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  1. #1
    mcucino is offline Advanced Beginner
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    Tab control vs Navigation control - benefits and drawbacks

    What's the difference between using a tab control and a navigation control? I know navigation controls look a bit nicer and you can do both side and top tabs, but aside from that they seem pretty much the same. Both of them can have a subform on each tab, but it seems like it's a lot easier to reference subforms and controls when using a tab control. That's why i usually use a tab control, but I'm designing a new database and if there is some hidden benefit to a navigation control, I'd like to learn about it and try it out. Otherwise, it doesn't seem worth the effort of referring to much more compartmentalized controls and subforms on a navigation control when you can have them all just be a part of the same form using a tab control.

  2. #2
    ranman256's Avatar
    ranman256 is online now VIP
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    I use tab control, but I don't have a subform on each.
    instead I use 1 subform and swap out the source depending on the tab clicked.

  3. #3
    davegri's Avatar
    davegri is online now Excess Access
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    I seldom have problems making a tab control do what I want. Not so with navigation control.

  4. #4
    ssanfu is offline Master of Nothing
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    I have never used a navigation control.
    I have more control on how the form works if I "roll my own" forms.

  5. #5
    Micron is online now Virtually Inert Person
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    You can only load one form (unless that form has its own subform) at a time in a navigation control. Switch tabs, one form closes, the other opens. That means any code associated with those actions will run, or at least any record changes will commit.
    Not finished entering data on formA and you switch to formB? Too bad...
    Want to get a value from formA when on formB? So sad...
    Then there's the convoluted syntax for referring to anything on a form that's loaded into a nav control, and if that form has a subform it's even worse.

    You can replicate the look of a nav form with a tab control and pages (why didn't they call it a page control?) and a set of side buttons that look pretty much the same. Do you need 7 pages for 7 forms that you might want to show? Not necessarily. You can change what loads into one page based on what side button you click. Or you can have 7 pages and only load a form when you click on it if you need your main form to load faster.

    The only time I use a nav form is to try and help people who have issues with them, and there's plenty of those.
    The more we hear silence, the more we begin to think about our value in this universe.
    Paraphrase of Professor Brian Cox.

  6. #6
    Missinglinq's Avatar
    Missinglinq is offline VIP
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    Ditto what they all said!

    Linq ;0)>
    The problem with making anything foolproof...is that fools are so darn ingenious!

    All posts/responses based on Access 2003/2007

  7. #7
    laycenew is offline Novice
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    Quote Originally Posted by mcucino View Post
    What's the difference between using a tab control and a navigation control? I know navigation controls look a bit nicer and you can do both side and top tabs, but aside from that they seem pretty much the same. Both of them can have a subform on each tab, but it seems like it's a lot easier to reference subforms and controls when using a tab control. That's why i usually use a tab control, but I'm designing a new database and if there is some hidden benefit to a navigation control, I'd like to learn about it and try it out. Otherwise, it doesn't seem worth the effort of referring to much more compartmentalized controls and subforms on a navigation control when you can have them all just be a part of the same form using a tab control.
    Sorry for bumping an old post, but I thought maybe it might help to contribute what I've learned to this post in case someone else has the same issue with their navigation control.

    FWIW, most people seem to prefer tab controls over navigation controls, even though they both do the SAME EXACT thing (with the exception of being able to have side tabs in a navigation control). I can see why, because navigation controls seem difficult at first, but they're actually quite helpful once you tinker around with them. I think most people just get frustrated and give up with navigation controls.

    In my experience, the best benefit of a navigation control is how it handles queries in the background. Only the queries for the active tab will run, and will close when you move to a new tab. This helped my database run so much faster, because originally my database forms were totally built in tab controls, but one day after building a report with 2 subreports, my database maxed out on the number of "open databases" I could have at a time (it's 255) and would crash. I didn't know there was a limit! This includes combo boxes and drop down boxes, and all the queries that your tab controls are based on. When you have a tab control, all the queries are opened, even for the tabs that you aren't viewing. ALL of them.

    After a little research, I learned that navigation controls would be the better solution for me, because the only queries being opened are the ones for the active tab. The queries for the other tabs do not get opened until you go to them. I converted all my tab controls into navigation controls, and my database runs so much faster now, and the number of "open databases" (queries) at a time dropped significantly.

  8. #8
    Micron is online now Virtually Inert Person
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    the only queries being opened are the ones for the active tab
    That problem can be solved by only loading the tab when you select it, and unload it when it's not selected. In that case you can basically replicate that feature of navigation forms without the complexity of them (hierarchy for getting at subform data). However, either way the issue of not being able to reference a form field value because the form is no longer open applies to both of those situations. Tabs make getting at form data a bit easier.
    The more we hear silence, the more we begin to think about our value in this universe.
    Paraphrase of Professor Brian Cox.

Please reply to this thread with any new information or opinions.

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