Dynamic Naming of Form Button

[A Fish]

I am attempting to create a button where the Caption of the button changes depending on which record is currently active on a form. I was able to find a post on a stackoverflow forum that has me very close here. However It works as expected EXCEPT when I select the first record in the database. (I am making the selection using a drop down/combo box)

I have other controls that are reliant on the same method that do pull the appropriate field info, so it's not an issue with the drop down/combo box. If I select any other record in the database, the button caption is changed as expected, but when I select the first record in the database, the caption is not changed and I can't figure out why.

I am just learning to use VBA code so I'm wondering if I have missed something obvious here.

Also, the form used initially loads to a 'new record' and so everything is blank upon load, so a record is required to be selected by the user for any information to appear.

The code I have used is as follows:

Private Sub Form_Current()
    If Nz(Me.EMP_NAME, "") <> "" Then
        Me.Command172.Caption = "Info for " & Me.EMP_NAME
        
    Else
        Me.Command172.Caption = ""
End If

    
End Sub

It seems pretty simple code, and ultimately I am simply attempting to pull in an employee name from the database based upon the current/active record. Again, this works except when I select the record for the first employee in the database.

Thanks for your help.

A Fish

 

[TheITApprentice]

It's possible that the issue with the code you provided is related to the way it's checking for a value in the EMP_NAME field. When the first record is selected, it's possible that the Nz function is returning a different value than when any other record is selected, even if the EMP_NAME field appears to be populated.

To troubleshoot this issue, I would suggest adding some debugging code to the Form_Current event. For example, you could add the following code at the beginning of the event:

Debug.Print "EMP_NAME value: " & Me.EMP_NAME
Debug.Print "Nz value: " & Nz(Me.EMP_NAME, "")

Then, when you select the first record and the button caption doesn't change, check the Immediate Window (you can open it by pressing Ctrl+G in the VBA editor) to see what values are being returned by these statements. This may help you identify why the Nz function isn't behaving as expected.

Additionally, you may want to consider using a different field to determine the button caption, such as an employee ID field or a field that is guaranteed to have a value for all records. This would avoid the issue of relying on the Nz function to handle empty or null values.

 

[A Fish]

I apologize for the late reply - I did as you suggested, and it seems that when I select the first record of the database, that nothing is being executed?

I say nothing because the Immediate Window does not appear to update when I select the first record, but does update the values when I select other records. When I select the first database record however, the value printed in the Immediate screen does not update or move or anything. Coincidentally (or not), the value displayed on the button also does not update/change.

I guess I don't understand why the code would execute differently for the first record of the database than every other record?

As to your suggestion of using a different field to determine the button caption - I do need to handle a null value as when the form initially loads, it is loading to a null value for all field values. (at least this is my understanding of how it works when opening a 'blank' form) I am using

 DoCmd.GoToRecord , , acNewRec

to accomplish this, so would I still not need to use the Nz function to avoid errors? Or am I misunderstanding how this function works?

btw - Thanks for the tip on the Immediate Window - didn't even know this was a thing.

 

[Ali Gerailly]

Current means records which Get focus and it changes button's caption