Hiding the Access 2013 Application during database use...

[sooli]

how in the world do i hide the database window? The thing takes up the whole screen, all my users need are the forms I created... used to be a check box that would let you not display the application... that feature seems to be gone in 2013 =/

[twinnyfo]

Here is what I use:

I created a separate module called "modFormUtiliti es". In it are several functions.

Whenever you use these functions, your forms should all be set to Modal and Pop-up. This allows your Forms to have control of the environment, rather than the DB window.

There are some comments in the RestoreForm Function that explains how to use it. Let me know if you run across any snags.

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit
 
'==============================
'  CONSTANTS FOR DBASE WINDOW
'==============================
Public Const SW_HIDE = 0
Public Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Public Const SW_SHOWMINIMIZED = 2
Public Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3
 
'==========================
'  DBASE WINDOW FUNCTIONS
'==========================
Public Declare Function IsWindowVisible Lib "user32" _
        (ByVal hwnd As Long) _
    As Long
Public Declare Function ShowWindow Lib "user32" _
        (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
        ByVal nCmdShow As Long) _
    As Long
 
'============================
' FORM MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
'============================
 
Public Function fAccessWindow(Optional Procedure As String, _
    Optional SwitchStatus As Boolean, Optional StatusCheck As Boolean) As Boolean
'****************************************************************************************
'* Purpose:  Controls the behavior and appearance of the Daatabase window               *
'*           residing on the form, and hence, we reduce the overall size of the FE DB.  *
'* Accepts:  Procedure -    describes the behavior requested                            *
'*           SwitchStatus - (optional) instructs the procedure to switch the current    *
'*                          status of the DB Window                                     *
'*           StatusCheck -  (optional) allows the procedure to check the current status *
'*                          of the DB window to determine whether or not to initiate a  *
'*                          change                                                      *
'****************************************************************************************
On Error GoTo EH
    Dim dwReturn As Long
    If Procedure = "Hide" Then
        dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_HIDE)
    End If
    If Procedure = "Minimize" Then
        dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)
    End If
    If Procedure = "Normal" Then
        dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWNORMAL)
    End If
    If Procedure = "Show" Then
        dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)
    End If
    If SwitchStatus = True Then
        If IsWindowVisible(hWndAccessApp) = 1 Then
            dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_HIDE)
        Else
            dwReturn = ShowWindow(Application.hWndAccessApp, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)
        End If
    End If
    If StatusCheck = True Then
        If IsWindowVisible(hWndAccessApp) = 0 Then
            fAccessWindow = False
        End If
        If IsWindowVisible(hWndAccessApp) = 1 Then
            fAccessWindow = True
        End If
    End If
    Exit Function
EH:
    MsgBox "There was an error resetting the Database Window!  " & _
        "Please contact your Database Administrator.", vbCritical, "Error!"
    Exit Function
End Function
 
Public Function RestoreForm(FormName As String)
'**********************************************************************************
'* Purpose:  Manages the database window, keep the current form on top of others. *
'* Accepts:  FormName is the name of the Form which you want to restore           *
'* Returns:  N/A                                                                  *
'*   Usage:  Add "RestoreForm Me.Form.Name" to the OnOpen event of a form         *
'**********************************************************************************
On Error GoTo EH
    fAccessWindow "Minimize", False, False
    DoCmd.SelectObject acForm, FormName
    DoCmd.Restore
    Exit Function
EH:
    MsgBox "There was an error restoring the Form.  " & _
        "Please contact your Database Administrator.", vbOKOnly, "Error!"
    Exit Function
End Function

Hope this hepps!

[sooli]

got error from click event... tried changing to modal..and it didn't help (one form will have to be non-modal so the boss man can copy and paste from the form opened by a click event.)

Error I am getting:

The expression On Click you entered as the event property setting produced the following error: constants, Fixed-length strings, arrays, user-defined types and Declare statements not allowed as Public members of object modules
*The expression may not result in the name of a macro, the name of a user-defined function, or [Event Procedure]
*There may have been an error evaluating the function, event or macro


I made sure none of your sub names were the same as mine... so * 1 is not the issue...

[twinnyfo]

This code should not run on any OnClick events. The error described does not appear to be associated with any of the code provided, as the error trapping included would not generate any such error. How are you calling the code? It should be in the OnOpen Event of the form.

You can still use Modal for all forms (as the most recently opened form will open on top. You could either close that form after you copy and then paste into the original form or have other ways to transfer data.

[sooli]

I put the code into the OnOpen event. Error didn't occur till I entered the code, when I removed the code the error went away. When I debugged, it sent me straight to your code where the constants were defined. I'll play with it a bit and see if I can resolve - maybe pinpoint the exact spot that is causing the error... for now everyone is happy with the database as is... so this will be something to provide in a version update later. Thanks for you assistance on this and my other issue.. still trying to work that one out as well...

[twinnyfo]

Is the code I posted in a separate module--all by itself and NOT in a Form. Your Form should only have the following line in the OnOpen event:

RestoreForm Me.Form.Name

You also did not tell us what the error was when you debugged.

[sooli]

I did not make a separate module... i put it at the head of the module for the main form. I will try it as a separate module =)

When I debugged, it just put me on the 1st line of code where the constants were declared. I didn't get an explanation =( Only error I got was the one I posted earlier.

[jimatqsi]

Twinnyfo, this looks to be very useful. I'm having some trouble getting Access 2010 Runtime to behave. People are able to see the database window and even change queries!

Are there any version restrictions with this code?

Perhaps this could be the basis of an article. :)

Jim

[twinnyfo]

sooli,

Have you made any progress on this?

[sooli]

Twinnyfo!!!! You are AWESOME!!!! I got it to work and didn't have to tweak any of your code! I just had to call it properly!

Sorry took so long to get to this point! Plate is overflowing!

Question... is there anyway to keep the user from bringing the window back? You cannot see it while actively using the database... which is great, however if you hover over the areo peak, you can bring it right back up... and if I try to go back to design view it closes the database...

I did find that I can open the database using shift... and get to the design view which is fine... and I have the working copy of the database set so that navigation and menu's are disabled... so they can't do anything with it... just want it to not be retrievable at all by the user.