add records where none yet exist, set the DataEntry property of the form to Yes.

Sorry, but that's incorrect on both counts!

If a Form is bound to a Record Source

and

The Record Source is empty (has no Records)

and

New Records cannot be added

No Controls will show on the Form in Form or Layout View. But all three of the above must be true for this to occur.

The reasons that a Bound Form cannot have New Records added include:

1. AllowAdditions for the Form is set to No
2. The underlying query the Form is based on is Read Only
3. User doesn't have Write Permission for the folder where the data resides.
4. Form's Recordset Type is set to Snapshot

To see if #2 is the case, from the Objects Dialog box go to Queries and click on the Query that your Form is based on to open it. Now try to enter a New
Record directly into the Query. If you're unable to do so, this is the cause of your problem.

If your query is Read Only, follow this link to Allen Browne’s article explaining the reasons this happens.

http://allenbrowne.com/ser-61.html

The only thing that setting the Data Entry Property to True does is to only allow the addition of New Records, and you cannot view/edit existing Records. If the Form is Read Only, for any of the above reasons, setting the Data Entry Property to True will not change that fact.

Linq ;0)>

[John_G]

That still suggests the form has no records to display.

This may be in the "asking the obvious" question category, or it may just be a terminology problem, and I don't mean to offend anyone -

In a post above, you wrote "field labels are in the design view" - but are there text boxes to display the data? Also, set the Allow Additions property to Yes as well.

John

[Missinglinq]

...That still suggests the form has no records to display.

Absolutely, John! It just needed to be understood that not having any Records, in and of itself, wasn't responsible for this behavior. All three of the conditions I listed had to be true.

...In a post above, you wrote "field labels are in the design view" - but are there text boxes to display the data?

Good point! And you should never fear offending anyone on the forum by asking questions, even questions that may seem overly basic or downright silly! You wouldn't believe how many times the 'smack you in the face obvious question' is the solution to a posted problem! 'Dope-slaps' are required in every developer's toolbox!

...the Allow Additions property to Yes as well.

Yes, as I explained in my post, Allow Additions property has to be set to Yes.

...There is data in the table the form is based on...

That being the case, you need to figure out why the Recordset isn't connected to the Form!

In Form Design View

• Select the Form itself
• Go to Properties - Data; is the Table listed in the RecordSource Property?
• In the box underneath that one, what is the Recordset Type Property set to?
• Select one of the Bound Controls
• Go to Properties - Data; is there anything in the ControlSource Property?
• Is this a Single-File db or has it been split into a Back End/Front End configuration?
• Is/are your File(s) in a Folder that has been declared as 'Trusted?'
• Do you have Write Permission to the appropriate Folder?

Linq ;0)>

[garysallred]

I am very new to Access myself, but I had the same issue arise. I found that the properties setting "Visible" (second option in the Format tab) in all the fields must be set to Yes or they cannot be viewed in Form view. When I changed this setting to Yes for all the fields, they are there in Form view.

[Missinglinq]

...I found that the properties setting "Visible" (second option in the Format tab) in all the fields must be set to Yes or they cannot be viewed in Form view.

True, but while there are a number of Access Properties whose names do not clearly reflect their purposes, Visible is not one of them! And one would have to hope that anyone who would attempt to create a Database, even a newby, would have enough common sense to realize that setting the Visible Property to No would make the Control Invisible!

Visible = No is not the Default Setting for this Property! The developer has to explicitly set it to No, and once again, one would have to hope that anyone undertaking the complex task of creating a Database would have enough sense to realize that they had done this, especially when you're talking about having done it to every single Control on a Form!

Linq ;0)>