I see that the properties for hyperlinks used in form for Access 2000 change the cursor from a pointer to a pointing hand, is there a way to cause enabled command buttons to do the same, or at least change in some way when they ar moused over to indicate they are live?

Mel Cape

I exactly don't understand your question.
And where is the Cmd button located. VB or Javascript/html?


I'll did all I could, I am doing all I can and I will do all I can. Now, you better do all you can.

Sorry for the confusion - I'm referring to the Command Button objects that are placed on Access forms that provide for navigation or actions within the Access database. Currently, unless the Command Button object is a hyperlink, there is no indication to the user that the button is active. I'd like to be able to use VBA code or whatever is necessary to have either the button properties or the cursor change to indicate the button is live.

Mel Cape

Hi Mel,

The MousePointer property (accessed with Screen.MousePointer) accesses only four system cursor types: hourglass, I-beam, arrow, and sizing arrows. To get at the system Hand cursor, you need to use a Win32 API call. The code below toggle’s the default Pointer cursor and the Hand cursor on four events needed to make the command button mouse-over work.

In a standard module:

~~~~~~Code~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Option Compare Database

'Win32 API calls and wrapper functions.

Dim hHand As Long
Dim HandCheck As Boolean

Declare Function SetSystemCursor Lib "user32" _
  (ByVal hCursor As Long, ByVal id As Long) As Long

Declare Function LoadCursorA Lib "user32" _
  (ByVal hInstance As Long, ByVal lpCursorName As Long) As Long

Function ChangeCursorHand()
    Dim RetVal As Long

    ' Check to see if hand is currently set
    If HandCheck = False Then
        RetVal = SetSystemCursor(hHand, 32512)
        HandCheck = True
    End If
End Function

Function ChangeCursorDefault()
     Dim RetVal As Long

    ' Check to see if hand is currently set
    If HandCheck = True Then
        RetVal = SetSystemCursor(hHand, 32512)
        HandCheck = False
    End If
End Function

Function GetDefaultCursor()
    ' Get handle to Hand cursor
    hHand = LoadCursorA(0, 32649)
End Function

~~~~~~EndCode~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

In your Form module:

~~~~~~Code~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Private Sub Command0_MouseMove(Button As Integer, _
        Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
    ChangeCursorHand
End Sub

Private Sub Detail_MouseMove(Button As Integer, _
        Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
    ChangeCursorDefault
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Activate()
     GetDefaultCursor
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Deactivate()
    ChangeCursorDefault
End Sub

~~~~~~Code~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hth,

Bob

Just a quick note to say that whilst certainly possible to do this, it is not a standard way of indicating a live button.

For a standard VB style program, the way to indicate that a button is live, is to use the enabled property. When set to false the command button goes all greyed out and is fairly obviously unusable.

Web browsers use the same visual method to indicate a disabled control, although they do have another trick where they change the buttons shape (IE) or background (Opera) when the mouse hovers, to indicate which button will be activated if the mouse is clicked now. Bob's code could very easily be modified to give this behaviour:

Set the special effect of all the command buttons on the form to flat.

Define these constants at the beginning of your form module, as they don't seem to be intrinsic constants.

Put this code behind each button on the form.
Put this code behind the Detail section.
All I'm trying to say is, don't confuse your users by introducing non-standard behaviour. If I see a hand pointer my expectation is that I'm hovering over a hyperlink and if I click the mouse then a web browser will open up. Your users will expect the same.


Brian Skelton
Braxis Computer Services Ltd.

Hi Brain and Mell,

Please correct me if I don't have this right, but I don't think Access (even 2K3) supports the falt appearance style for command buttons. A quick peek in the Object Browser shows the following controls supporting a SpecialEffect property:

- BoundObjectFrame
- CheckBox
- ComboBox
- CustomControl
- Image
- Label
- Line
- ListBox
- ObjectFrame
- OptionButton
- OptionGroup
- Rectangle
- Section
- SubForm
- TextBox

In Vb6, you can create a flat command button with a call to the Win32 DrawFramControl API:

' In a form modlue.

Private Declare Function DrawFrameControl _
        Lib "user32" (ByVal hDC As Long, _
        lpRect As RECT, ByVal uType As Long, _
        ByVal uState As Long) As Long

Private Type RECT
    Left As Long
    Top As Long
    Right As Long
    Bottom As Long
End Type

' Constants for the uType parameter
Private Const DFC_BUTTON = 4 ' Button

' Constants for the uState parameter
' These apply to uType 4 - Button
' These are the states to draw in
Private Const DFCS_FLAT = &H4000

Private Sub Form_Load()

   Dim RC As RECT

   AutoRedraw = True

   With RC
      .Left = 15
      .Right = 30
      .Top = 15
      .Bottom = 30
   End With

   DrawFrameControl Form1.hDC, RC, DFC_BUTTON, DFCS_FLAT

End Sub

Access forms, however, con't support the hDC property, which returns a handle provided by Windows to the device context of the form.

Finally, with VB.NET we get a FlatStlye property for Button controls (with Standard, Flat, and Popup effects), but I havn't been able to get Access to behave this way.

On the issue of indicating "unavailable appearance" (disabled state) to the user, Brain is right on target. The Windows Interface Standard recommends achieving this via the Enabled property.

Bob

Bob

That'll teach me to post late at night!

You could probably do some Opera style colour changing on the mouse over event - although how this would interact with a user-defined colour scheme would be hard to predict.

What you would want to do is add a certain degree of 'darkness' to the current button background colour on the mouse over event. I can't think of any easy way to do this.


Brian Skelton
Braxis Computer Services Ltd.

Hi Brian,

... just one of those wierd Microsoft oversight things, I guess. You'd think when Microsoft revamped Windows XP with the new flat-style look somebody would've thought to give developers the ability to create flat-style controls consistently across all the MS development platforms. Unfortunately only VS.NET got that functionality. Maybe next version of Office ...

Bob

Thanx to all for the great responses and recommendations.

The audience I'm building this application for is not Access literate in some cases and I was looking for a cosmetic method of indicating activeness outside of the typical enable on/off properties.

In the initial welcome menu of the app, the plethora of buttons and hyperlinks are enabled on/off based on the user's accessibility via password. But, again, I was looking for a more dynamic or eye appealing effect.

Thanx all, and I'll keep hacking.

Mel

Mel Cape