This YouTube Video demonstrates using Custom Properties in a Form.

The problem demonstrated is that if you place a Custom Property in a Form you would expect the Forms various events, the Events that operate when the form opens, you would expect the Events would be able to access YOUR Custom Properties, but they can’t!

The video demonstrates an attempt to pass a value to a property when the Form Loads. The custom property does receive the information, but it’s not accessible to the built-in functionality of the form. The solution is to add your own function/routine, then run that.

This MS Access behaviour seems odd and contrary to what you would expect, however if you think about it, taking complete control yourself with this method this is a much more satisfactory solution because you’re not relying on the built-in functionality of MS Access, which occasionally does not work in the way you would anticipate. Another way of looking at it is to realise that the Forms Events are there in the main to be used to modify the Form itself.

There is another and more popular way of transferring information between Forms and it’s called the “OpenArgs Event” which is built into a form. With it you can transfer information to the form without you having to add your own routine. However, if you want to transfer more than one piece of information it does become rather complicated, and to my mind a messy solution. I believe your goal as a programmer should be to make your programming follow simple steps, mainly because you are helping yourself! When you get a bug or an issue with your database if you have a complicated system for moving data around, then you’re the one that’s going to have to fix it!