In a form or report, you can change the default properties for new controls. This procedure does not apply to data access pages.
- Open a form or report in Design view (Design view: A view that shows the design of these database objects: tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros. In Design view, you can create new database objects and modify the design of existing objects.).
- Do one of the following:
Change the default settings for a type of control
- In the toolbox (toolbox: A set of tools that is available in Design view for adding controls to a form or report.), click the tool for the type of control that you want to change. For example, if you want to change the default control style for text boxes, click the Text Box tool .
- Display the property sheet by clicking Properties on the Form Design or Report Design toolbar.
Microsoft Access changes the title bar of the property sheet to indicate that you've opened the default property sheet for that type of control.
- In the property sheet, change the property settings.
- If you want the new settings to apply to all new controls, make the current form or report a template.
You can either use an existing form or report as a template, or create a form or report specifically for use as a template. Changing the default template does not have any effect on existing forms and reports.
- On the Tools menu, click Options.
- Click the Forms/Reports tab.
- Type the name of the new template in the Form Template or Report Template box.
- Click OK.
Note To see the name of the template that is currently used for new forms or reports, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Forms/Reports tab.
Change the default settings for a type of control to match the settings of an existing control
- Select the control that has the characteristics that you want to use as defaults.
- On the Format menu, click Set Control Defaults.
Microsoft Access sets the default properties for that type of control based on the control you selected.