How to make a textbox receive changes from comboboxes and another textbox? - vb.net

Essentially I am taking the inputs from these ComboBoxes shown below:
Along with the changes from this textbox:
And place both of these changes towards another, sole textbox. For instance, if I have my file name format adjusted the following way from the first screenshot, and I type in my client/company name as "apples", the textbox for "File Name" should output to this:
I want the user to type in their preferred "client name" and make my program add those changes automatically, without compromising the values/inputs from the ComboBoxes and "Client Name". I tried to look online for something like this, but the solutions provided made very little sense, or were just too confusing for me to understand. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

This is fairly broad; there are many ways it could be solved but I think I'd make it fairly simple:
I'd have the comboboxes in a list in left to right order:
Dim combos = { combobox1, combobox2, combobox3, combobox4, combobox5, combobox6 }
I'd have the replacements in a dictionary in any order, so this Dictionary is essentially a list of KeyValuePairs, the Key is what we find, and the Value is what we replace it with:
Dim repl = New Dictionary(Of String, String) From _
{ _
{"Client Name", _companyClientName.Text}, _
{"Month", DateTime.Now.ToString("MMM")}, _
{"Year", DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy")}, _
{"Please Select", ""} _
}
And perform a set of replacements in a loop:
filenameTextBox.Clear()
For Each c as ComboBox in combos
'to track if we perform any replacement
Dim changed = False
'for each r in the list of replacements
For Each r as KeyValuePair(Of String, String) in repl
'if the text in the combo is something we replace
If c.Text = r.Key Then
'append a replacement-performed version
fileNameTextBox.AppendText(c.Text.Replace(r.Key, r.Value))
changed = True 'track that we made a change
Exit For 'don't make any more replacements
End If
End For
'if we didn't change anything, just put the text of the combo in literally
If Not changed Then fileNameTextBox.AppendText(c.Text)
End For
All this code would go in a method and then event handlers for "combo selected item changed" and/or "company name text box text chnaged" would call the method

Related

Append Strings and values together to target a form control in VBA

I'm so close to getting this code working, I just need a little push please. I would like to
take the name of a combo box and then add a string to the end, But then get the value of a textbox with that string. This is to create a dynamic function instead of pasting the same code over and over.
Here's what I have so far, after you select something in the dropdown, the data is then pulled to populate the boxes next to it. I have about 8 drop downs so far so that's why I need this to work.
'Combobox after update
Call GrabData(Me, Me.ActiveControl)
Then
Private Sub GrabData(ctl As Control)
'name of ctl/combobox is "Kitchen"
data1 = (ctl.Name & "Size") '"KitchenSize"
'Here is where it all goes wrong
data1.Value = size.value
'size.value is just a textbox for example
End Sub
I can debug this with:
msgbox(data1)
'outputs "KitchenSize"
But I cannot get the value of kitchensize's textbox with data1.value
Error:
Object Required
I have also added Dim As String / Dim As Control.
I will be assigning the variable to some other stuff in this 50 line code I wrote so please don't take the above example as exactly what I intend to do, I just need help appending the ctl.name to a string, then use that to reference another control and so on.
EDIT
For anyone who wants to know, I figured it out.
Dim Ctrl As Control
Dim CtrlName As String
CtrlName = ctl.Name & "Size"
Set Ctrl = Me.Controls(CtrlName)
Ctrl.Value = 'Wherever you want to send the values to
See the edit.
You need to dim it as a string, then use Set Ctrl

Access VBA - How to get the properties of a parent subform, or, get the user-given name for a subform (not the object reference name)

