Create a navigation form

Access includes a Navigation Control that makes it easy to switch between the various forms and reports in your database. A navigation form is simply a form that contains a Navigation Control. Navigation forms are a great addition to any desktop database. This article describes how to create and modify a navigation form, and how to set formatting and display options.

Note: The information in this article doesn't apply to Access web apps.

How about a video?

Want to watch a video to see how to create and use navigation forms? See Create navigation forms.

Create a navigation form

1. Open the database to which you want to add a navigation form.

2. On the Create tab, in the Forms group, click Navigation, and then select the style of navigation form that you want.
   
   Access creates the form, adds the Navigation Control to it, and displays the form in Layout view.

Add a form or report to a navigation form

1. If the Navigation Pane is not already displayed, press F11 to display it.

2. Ensure that the navigation form is open in Layout View by right-clicking it in the Navigation Pane, and then clicking Layout View.

3. Drag the form or report from the Navigation Pane to the [Add New] button.
   
   Access creates the new navigation button and displays the form or report in the object pane.

Edit the label at the top of the navigation form

When you create a new navigation form, Access adds the label "Navigation Form" to the form header by default. To edit this label:

1. Open the form in Layout View by right-clicking it in the Navigation Pane, and then clicking Layout View.

2. Click the label in the form header once to select it, and then again to place the cursor in the label.

3. Edit the label to suit your needs, and then press ENTER.

Edit the form caption

The form caption is the text that appears on the document tab above the form (or in the window title bar if you have set the database to display objects as overlapping windows). To edit the form caption:

1. Open the form in Layout View by right-clicking it in the Navigation Pane, and then clicking Layout View.

2. Right click on the form header near the top of the form, and then click Form Properties.

3. In the Property Sheet task pane, on the All tab, edit the Caption property to suit your needs.

Apply an Office Theme to a database

Office Themes provide a quick way to change all of the colors and fonts that are used in a database. These themes apply to all objects in the database, not just the one you currently have open.

1. Open any form or report in Layout View by right-clicking it in the Navigation Pane, and then clicking Layout View.

2. On the Design tab, use the options in the Themes group to apply different color and font themes to the database.

3. To only change colors without affecting fonts, choose an item from the Colors gallery.

4. To only change fonts without affecting colors, choose an item from the Fonts gallery.

5. To change both colors and fonts, choose an item from the Themes gallery. In this gallery, you can hover over each item to see a live preview of the theme, and then click one to apply it.

Change the color or shape of a navigation button

Quick Styles enable you to quickly change the color or shape of navigation buttons. You can apply unique styles to each button, or apply the same style to all of the buttons.

1. Open the navigation form in Layout view by right-clicking it in the Navigation Pane, and then clicking Layout View.

2. Select the navigation button or buttons that you want to change.

3. Use the commands in the Control Formatting group to apply the styles you want.

Set the navigation form as the default display form

Because a navigation form is often used as a switchboard or "home page" for a database, it makes sense to display it by default each time that the database is opened. Also, because the Access Navigation Pane is not available in a browser, specifying a default Web Display Form is a very important step in creating a Web database.

Use this procedure to set the navigation form as the default display form.

1. On the File tab, under Help, click Options.

2. Click Current Database.

3. To set the default form that is displayed when you open the database in Access, under Application Options, select the form from the Display Form list.

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