Detect which control is active

[Williams485]

Hello Access Forum,



I'm trying to find the most effective and efficient way to create an event handler that will detect when certain controls on a form are selected (and then carry out some actions). I've read a couple of methods that I either can't get to work or don't understand. The latter is to use class modules to handle the form events. While I've used classes in an Excel application and have some understanding, I haven't been able to follow the articles relating to Access forms.

So, the other option I've seen, which seems like the simpler option, is to use the ActiveControl property. The code I'm trying is:

Private Sub Form_SelectionChange()
    
    Dim ctlCurrentControl As Control
    
    MsgBox "selection changed"
    
    Set ctlCurrentControl = Screen.ActiveControl
    If ctlCurrentControl.Name = "field1" Then
        MsgBox "field1"
    ElseIf ctlCurrentControl.Name = "field2" Then
        MsgBox "field2"
    End If
    
End Sub

However, I can't get this to work. The form's 'On Selection Change' property (in the Property Sheet) is set to "[Event Procedure]".

Please can you advise on whether the SelectionChange event is the best way and why it isn't working for me in the test form?

Thanks

[ranman256]

put a modular flag at the top of the form code.
set it to whatever control is picked, then you can recall it anytime.

private mvActiveControl

public btnSave_OnClick()
    mvActiveControl = "btnSave"
     '...more button events
end sub

[Williams485]

Thanks for the reply, Ranman. Am I right in thinking that I'd have to write a short event handler for each control that I want to monitor and set it to a variable (as you've demonstrated with the OnClick event)? If so, I have a large number of controls that I want to use so I was wondering if there was a way to do this without writing code for each control that it affects. The controls I want to detect selection for are text boxes or check boxes and they may not necessarily be clicked (tabbed to, for example).

Are there any other ways I could achieve this or do I need to write the event handler for each control?

Thanks

[CJ_London]

Are there any other ways I could achieve this or do I need to write the event handler for each control?

put your sub into a new module, change it to a function and make it public. e.g.

Public Function SelectionChange()
    
    Dim ctlCurrentControl As Control
    
    MsgBox "selection changed"
    
    Set ctlCurrentControl = Screen.ActiveControl
    If ctlCurrentControl.Name = "field1" Then
        MsgBox "field1"
    ElseIf ctlCurrentControl.Name = "field2" Then
        MsgBox "field2"
    End If
    
End Sub

then on each of the controls click event replace [Event Procedure] with =SelectionChange()

if you have many controls, you can just select them all and replace all in one go

I'm not sure why you are using the SelectionChange event - it relates to pivot tables and charts but you are talking about controls

[Williams485]

Thanks, Ajax. I clearly hadn't researched the SelectionChange event properly! Your suggestion works fine and I can now go on to add the functionality I need.