How to Hide the Ribbon When Launching Microsoft Access ?

Having Ribbons in your Microsoft Access 2016 application helps a lot when you need to use all the tabs that are present on the ribbon. However, there are times that you need to prevent the tabs on the ribbon from displaying when launching the application. MS Access, by default, does not provide an option for hiding the ribbon. Because of that,you have to opt for external approaches. One way is to create and apply a customised ribbon that can hide all the built-in tabs.

Before you begin, make sure system tables are displayed in the Navigation Pane. To do this, change a setting in the Navigation Options dialog box so you can view the USysRibbons table once it is created.
Follow these steps:
  1. Right-click the Navigation Bar at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then click Navigation Options.
  2. In the Navigation Options dialog box, under Display Options, click the Show System Objects check box, then click OK.You should be able to see the Access system tables in the Navigation Pane. 

    Create the USysRibbons system table


    The procedure below explains how to create the USysRibbons system table which you will use later to store your Ribbon customization XML.
1. On the Create tab, click Table Design.
2. Add the following fields to the table. Make sure you type the field names correctly.
FIELD NAMETYPEFIELD SIZE
1.       ID1.       AutoNumber1.       Long Integer
1.       RibbonName1.       Short Text1.       255
1.       RibbonXml1.       Long Text1.
3. If you want, you may include more fields to this table.
4. Select the ID field and click Primary Key that’s on the Design tab, in the Tools group.
Press CTRL+S and name the new table as USysRibbons. Click OK to save the changes.

Add Ribbon customization XML to the USysRibbons table


Suppose you want to prevent the database users from using any tools on the ‘Create’ tab and you want to create a custom tab that only contains the‘Paste’ command.
This is how to create the XML with this configuration:
  1. Right-click the USysRibbons table in the Navigation Pane then click Open to display the table in Datasheet view.
  2. Copy the following data and paste it into the table.

IDRibbonNameRibbonXML
(AutoNumber)Custom Tab<customUIxmlns=”http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/01/customui”>
<ribbon startFromScratch=”false”>
<tabs>
<tab idMso=”TabCreate” visible=”false” />
<tab id=”dbCustomTab” label=”A Custom Tab” visible=”true”>
<group id=”dbCustomGroup” label=”A Custom Group”>
<control idMso=”Paste” label=”Built-in Paste” enabled=”true”/>
</group>
</tab>
</tabs>
</ribbon>
</customUI>

  1. Close the USysRibbons table.
  2. Close the database and open in again.

Apply the custom Ribbon

Since the custom Ribbon XML has been added to the table, it’s time to apply the custom Ribbon.
If you want to apply the custom Ribbon to the entire database, do the following:
  1. Launch Access and open the database.
  2. Click File then Options to open Access Options dialogue box.
  3. Click Current Database and locate Ribbon and Toolbar Options.
  4. Select the Ribbon Name list then click the Ribbon that you want — in this case, Custom Tab.
  5. Click OK.If you choose to apply the custom Ribbon to a specific form or report, here are the steps:
    1. Right-click the form or report that you want to apply the custom Ribbon to and click Design View.
    2. Press F4 to display the property sheet if it’s not already shown.
    3. Under Selection type, make sure that the object type (Form or Report) is selected.
    4. On the Other tab of the property sheet, click the Ribbon Name list, then click the Ribbon that you want to be displayed when opening the form or report — in this case, Custom Tab.
    5. Press CTRL+S to save.
    6. Close the form or report.
    7. Reopen it.
    Now, the Ribbon that you selected is displayed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft Access Queries: An Action Query

Image
You use this type of query to change data in tables, saving the need to manually edit records or use any of the manual tools namely,  Find  and Replace . Examples for this action could be to reset data, change prices, increase volume and correct data migration and population issues. One of the more commonly used examples is to carry out some sort of calculation and change prices for a range of products. The above example increases all products for UK suppliers by 10% using the  [Unit Price]  field containing the original price value multiplied by 1.1 (an increase by 110%). Just remember, this is an action query which means changes to any data values cannot be reversed once actioned which is why you should normally see a warning first. However, it is always a good idea to take a copy or back up of your data files before running  Microsoft Access VBA programming  of this nature. There are many other types of queries too and the more you know about Access queries, the more f
Read more

How To Run Microsoft Access On A Mac PC Using CrossOver Software – Alternative Options

Image
Firstly, let’s clarify that Microsoft Office for Mac does not include the  microsoft access database  application which is why we have to take such steps. The alternatives and work around could include: 1.  Using the free runtime version for an exectuable file only or a third party web app which is now available for the iPad so you can load Access as a viewer only should you need to just read information. 2.  Installing VMWare (or similar) which is a virtual image software tool that creates a separate instance on your Mac PC and therefore can have several versions as a quick way to restore a default environment. However, it will require you having a licenced copy of Microsoft Windows operating system whereas CrossOver has this already included 3.  Using some sort of remote access software like LogMeIn or SplashTop (which there is a free version. There are others too but the two mentioned I have used are very effective indeed but will require a live internet connection to a
Read more

Microsoft Access Tutorial: Creating A Many-To-Many Relationship

Image
Microsoft access tutorial In a relational database, a many-to-many relationship exists when a record in one table can be referenced by one or more records in another table and vice versa. You need to have two or more tables to create relationships. To link these tables, you will have to create another table (a third) which will be your interceding or junction table. Here are the steps again in creating a third table: 1.  Go to the Create tab. 2.  Click on Table Design. A new table will be opened. 3.  Create two fields (plus any additional supporting fields). NOTE:  The two key fields are going to be the primary keys from the two tables that you have created which are in effect known as secondary or foreign keys (duplicates OK). To identify the primary key from a table: Click on the existing table and select View on the upper left corner of MS Access. You can identify the primary key when you click on one of the fields and see the Primary Key button, right next to the
Read more