In MS Access 2016, let's say I have 2 forms: frmMain and frmBaby.
I have embedded frmBaby as a subform on frmMain. I have embedded on frmBaby a control (let's say it's a textbox, but it could be any control) named tbxInput.
On frmMain, since frmBaby is a "control" on frmMain, I have given that control the traditional name of subfrmBaby.
Now, in VBA, an event on subfrmBaby passes the tbxInput control ByRef (as Me.tbxInput) to a function that is meant to return the .Left property of the parent of the control passed ByRef. That is, I need the function to determine the .Left property for the location of subfrmBaby on frmMain. (The function is more complicated than this, but for the sake of keeping this question let's just say the function is returning the .Left property value because the .Left value is what I need to perform the function.)
Let's say the function is: Public Function fncLocation(ByRef whtControl As Variant) as Long
(I use Variant so that null values can be passed.)
Here is the code that I expected to return the .Left value of the parent (i.e., subfrmBaby) of whtControl: lngLeft = whtControl.Parent.Left
However, that gives me an error of: "Application or object-defined error"
When I use the immediate window to check things out I find that whtControl.Parent.Name is "frmBaby" and not "subfrmBaby" which makes it problematic to reference the subform on frmMain since I cannot figure out how to get the actual name given to the control on frmMain from the object passed to the function and so I cannot reference the subform by name either.
Questions:
How can I get the .Left value for the parent of the control passed to this function?
How can I get the actual name assigned to the subform control on frmMain? In this case, I need the name of "subfrmBaby" rather than "frmBaby."
Thanks in advance for ideas.
You can do this by iterating the controls on the main form, assuming whtControl is the form object of the subform (if it's a textbox, it's whtControl.Parent.Parent and If c.Form Is whtControl.Parent Then)
Dim mainForm As Form
Set mainForm = whtControl.Parent
Dim c As Access.Control
Dim subformControl As Access.Control
For Each c In mainForm.Controls
If TypeOf c Is SubForm Then
If c.Form Is whtControl Then
Set subformControl = c
Exit For
End If
End If
Next
If Not subformControl Is Nothing Then
Debug.Print subformControl.Left
End If
Note that iterating controls comes at a performance penalty, but this code should still take milliseconds, not seconds. Also, since we test reference equality, it works even if the same subform is present multiple times on the parent form.
I just had this issue, and I think I solved it! Thanks to Eric A's answer above to get me started. I tweaked it and built on it for my use. In my case, I needed to save the "full" address of a control to build and facilitate a control log (used to log both user actions for auditing and to allow for users to "undo" an action). I have several duplicated subforms in several sub-form controls, and a few sub-sub forms (each displaying differently filtered and sorted data), so I couldn't rely on simply knowing the subform's name, I also needed the subform control name. This also leverages others' work (as noted in the code notes with some tweaks to allow easier re-use for us. I've posted it here, hopefully it will help someone else. I know I've used SO a lot.
How we use it:
On a form, after logging an action, we record the control's ID info, which calls a function to get the toppost form (this is used in conjunction with afterUpdate event so we refresh the main form and subform). We also use the HWND to validate some other items elsewhere, and to grab a form if we don't have the initial form reference. If you use this and modify it, please point back to here and give comments.
Specific Function Code to get Control "address" and get control from address
' Posted on StackOverflow 2022 February 18 in response to Question:
' https://stackoverflow.com/q/66425195/16107370
' Link to specific answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/71176443/16107370
' Use is granted for reuse, modification, and sharing with others
' so long as reference to the original source is maintained and you
' help lift others up as others have done those who helped with this concept
' and code.
Private Function GetControlAddress(ByRef ControlTarget As Object, _
ByRef ParentForm As Access.Form) As String
' Used in concert with building a form ID, this allows reflection back to the specific
' subform control and containing subform.
Dim ControlSeek As Access.Control
If TypeOf ControlTarget Is Form Then
