Access Access 2010: Activating controls in a form after filter by form

[Hagridore]

I have a database which ultimately will have a couple of thousand records. The primary table has 30+ fields. I have lots of queries and connected reports to show various subsets of the data needed from the table. However, there are times when what is needed is all fields for a specific subset. Because the records sought often need to be filtered by several criteria, I've found the "Filter by Form" option to work well. I have a button on the main dashboard marked "Find Record" that automatically opens a search form in the "Filter by Form" mode. This allows me to enter information into as many controls as necessary, and returns exactly the right records after clicking on "Toggle Filters" on the ribbon. The problem is that ultimately I need to make this "Access-free". The goal is to create an application from the database without ribbons. I've created a button to run the filter, and another one to print the results, but when the search form is open in the "Filter by Form" mode, it greys out the buttons. I understand that there is a GotFocus command or something similar. Can anyone help with specifics, both the syntax of the command and where the command needs to be typed? Thanks a bunch...I look forward to your reply.