Problem Using Special Effects

Question

In Access 2010, opened a form that contains various controls in Design view. Selected the Format tab in the ribbon. Special Effects in the Control Formatting group remains disabled after selecting various controls on the form. What should I do to make Special Effects available?

Answer 1

This feature is designed for Command Control but not text boxes. What controls are you trying to modify?

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Chris Ward

Answer 2

TextBox, ComboBox, Label, primarily. You say the feature is designed for Command Control. I don't see any control named Command in the Ribbon. What do you mean by Command Control?

Answer 3

Hi Charlie,

Most things you put on an object are called controls. You have textbox controls, ComboBox Controls, Command Button Controls, etc. For short they can be referred to in many ways. I shortened up Command Button Controls to Command Controls. Funny I don't usually do that I usually say Command Button for short.

At any rate, the Command Button is the Control you would want special effects on. I don't have A2010 or A2013 at home right now for testing so I cannot verify that it doesn't work on Rectangles and such but then those aren't really controls either.

Hth

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Chris Ward

Answer 4

Thanks for the clarification. In fact, Microsoft refers to that control as a Button control. It would be helpful if people who contribute to forums would try to stick with the names Microsoft uses, even if those names are somewhat strange.

Come to think of it, the word "control" is somewhat strange. Most things Microsoft calls controls don't control anything. I remember wondering, many years ago when I first started using Access, why Microsoft called these things controls.

Back to the present subject. I have confirmed that, with a Button control selected, Special Effects is enabled and works.