The
Parent property of a control refers to the control's
Parent object. In the example below, we use the
Parent property of a subform to determine the name of the main form.
The correct syntax for the
Parent property in macro actions called from a subform is:
Forms![Main Form Name]![Subform ControlName].Form.Parent.Name
This expression can be simplified when we consider that the
Form property is the default property for the subform control. The simplified form of the above expression then becomes:
Parent.Name
The following example demonstrates how to use the
Parent property in a macro:
- Start Microsoft Access and open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
- Create and save the following macro:
Macro: Get Parent Name
---------------------------------------------------------------
Action: MsgBox
Message: ="Parent: " & Forms.Orders![Orders Subform].Form.Parent.Name
Title: Parent Form Name
NOTE: You can substitute the simplified expression "Parent.Name" for the full expression used in this example.
- Open the Orders Subform form in Design view. Add the Get Parent Name
macro to the OnDblClick event of the ProductID field:
Object: Text Box
--------------------------------------------------------------
ControlName: ProductID
OnDblClick: Get Parent Name
- Save and close Orders Subform.
- Open the Orders form. Double-click the ProductID field in the subform. Notice that the parent form name, Orders, is displayed in a dialog box.
- Close the Orders form. Open the Orders Subform form in Design view, and then remove the macro that you added in step 2.