Bound vs Unbound Forms

[WCM]

It is so easy and fast to create bound forms with useful bound controls.
These forms even work well when bound to sql server tables. Since Access is
using ADO behind the scenes, why do developers consider undbound forms
superior to bound forms?

Thanks in advance for your help.

bill

 

[Arvin Meyer [MVP]]

Not all developers do. Some developers have no other choice. If the form is
unbound, there is an advantage of not ever losing more than a single record
should something happen. The biggest disadvantage of unbound forms is that
you must continually make trips back and forth to/from the server to get
values, validate, and save. BTW, Access can use DAO as well as ADO.

 

[Larry Linson]

It is so easy and fast to create bound forms with useful bound controls.
These forms even work well when bound to sql server tables. Since Access
is
using ADO behind the scenes, why do developers consider undbound forms
superior to bound forms?

"Developers" do not consider unbound forms superior to bound forms, so there
is no answer to your question. A few users and developers, for their own
reasons, prefer unbound forms, but most users and developers, once they are
comfortable with the way Access works, find the speed and ease of creating
databases using bound forms to be a major advantage of using Access.

What do you mean "Access is using ADO behind the scenes"? Except in the
Access Project (ADP) Access interacts directly with the Jet database engine.
In your VBA code, with appropriate References set, you may use either ADO or
the more traditional DAO. DAO is the "native language" of the Jet database
engine. The Access development and support teams no longer recommend ADP as
preferred, even when using an SQL Server back end.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[WCM]

Arvin, thank you. I actually like using DAO more ADO - language is more
intuitive for me. RE: bound forms - Have never had a problem with these, so
will continue to use them (happily), unless there's a situation that demands
unbound. Thanks again for your feedback.

 

[WCM]

Larry, thank you for this clarification. I am very happy with bound forms,
and I will enjoy using them going forward. I am also happy to hear that DAO
is still "OK". I always found it easier to grasp, for some reason, than ADO.
For awhile, it seemed, MS was recommending the switch from DAO to ADO.