Knowledge Base

ACC: Maximizing One Form Maximizes All Forms

Article ID: 121410

Article Last Modified on 5/6/2003

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Access 1.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Access 1.1 Standard Edition
Microsoft Access 2.0 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q121410

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

SYMPTOMS

When you maximize a form, all other open forms are also maximized. You cannot maximize one form independent of the other open forms.

CAUSE

Microsoft Access is a multiple document interface (MDI) application. The default behavior for an MDI document is for all child windows to be maximized when one is maximized. This behavior occurs in many applications. For example, if you maximize one group window in Windows Program Manager, any other group window that you select (using the Window menu) will also be maximized. Or, if you maximize a document window in Microsoft Word for Windows, all other document windows will be maximized as well.

RESOLUTION

This article assumes that you are familiar with Access Basic and with creating Microsoft Access applications using the programming tools provided with Microsoft Access. For more information on Access Basic, please refer to the "Introduction to Programming" manual in Microsoft Access version 1.x, or the "Building Applications" manual in version 2.0.

There are two ways to work around this behavior:

Forms whose PopUp property is set to Yes are not MDI child windows. Pop-up forms float on top of other forms, and are not maximized when an MDI child window is maximized.

You can simulate maximizing a form by sizing it as large as possible in a restored state. The following example demonstrates how to create and use a sample Sub procedure called MaximizeRestoredForm to restore a form if it is maximized, and then move the form to the upper left corner of the Microsoft Access client area window and size it as large as possible.

NOTE: In the following sample code, an underscore (_) at the end of a line is used as a line-continuation character. Remove the underscore from the end of the line when re-creating this code in Access Basic.

Create a new module and enter the following lines in the Declarations section of the module:

         Option Explicit

         Type Rect
            x1 As Integer
            y1 As Integer
            x2 As Integer
            y2 As Integer
         End Type

         Declare Sub GetWindowRect Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As Integer, _
            lpRect As Rect)
         Declare Function IsZoomed Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As Integer) _
            As Integer
         Declare Sub ShowWindow Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd%, ByVal nCmdShow%)
         Declare Sub MoveWindow Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As Integer, _
            ByVal X As Integer, ByVal Y As Integer, ByVal nWidth As _
            Integer, ByVal nHeight As Integer, ByVal bRepaint As Integer)
         Declare Function GetParent Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As Integer) _
            As Integer

         Const SW_MAXIMIZE = 3
         Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1

Enter the following Sub procedure in the module:

         Sub MaximizeRestoredForm (F As Form)
            Dim MDIRect As Rect

            ' If the form is maximized, restore it.
            If IsZoomed(F.hWnd) <> 0 Then
               ShowWindow F.hWnd, SW_SHOWNORMAL
            End If

            ' Get the screen coordinates and window size of the
            ' MDIClient window.
            GetWindowRect GetParent(F.hWnd), MDIRect

            ' Move the form to the upper left corner of the MDIClient
            ' window (0,0) and size it to the same size as the
            ' MDIClient window.
            MoveWindow F.hWnd, 0, 0, MDIRect.x2 - MDIRect.x1, _
               MDIRect.y2 - MDIRect.y1, True
         End Sub

To automatically simulate maximizing a form when the form is opened, set the form's OnLoad property to the following event procedure:

         Sub Form_Load()
            MaximizeRestoredForm Me
         End Sub

To simulate maximizing a form called MyForm, use the following statement in a function or subroutine:

         MaximizeRestoredForm Forms!MyForm

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

REFERENCES

For more information about pop-up forms, search for "PopUp" then "Creating Pop-Up Forms and Dialog Boxes" using the Microsoft Access version 2.0 Help menu.

Keywords: kbprb kbusage KB121410

Microsoft KB Archive/121410

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