' You need to dig through the whole list to get the specific controls for proper reflection down.
For Each ControlSeek In ParentForm.Controls
If ControlSeek Is ControlTarget Then
GetControlAddress = ParentForm.Name & FormIDHWNDSep & ParentForm.Hwnd & FormIDHWNDSep & ControlTarget.Name & FormIDFormSep
Exit For
ElseIf TypeOf ControlSeek Is SubForm Then
If ControlSeek.Form Is ControlTarget Then
GetControlAddress = ParentForm.Name & FormIDHWNDSep & ParentForm.Hwnd & FormIDHWNDSep & ControlSeek.Name & FormIDFormSep
End If
End If
Next ControlSeek
Else
' If you're not looking for a form, then you can skip the slow step of running through all controls.
GetControlAddress = ParentForm.Name & FormIDHWNDSep & ParentForm.Hwnd & FormIDHWNDSep & ControlTarget.Name & FormIDFormSep
End If
End Function
Public Function GetControlByAddress(ByRef StartingForm As Access.Form, ByRef strControlAddress As String) As Access.Control
' Given a control address and a starting form, this will return that control's form.
Dim ControlTarget As Access.Control
Dim TargetForm As Access.Form ' This is a reference to the hosting control
'Dim ControlSeek As
Dim FormIDArr() As String
Dim FormInfo() As String
Dim ControlDepth As Long
Dim CurrentDepth As Long
If strControlAddress = vbNullString Then GoTo Exit_Here
FormIDArr = Split(strControlAddress, FormIDFormSep)
' Because there's always a trailing closing mark (easier to handle buidling address), we skip the last array
' value, as it's always (or supposed to be...) empty.
ControlDepth = UBound(FormIDArr) - LBound(FormIDArr)
' Split out the form's Specific Information to use the details.
FormInfo = Split(FormIDArr(CurrentDepth), FormIDHWNDSep)
' The specific control is located in the 3rd element, zero referenced, so 2.
Set ControlTarget = StartingForm.Controls(FormInfo(2))
' If ControlDepth is 1 (control is on passed form) you can skip the hard and slow work of digging.
If ControlDepth > 1 Then
For CurrentDepth = 1 To ControlDepth - 1
' Note: you start at 1 because you already did the first one above.
' Split out the form's Specific Information to use the details.
FormInfo = Split(FormIDArr(CurrentDepth), FormIDHWNDSep)
Set TargetForm = ControlTarget.Form
Set ControlTarget = TargetForm.Controls(FormInfo(2))
Next CurrentDepth
End If
Exit_Here:
Set GetControlByAddress = ControlTarget
End Function
Required Helper Functions
Note, I use a property for the separators as there is some user locale handling (no included), and it also ensures that if we do change the separator it remains consistent. In this example, I simply set them to a character which is unlikely to be used in a form name. You will need to ensure your forms don't use the separator characters.
Public Function hasParent(ByRef p_form As Form) As Boolean
' Borrowed concept from https://nolongerset.com/get-top-form-by-control/
' and modified for our uses.
On Error Resume Next
hasParent = (Not p_form.Parent Is Nothing)
Err.Clear ' The last line of this will cause an error. Clear it so it goes away.
End Function
Private Function GetFormObjectByCtl(ByRef ctl As Object, _
ByRef ReturnTopForm As Boolean, Optional ByRef strControlAddress As String) As Form
strControlAddress = GetControlAddress(ctl, ctl.Parent) & strControlAddress
If TypeOf ctl.Parent Is Form Then
If ReturnTopForm Then
If hasParent(ctl.Parent) Then
'Recursively call the function if this is a subform
' and we need the top form
Set GetFormObjectByCtl = GetFormObjectByCtl( _
ctl.Parent, ReturnTopForm, strControlAddress)
Exit Function
End If
End If
Set GetFormObjectByCtl = ctl.Parent
Else
'Recursively call the function until we reach the form
Set GetFormObjectByCtl = GetFormObjectByCtl( _
ctl.Parent, ReturnTopForm, strControlAddress)
End If
End Function
Public Function GetFormByCtl(ctl As Object, Optional ByRef strControlAddress As String) As Form
Set GetFormByCtl = GetFormObjectByCtl(ctl, False, strControlAddress)
End Function
Public Function GetTopFormByCtl(ctl As Object, Optional ByRef strControlAddress As String) As Form
Set GetTopFormByCtl = GetFormObjectByCtl(ctl, True, strControlAddress)
End Function
Public Property Get FormIDHWNDSep() As String
FormIDHWNDSep = "|"
End Property
Public Property Get FormIDFormSep() As String
FormIDFormSep = ";"
End Property
Interesting. I don't think you can.
As you have seen, the parent of whtControl is its form, frmBaby.
The parent of that one is frmMain. The subform control is not part of the object chain when "going up", only when going down.
If you always use the naming scheme as in the question, you could do something like this (air code):
strSubform = whtControl.Parent.Name
strSubformCtrl = "sub" & strSubform
Set ctlSubform = whtControl.Parent.Parent(strSubformCtrl)

