You refer to the value of a control (control: A graphical user interface object, such as a text box, check box, scroll bar, or command button, that lets users control the program. You use controls to display data or choices, perform an action, or make the user interface easier to read.) or property in an expression (expression: Any combination of mathematical or logical operators, constants, functions, and names of fields, controls, and properties that evaluates to a single value. Expressions can perform calculations, manipulate characters, or test data.) by typing its identifier (identifier (expressions): An element of an expression that refers to the value of a field, control, or property. For example, Forms![Orders]![OrderID] is an identifier that refers to the value in the OrderID control on the Orders form.).

To refer to the value of a control

• Type the identifier for the form or report that contains the control, followed by the ! operator and the name of the control.

  For example, the following identifier refers to the value of the OrderID control on the Orders form:

  Forms![Orders]![OrderID]

  Tip

  If you're referring to a control on a subform or subreport, you don't have to specify the full identifier for the form or report using the Form or Report property. For example, you can use the following identifier to refer to the Quantity control on the Orders Subform subform:

  Forms![Orders]![Orders Subform]![Quantity]

To refer to the value of a property

• Type the identifier for the form, report, or control to which the property applies, followed by the . (dot) operator, and the name of the property.

  For example, the following identifier refers to the DefaultValue property of the OrderDate control on the Orders form:

  Forms![Orders]![OrderDate].DefaultValue

Notes

• You can use the Expression Builder (Expression Builder: An Access tool that you can use to create an expression. It includes a list of common expressions that you can select.) to create an identifier for a control or property.
• When you run a macro or Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (Visual Basic for Applications (VBA): A macro-language version of Microsoft Visual Basic that is used to program Windows applications and is included with several Microsoft applications.) code containing an expression that refers to a form or report, the form or report must be open.

You refer to an open form or report, or the subform or subreport of an open form or report, in an expression (expression: Any combination of mathematical or logical operators, constants, functions, and names of fields, controls, and properties that evaluates to a single value. Expressions can perform calculations, manipulate characters, or test data.) by typing its identifier (identifier (expressions): An element of an expression that refers to the value of a field, control, or property. For example, Forms![Orders]![OrderID] is an identifier that refers to the value in the OrderID control on the Orders form.).

To refer to an open form or report

• Type the name of the Forms or Reports collection (collection: An object that contains a set of related objects. An object's position in the collection can change whenever a change occurs in the collection; therefore, the position of any specific object in the collection may vary.), followed by the ! operator and the name of the form or report.

  For example, the following identifier refers to the Orders form:

  Forms![Orders]

To refer to a subform or subreport

Refer to the subform or subreport control (control: A graphical user interface object, such as a text box, check box, scroll bar, or command button, that lets users control the program. You use controls to display data or choices, perform an action, or make the user interface easier to read.) on the form or report that contains the subform or subreport, then use the Form or Report property of the control to refer to the actual subform or subreport.

• Type the identifier for the form or report that contains the subform or subreport, followed by the name of its subform or subreport control, the . (dot) operator, and the Form or Report property.

  For example, the following identifier refers to the Orders Subform subform on the Orders form:

  Forms![Orders]![Orders Subform].Form

Notes

• You can use the Expression Builder to create an identifier for a form, report, subform, or subreport.
• When you run a macro or Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (Visual Basic for Applications (VBA): A macro-language version of Microsoft Visual Basic that is used to program Windows applications and is included with several Microsoft applications.) code containing an expression that refers to a form or report, the form or report must be open.

• Type the identifier (identifier (expressions): An element of an expression that refers to the value of a field, control, or property. For example, Forms![Orders]![OrderID] is an identifier that refers to the value in the OrderID control on the Orders form.) for the form or report, followed by the . (dot) operator and the name of the section or group level.

  For example, the following identifier refers to the detail section (detail section: Used to contain the main body of a form or report. This section usually contains controls bound to the fields in the record source but can also contain unbound controls, such as labels that identify a field's contents.) on the Orders form:

  [Forms]![Orders].Detail

Notes

• When you run a macro or Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (Visual Basic for Applications (VBA): A macro-language version of Microsoft Visual Basic that is used to program Windows applications and is included with several Microsoft applications.) code containing an expression (expression: Any combination of mathematical or logical operators, constants, functions, and names of fields, controls, and properties that evaluates to a single value. Expressions can perform calculations, manipulate characters, or test data.) that refers to a form or report, the form or report must be open.
• You can also refer to form or report sections or report group levels by index number using the Section property.

You can refer to a column in a multiple-column list box or combo box by using the Column property of the list box or combo box control (control: A graphical user interface object, such as a text box, check box, scroll bar, or command button, that lets users control the program. You use controls to display data or choices, perform an action, or make the user interface easier to read.).

• Type the identifier (identifier (expressions): An element of an expression that refers to the value of a field, control, or property. For example, Forms![Orders]![OrderID] is an identifier that refers to the value in the OrderID control on the Orders form.) for the Column property, followed by the index number of the column in parentheses. Use 0 (zero) to refer to the first column, 1 to refer to the second column, and so on.

  For example, the following identifier refers to the second column of the Country list box control on the Customers form:

  [Forms]![Customers]![Country].Column(1)

Note  When you run a macro or Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (Visual Basic for Applications (VBA): A macro-language version of Microsoft Visual Basic that is used to program Windows applications and is included with several Microsoft applications.) code containing an expression (expression: Any combination of mathematical or logical operators, constants, functions, and names of fields, controls, and properties that evaluates to a single value. Expressions can perform calculations, manipulate characters, or test data.) that refers to a form or report, the form or report must be open.