I have a form with a check box called Active_Record. I have VBA code on the form that updates the enabled property for every other object on the form based on whether or not the Active_Record check box is checked.

I didn't like the way read-only fields didn't dim out when they were disabled, so I added code to set the locked property to false as the enabled property was set to false. This allowed all the fields, even the read-only ones, to be dimmed out when the record is deactivated.

This works great... with one exception. I don't know how to update the Enabled and Locked properties for the fields on my sub-forms. Can anyone suggest the code to do this?

If I understand your issue correctly, you can do the following;

'Do a count of the number of (primry key) in your table that need to be updated. In this example, my primary key is SurveyID.

NumRecs = DCount("SurveyID", "READ_qryGrp1Mailing")

'Based on the number of records in the Addsamp
 If NumRecs = 0 Then
    MsgBox ("There are ZERO record(s) to update. Process will END")
    End
 End If

'else we Enable locked properties
'Off the top of my head, I don't know what that is...

O.K. I think I figured it out...

First, If you only want to make the field visible when you actually have something to update, use the code I initially sent...

What you are doing is generating a select query to see how many records need to be updated. If the results are zero records, the process stops if you have records to update, do the following to make the field active and then followed by your update query...

In a macro, add a SetValue action.
Set the Item action argument of the SetValue action to an expression that refers to the property you want to set:
To set a form or report property, use the syntax Forms!formname.propertyname or Reports!reportname.propertyname. For example, the following expression refers to the Visible property of the Customers form:
Forms!Customers.Visible

To set a property of a control on a form or report, use the syntax Forms!formname!controlname.propertyname or Reports!reportname!controlname.propertyname. For example, the following expression refers to the Visible property of the HiddenPageBreak control on the Invoices report:
Reports!Invoices!HiddenPageBreak.Visible


Reports!Invoices!HiddenPageBreak.Visible

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Sorry to have been confusing, but I'm afraid I didn't communicate what I was looking for very well.

Here's a code snippet to illustrate what I'm trying to do...

if me.check_box_1.value then
   me.field1.enabled = true
   me.field2.enabled = true
   me.field3.enabled = true
   me.field3.locked = true
   me.subform1.enabled = true
else
   me.field1.enabled = false
   me.field2.enabled = false
   me.field3.enabled = false
   me.field3.locked = false
   me.subform1.enabled = false
endif

The third field is locked so users can't update. However, because a field that is locked does not dim out when enabled is set to false, I unlock it and disable it at the same time, and vice-versa.

This works perfectly for me, with the exception that the fields on subform1 don't dim out to show they're disabled. They are disabled and can't get the focus, but they're not dimmed out.

I thought about using conditional formatting on them, but because some of the fields are locked, I need to be able to turn lock and enabled both off.

Subform1 is a ContinuousView form, showing many records. How do I address a specific field on a specific record?

I found a solution, but I'm sure there must be a programatic way to have done it. I created a copy of my subform and called it Subform1_Disabled. It's an exact duplicate, with the exception that all fields are disabled.

The new code for the Check_Box_1 on click is...

Dim strCurrentBookmark as String

if me.check_box_1.value then
   me.field1.enabled = true
   me.field2.enabled = true
   me.field3.enabled = true
   me.field3.locked = true
   strCurrentBookmark = me.subform1.recordset.bookmark
   me.subform1.sourceobject = "subform1"
   me.subform1.recordset.bookmark = strCurrentBookmark
   me.subform1.enabled = true
else
   me.field1.enabled = false
   me.field2.enabled = false
   me.field3.enabled = false
   me.field3.locked = false
   strCurrentBookmark = me.subform1.recordset.bookmark
   me.subform1.sourceobject = "subform1_disabled"
   me.subform1.recordset.bookmark = strCurrentBookmark
   me.subform1.enabled = false
endif