How to make a form popup - sometimes!

[Petrol]

I have a form, Form11, with a subform subfrm_ATI located within it. Neither form nor subform is popup or modal.

I have another form, Form67, which is Popup and modal.

I would like Form67 to be able (via a VBA event procedure) to open the same subform (subfrm_ATI), this time as a popup form, so that I can resize it and locate it just below the Form67. But I don't want to interfere with the operation of Form11 and its subform.

Is this possible? I have tried several combinations of options but I can't get it right.

[isladogs]

Whether done using code or via the property sheet, you can only change the popup status of a form when in design view. So I think the answer is no.

[Petrol]

"No" as in "not possible"?
The OpenForm documentation says there is an option to open the form in design view, so perhaps there might be a way there??
But I'm not sure how one would go about it.

[isladogs]

OK...It is possible but only with some fairly convoluted code.
The attached example shows how it can be done.
The code I used is:

Private Sub cmdPopup_Click()
 
    Application.Echo False
    If Me.cmdPopup.Caption = "Set Popup True" Then
        DoCmd.OpenForm "Form1", acDesign
        Forms!Form1.PopUp = True
        DoCmd.OpenForm "form1", acNormal
        Forms!Form1.cmdPopup.Caption = "Set Popup False"
        Forms!Form1.lblPopup.Caption = "I AM a Popup Form"
    Else
        DoCmd.OpenForm "Form1", acDesign
        Forms!Form1.PopUp = False
        DoCmd.OpenForm "form1", acNormal
        Forms!Form1.cmdPopup.Caption = "Set Popup True"
        Forms!Form1.lblPopup.Caption = "I am NOT a Popup Form"
    End If
    Application.Echo True
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
If Me.PopUp = True Then
    Me.cmdPopup.Caption = "Set Popup False"
    Me.lblPopup.Caption = "I AM a Popup Form"
Else
    Me.cmdPopup.Caption = "Set Popup True"
    Me.lblPopup.Caption = "I am NOT a Popup Form"
End If
End Sub

Drag the form up so the title bar is over/under the ribbon to confirm the current state.

Note that the Me. notation won't work after changing to/from design view

I haven't tried it with a subform but the same ideas should work.
However this may be one time where it is easier to just have two identical copies of the form, one popup and the other not.

[Petrol]

Ah, that's excellent. Thank you.
And I take your point about making a duplicate copy of the subform popup. I don't expect the subform to be changed in future, so that may be the best approach. But I'm grateful to know how to make the change programmatically.

[isladogs]

Thank you for asking the question..
Until today I had just accepted the need to change to design view in order to toggle popup (or modal) status.
It was your question that triggered me to test the code and check it actually worked. As a proof of concept, I'm pleased to have done so but I'm not sure I will ever have a reason to use it myself.

[twinnyfo]

BTW, Modal property can be changed whilst the form is currently open.

I have used that from time to time with much success.

[isladogs]

@twinnyfo
Why would you ever need to make an open form modal or not?
I can't think of any possible reason for doing so.

[twinnyfo]

Good question, IslaDogs!!

Let's say you have a modal, popup form with the DB window hidden. Then you want to display a report (not print it). There is no way to do that without displaying the DB window. There is no way to display the DB window with a popup form (because the form will stay on top). If I remember correctly, you also cannot hide a modal form (or something to that effect).

So, I click my button to open the report. It de-modalizes the form, hides it, displays the DB window, opens/displays the report and maximizes said report.

When the Report closes, it un-does everything in reverse order. Viola! Violin and Violets, too! That is my application of it. But, it could be used in some of the other questions floating around here lately concerning switching around betwixt various popup forms.

Hope that hepps!

[Petrol]

Let me guess: you open a form non-modal, but something the user enters means they really can';t go away till they complete the process?

Or you open it modal, but something they enter indicates a need to show them a report?

[Petrol]

Oh, I typed my response before I saw Twinnyfo's explanation. Sorry!

[twinnyfo]

Yes - definitely the latter!

In fact, I ALWAYS open all forms in Modal and Popup mode (and recommend you do the same)--as well as always hide the DB window. I always prevent "accidental" access to anything grubby little fingers might want to look at....

[isladogs]

Hi twinnyfo
Thanks for the explanation though I'm not sure I agree with all of it. Having said that I rarely bother with modal forms.
I have an example app that covers almost all of the possible ways of working with forms and reports whilst the Access application interface is hidden.
It would be much easier to provide a link but I'm not allowed to do so here. So please do a Google search for "control application interface mendip data systems". Hopefully the First 'hit' will take you to the example app.

[twinnyfo]

I will take a look.

Admittedly, my usage is overly clunky, but has worked very well for many years. I am always open to better ways to do things.

Thanks!

[Petrol]

Well you live and learn!
Well, at least I do, anyway.
If necessary I can ask this as a separate question, but would any of those things in your sample database solve another problem I have? A user complains that some of the fields in my forms and reports are too small to show the data in them. (Yes, I know he can scroll sideways, but ...). But on my computer they all fit perfectly, and if I reduce the font size they look ridiculously small. Why would different monitors scale the textbox etc sizes differently from the font size? Can I fix it?

[isladogs]

I use automatic form resizing (AFR) in all my commercial apps and many of my example apps. The code to do so is included in the example app I mentioned earlier. However I have an extended article that explains this feature in detail. Do a Google search for 'Automatic form resizing Mendip Data Systems'

[Petrol]

That does look interesting, though i didn't understand all the stuff about default form sizes etc, which I guess I would need to get my head around to use it. Unfortunately my application is already developed (on a 1920x1080 screen) with about 70 forms and 40+ reports, and sadly, I don't think I can re-do them all! Also, I use tabbed documents instead of overlapping windows, and popup forms :(

[isladogs]

AFR is most suitable for apps where it is planned in for use from the start. Having said that you could always try it out on new forms and reports.
However, as my article makes clear, it works equally well with both tabbed documents and overlapping window displays, and whether or not forms are popups.