Command Button to produce Fast Forward motion through records when button held down.

[Jerry Call]

I use the standard Next, First, Last, Previous, etc. command buttons all the time.


What I'm wondering is if there is a way to make a command button which does
"fast forward." Some programs have a navigation function like this. When you
hold down a key or button the app cycles rapidly through every record in a file,
stopping only when you either release the key, or eof is reached.

If so, I assume there is a Fast Reverse equivalent function.

Can this be done in Access?

[ranman256]

most people would enter a search term and go directly to the record the want. It's not video tape.
tho, you can just hold down the PAGE DN button.

[Micron]

Could be done - like most other ideas that arise. Question is, is it worth the effort, especially when you have options (OK, maybe not what you want). F'rinstance, you can enter a value in the record count/position box in the navigation controls, hit enter, and go there.

[Jerry Call]

A search box occurred to me, but what I really need in my present context is the exact equivalent of the "fast" (i.e., continuous while you hold down a key) forward/reverse action found in some programs.
I'll fiddle around with Page Down on the keyboard. I suspect what I want will require vba. Any ideas about that?

[Micron]

Well, I haven't done this but what comes to mind is to use a spinner control. It has been a while, but I recall that I used these to increment a value in a textbox, so I suspect you could use its OnUpdated event to increase x by 1 and do

docmd.GoToRecord acdataform, "frmMyForm",acgoto,x

I cannot tell you whether or not your form will automatically scroll when the current record goes beyond the bottom of the list when doing this but I believe it will because this happens when you hold down the arrow button. At least it does on a data sheet form that has vertical scroll bar.

EDIT - of course the good thing about the spinner is that you could easily go up or down the record list because the control has increase and decrease options. The potential drawback is that it is an ActiveX control. Sometimes ActiveX controls have distribution issues. Case in point, the calendar control that was deprecated. However, the spinner has been around as long as I can remember and since there's no big demand for it, I'd be surprised if they do any development on it.

[Jerry Call]

I know fast forward/backward can be done because in the place where I work we have an Access app that does what I want without using scrollbars. For forward motion, if I press Alt+Y once it advances to the next record. If I hold down Alt+Y it fast forwards as long as I hold the key down until it reaches eof. Similar with Alt+O for previous motion. So what's the code to make this happen? Skip the command button idea; give me two macros that will do what Alt+Y and Alt+O do on my Access app at the office.

It ought to be simple.

[Jerry Call]

Hold on, folks! Actually, the solution IS simple--and I already have it. In my own app I have a command button for &Next, which moves forward one record each time I press Alt+N. But if I hold down Alt+N it does in fact advance.
So now need for more conversations. The solution was right in front of me.

By the way, I finished the big app I've been working on for a year, and it worked very well. Couldn't have done it without your help! Based on this year's experience in the field I'll be making a few alterations for next year's inventory,
so I'll likely be checking with you again. But for the moment, thanks again. Multiple likes!