Tab Stop Problem

[dave h]

Hi,

I have a form with a 2 page tab control on it. The first page has 10
controls and half of them I'd like to have tab stops and set the order.
I've tried numerous variations of changing the property sheet setting to
turn tabbing on/off for controls and setting their tab order. As it stands,
the tab order dialog only recognizes some of the controls with the Tab=yes
and many that have Tab=no. If I bring up the tab order dialog from the main
toobar->view, it gives me a different set of tabs (mostly ones that are
turned off) than if I bring up the same dialog box from the property sheet -
then it only shows thee controls. If I try to set the property in VB, it
tells me that only 0,1,2 are valid index numbers. At run time, pressing the
tab key causes focus to bounce all othe the place including items on the
main Access toolbar.

Any idea what is happening? Thanks, Dave H.

 

[Ken Snell [MVP]]

Set tab stop "yes/no" property in Properties window.

Set tab order using View | Tab Order after you've clicked on the tab page.

 

[dave h]

Hi Ken,

That was the first thing I changed when this problem first started. I've
changed that property along with the tabindex property numerous times and it
doesn't change much. Sometimes I get a little behavior change, but it is
very random. I'm wondering if this is some kind of a problem when combined
with the tabbed style pages on the form?

 

[Ken Snell [MVP]]

If it is, it's a new one to me. I've not had the problem that you describe.

Leave the tab index property alone in the properties window. Just use View |
Tab Order from the menu at top of form to set the tab order.
--

Ken Snell
<MS ACCESS MVP>

 

[Dirk Goldgar]

Hi Ken,

That was the first thing I changed when this problem first started.
I've changed that property along with the tabindex property numerous
times and it doesn't change much. Sometimes I get a little behavior
change, but it is very random. I'm wondering if this is some kind of
a problem when combined with the tabbed style pages on the form?

I wonder if maybe some fo the controls that you *think* are on a tab
page are actually on the body of the form, behind the tab control.
They'll show through in that case. Since the detail section and each of
the tab pages have their own independent tab order, it seems to me a
situation like that could result in confusing behavior.

 

[dave h]

Hi Dirk,

I think this was part of problem. I have a habit of starting with one text
box or button and getting its appearance the way that I want it and the
doing a copy followed by several pastes. Then I drag them to their final
resting place. This appears to be a poor practice when using a tab control.
I think they actually "get behind" the tab page as you suggested. In fact,
three controls showed through to a different tab page. So I deleted these
controls and put them on the first page individually. At least they now
only show on the correct tab page.

However, the tabbing through the controls and the tab order is totally
hosed. Clicking the tab key sends focus all over the page including up onto
the formatting tool bar. The view->tab order dialog box only shows one of
my controls despite the fact that 10 of them have "yes" for the tab stop
property.

Thanks, Dave H

 

[Dirk Goldgar]

Hi Dirk,

I think this was part of problem. I have a habit of starting with
one text box or button and getting its appearance the way that I want
it and the doing a copy followed by several pastes. Then I drag them
to their final resting place. This appears to be a poor practice
when using a tab control. I think they actually "get behind" the tab
page as you suggested. In fact, three controls showed through to a
different tab page. So I deleted these controls and put them on the
first page individually. At least they now only show on the correct
tab page.

Dragging doesn't work, as you've found, to move controls that have
already been created from the detail section onto a tab page. Copying
and pasting, or cutting and pasting, works, but you have to click the
tab first to select the page before you paste the control.

However, the tabbing through the controls and the tab order is totally
hosed. Clicking the tab key sends focus all over the page including
up onto the formatting tool bar. The view->tab order dialog box only
shows one of my controls despite the fact that 10 of them have "yes"
for the tab stop property.

The Tab Order dialog should show all the controls in the relevant
section that can possibly receive the focus, regardless of whether they
have TabStop set to Yes or No. Are you sure you have selected the
correct tab page when you call up the Tab Order dialog? Are you sure
that all the controls you think are on that page really are?

You say "clicking the tab key" -- you're actually talking about pressing
the Tab key on the keyboard, aren't you?

When you talk about the tabbing behavior, are you talking about how it
behaves in form view, or in design view?