What is a “Switchboard”?

Creating a database can take quite some time and to make sure that nobody starts to mess with the various objects, we can use a switchboard.
A “Switchboard” is an independent form, which allows users to navigate between the different tasks in a database.
Each page in a “Switchboard” can have upto eight command buttons and you can create as many pages as you like.
A command button can include actions on previously created “Forms” or “Reports”, “Macros”, even closing the database.
You can set “Access” options so that the “Switchboard” is displayed when you open the database.

“Switchboard Manager”

The “Switchboard Manager” allows you to create a “Switchboard” easily.
To start this option , click the “Switchboard Manager” button under the “Database Tools” tab in the “Ribbon”.

“Access” will check if there is already a “Switchboard form” and a “Switchboard items table” in the database.
If not, a message is displayed, where it says that the “Switchboard” control cannot be found and asks whether you want to create one.
Click the “Yes” button.

This opens the “Switchboard Manager.
As mentioned earlier, you can create a maximum of eight command buttons on a “Switchboard” but, you can make as many boards as you want.
If you would like to have multiple, click the “New” button in this window, enter a name in the pop-up window for the new “Switchboard” and click OK. Do this for each “Switchboard” you want to make.

To add various command buttons to a “Switchboard”, first select the “Switchboard” and click the “Edit” button.
In this example, there is only one and this is selected, so I click the “Edit” button.

In the upper section of the “Edit Switchboard” window, I give the “Switchboard” a name and click the “New” button to add a command button.

In the upper section of the next window, type a text next to the button you want to see.
In the second box, you give the command to run when this button is clicked. Just click the downward pointing arrow and pick your choice. All of these options seem obvious to me .
I chose “Open Form in append mode”.
In the third box, which is based on the choice you made in the second box, I choose to open the previously created form.
In this case, it is the “Add Order” form.
Click the OK button.

We repeat this for each button that we want to add to our “Switchboard”.
Therefore, one for the adding customers and one for adding orders.
Click the “Close” button when all buttons are added.
By clicking on the “Up”, “Down” buttons, you can change the order of the buttons.
By clicking on the “Delete” button, you can remove a button.
But I think you already know this.

As you can see, two objects are added in the “Navigation pane” of the application.

You have the “Switchboard Items” table, which is automatically added.

And you have the “Switchboard form”.

Now, when you open the “Switchboard form”, you see a standard formatted “Switchboard”.

If you want to change this according to your own format, choose “Design View” in the “Ribbon” under the “Home” tab.
We have already seen how to format a form in the previous lesson.

Another tip:
Add a button on each form which links you back to your “Switchboard”, when you close the form.

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