Customize design settings for objects in your database
Applies to: Microsoft Access 2010
The Object Designers category has setting options that can be used to modify the design of Microsoft
Access "14" objects. You can set design options for table, form, report, and query designs from this
centralized Access Options location. However, most of the settings are ignored in the table Datasheet and
Layout views. You can also customize the selected error checking settings from this category.
Customize the settings for table design
The table design view area has setting options to create default custom settings for tables such as, the
text font type and size, setting for fields name prefixes or suffices, and settings that make it possible for
Access to automatically index fields.
SETTING
DESCRIPTION
Default field type
Set or change the default data type for fields in new tables and fields that you add
to existing tables. The default data type is Text.
Default text field
Set the maximum number of characters you can enter for the default field type you
size
selected. You cannot exceed the default maximum of 255 characters.
Default number
Set or change the integer type for fields that are set to the Number data type.
field size
AutoIndex on
Enter the beginning or ending characters of a field name. When you import fields
Import/Create
from an external file or you add fields to a table, Microsoft Access "14"
automatically indexes any fields with names that match the characters entered
here. Use a semicolon to separate character strings. For example, if you
type unit;name, Access 2010 indexes fields named "UnitPrice" and
"CompanyName."
Show Property
When selected, shows the Property Update Options button. This button appears
Update Options
when you change a property of a field in a table and asks if you want to update the
buttons
related properties in queries, forms and reports whenever you change certain field
properties in a table design.
Customize the settings for query design
When you select options from the Query design area, Access automatically adds design elements to your
new queries.
SETTING
DESCRIPTION
Show table
Select this option when you need to track the sources of fields in a query that is
names
based on several tables. When selected, Access shows the Tablerow in the query
design grid. To hide the row only for new queries, clear this option.
NOTE If you open an existing query that previously showed table names, Access
overrides this option.
Output all fields
When this option is selected, Access adds a Select * statement to your queries. That
statement then retrieves all the fields in the underlying tables or queries for a given
query. Clear this check box when you want to see only the fields that you add when
you are using the query designer.
NOTE This option applies only to new queries that you create with the current
instance of Access.
Enable AutoJoin
When you use the query designer, select this option to automatically create an inner
join between two tables. To define the relationship yourself, clear this option.
NOTE For this setting to work, the tables must share a field with the same name
and data type, and one of those fields must be a primary key.
Query design
Font: Sets the default font that is used in the query designer
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font
SQL Server
Size: Sets the size of the default font that is used in the query design

compatible
syntax (ANSI 92)

This databaseSelect this option when you want to run queries against Microsoft
SQL Server databases. You must use ANSI-92 syntax for all queries when you select
this option. Existing queries written using the older ANSI-89 standard (the default
for Access) might not run, or might return unexpected results.
Default for new databases : Select this option to make ANSI-92 the default query
syntax for all new databases created with the current instance of Access
Select settings for form and report designs
When you design a form or report, these options define the selection behavior, when dragging a
rectangle to select one or more controls. The settings that you select apply to all Access databases,
whether they are open or not, and also to databases that you create in the future.
SETTING
DESCRIPTION
Partially
The selection rectangle covers part of a control or a group of controls.
enclosed
Fully enclosed
The selection rectangle fully encompasses all of a control or a group of controls.
Form template
To change the default setting, enter the name of an existing form that you want to
use as a template for all new forms. The forms created from the template will have
the same section and control properties as the template.
Report template
To change the default setting, enter the name of an existing report that you want to
use as a template for all new reports. The new reports will have the same section and
control properties as the template.
Always use event
Starts the Visual Basic Editor instead of displaying the Choose Builder dialog box. By
procedures
default, the dialog box appears when you click on a property sheet
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for any
event.
Change the error checking options
These error checking settings are selected by default so that Access can automatically check for various
errors in forms and report designs but you can clear any of the options that you might not need.
SETTING
DESCRIPTION
Enable error
Enables or disables error checking in forms and reports. Access places error
checking
indicators in controls that experience one or more types of errors. The indicators
appear as triangles in the upper-left or upper-right corner of the control,
depending on how you set the default text direction. The default indicator color is
green, but you can change that to suit your needs. Error checking is on by default,
and clearing this check box disables error checking for your the database.
Check for
When you select a control and a label, Access checks to ensure that the selected
unassociated label
objects are associated with each other. If Access finds an error, the Trace
and control
Error button appears instead of the usual error indicator. Also, the Trace
Error button appears, even if the label or control is associated with another object.
Check for new
This setting applies only to forms and when selected, enables Access to check all
unassociated
new labels to ensure that they are associated with a control.
labels
Check for
Access checks for duplicate keyboard shortcuts and invalid shortcuts, such as space
keyboard shortcut
characters, and provides a list of alternatives. This setting applies only to forms.
errors
Check for invalid
Access checks controls for invalid property settings, such as invalid expressions or
control properties
field names.
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Check for
Access checks reports for common errors such as invalid sort orders or widths
common report
greater than the selected paper size. This setting applies only to reports.
errors
Error indicator
Set or change the color of the error indicator that appears when a form, report, or
color
control experiences an error.
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