Application Window (Access 2000)

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I would like my database to open to the designated start form, but without the Access application window showing behind it. Is this possible?

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Yes: select Tools/Startup…

Select the form you want to be displayed when the database is opened, and uncheck the “Show Database Window” check box.

You can also set other options in this dialog (for instance whether to show complete menus and toolbars)

To bypass the startup options (for design purposes), keep the Shift key down while opening the database.

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Thanks, but I’ve already done this part. What I would like is for the Access application window to not display; only my start form. I don’t know if there is a way to do that.

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I’m sorry, I misread your question. I thought you meant the database window.
No, you can’t hide the Access application window – your form would be hidden too.

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Actually you can hide the Access Window. It involves API calls.

Have a look at at http://www.mvps.org/access/api/api0019.htm%5B/url%5D

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Bryan,

I stand corrected. Thanks to you and Drew – I learned something new.

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Me too – I’m impressed. We do something a little different in that we hide all the standard toolbars and menus, change the application title, and maximize the visible form within the application window. I guess it achieves about the same thing in the long run.

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Put this code inside of a module:

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit
Private Declare Function IsWindowVisible Lib “user32” (ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long
Dim dwReturn As Long
Const SW_HIDE = 0
Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Const SW_SHOWMINIMIZED = 2
Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3
Private Declare Function ShowWindow Lib “user32” (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
ByVal nCmdShow As Long) As Long
Public Function AccessWindow(Optional Procedure As String) As Boolean
Select Case Procedure
Case “Hide”
dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_HIDE)
Case “Show”
dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)
Case “Minimize”
dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
Case “Switch”
If IsWindowVisible(hWndAccessApp) = 1 Then
dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_HIDE)
Else
dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)
End If
End Select
AccessWindow = IsWindowVisible(hWndAccessApp)
End Function

To use this code, you have 5 options:
AccessWindow “Hide” ‘This will hide the Access Window
AccessWindow “Show” ‘This will show the Access Window
AccessWindow “MInimize” ‘This will minimize the Access Window
AccessWindow “Switch” This will switch the Access Window from visible to hidden or from hidden to visible.
Finally, you can check the ‘status’ of the window by just retrieving the value AccessWindow returns (so If AccessWindow Then ‘will fire if the Access window is visible)

One word of caution. You must have at least one visible form on the desktop when you hide the Access window. However, if you don’t, there is still hope. I am attaching a little VB .exe I wrote, which will unhide all instances of Access that it finds on your machine. (Very handy when developing with an app that hides the Access Window).

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Very good Drew.
When would you use this? Maybe if you wanted to start the application and do something behind the scenes invisibly?

Pat

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Actually, the code on The Access Web is actually the first code I ever used. It took me a while to figure how to even use it, but once I did, there was no looking back, I was on the VBA track!

What I personally needed the code for at that time, was the people I was writing a database for were extremely computer illiterate. The more stuff on the screen, the more confused they were. So by hiding the Access Window, I was able to give them just the forms, with nothing else on the desktop.

It also adds a little more ‘ad hoc’ security, since you are effectively preventing a user from doing anything in Access other then what you have put into the forms you display. If the Shift Bypass option is disabled, it is even more effective.

The only real quirk with hiding that window, is if you need to preview a report. There is no way to do that when the Access Window is hidden.

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>>So by hiding the Access Window, I was able to give them just the forms, with nothing else on the desktop.<<
What I found when I did the "hide" was that the Access instance disappeared and left no form on the screen at all. What I did was to open a form that opened another form from a button and the second open form had the "hide" in it's OnOpen event. As I said it hid the entire instance.
Strange, from what you have described.
Pat

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In a round about way, you ran into and solved the form issue.

In Access 97, you forms (that you want the user to see) must have their popup value to true.

In Access 2000 (and I assume 2002 (but I can’t verify this for 2002)), you must have the Popup AND Modal properties set to true.

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Thanks Drew, I have A97 so all I had to do is what you said, set the PopUp to Yes.
Pat

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No problem. Glad to help. Remember to download that .exe I posted. When developing it can come in really handy!

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I already had downloaded that exe and it has already come in handy.
Thanks again.
Pat

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