How do I select specific variables based on checkbox state as I iterate through a For Each

I'm working on a project that requires I iterate through a list of controls on a tabpage to find all of the checkboxes. Then depending on the state of the box (checked or unchecked) select individual variables (filenames) to then perform either a batch rename or delete of files on the filesystem (cb.checked = perform action).
I have managed to create the "for each" for the iteration of the controls (thanks google) but I'm struggling to figure out how to pick the variables. They are all named differently, obviously, as are the checkboxes. Also the checkboxes are statically assigned to the form/tabpage. Here's what I have at the moment.
Public Sub delBut_code(ByRef fname As String)
If (Sanity = 1) Then
For Each cb As Control In Form1.Controls
If TypeOf cb Is CheckBox AndAlso DirectCast(cb,
CheckBox).Checked Then
If My.Computer.FileSystem.FileExists(fname) Then
My.Computer.FileSystem.DeleteFile(fname)
End If
End If
Next
MessageBox.Show("All Actions Completed Successfully")
Else
MessageBox.Show("Please select a File To Delete")
End If
End Sub
and here is an example of some of the variables:
Dim castle As String = selPath & "\zm_castle_loadingmovie.txt"
Dim factory As String = selPath &
"\zm_factory_load_factoryloadingmovie.txt"
Dim island As String = selPath & "\zm_island_loadingmovie.txt"
N.B selpath collects a user entered folder path and can be ignored here
I would really appreciate any pointers.
First, you can do much better with the loop:
Public Sub delBut_code(ByRef fname As String)
If Sanity <> 1 Then
MessageBox.Show("Please select a File To Delete")
Exit Sub
End If
Dim checked = Form1.Controls.OfType(Of CheckBox)().Where(Function(c) c.Checked)
For Each box As CheckBox in checked
Try
'A file not existing is only one reason among many this could fail,
' so it needs to be in a Try/Catch block.
' And once you're using a Try/Catch block anyway,
' the FileExists() check becomes a slow and unnecessary extra trip to the disk.
My.Computer.FileSystem.DeleteFile(fname)
Catch
'Do something here to let the user know it failed for this file
End Try
Next
MessageBox.Show("All Actions Completed")
End Sub
But now you need to know how have the right value in that fname variable. There's not enough information in the question for us to fully answer this, but we can give some suggestions. There a number of ways you could do this:
Set the Tag property in the Checkboxes when you build the string variables. Then fname becomes DirectCast(box.Tag, String).
Inherit a custom control from CheckBox to use instead of a normal Checkbox that has an additional String property for the file name. Set this property when you build the string variables.
Name your string variables in a way that you can derive the string variable name from the CheckBox variable name, and then use a Switch to pick the right string variable from each box.Name.
Keep a Dictionary(Of CheckBox, String) that maps the Checkboxes to the right string values.
But without knowing more context of the application, I hesitate to recommend any of these over the others as best for your situation.

Access Public Function for Maintain Combo Lists

I have over 40 combo controls in my application. I am working on developing a public function, to put in the not in list event of every combo. The goal is to have 1 continuous pop up form, which will open, if the user says they want to add a new value to the combo. The open form command will pass open args for the
record source
the control source for the 1 text box on the continuous form (generically the type)
the label for the control source.
I'm having some trouble getting it to pass the open args. I debug.print the parts of the args, I can split them, when they get passed (inconsistent results getting the open args to pass correctly, as I try to debug), and I cannot seem to set the record source for the pop up form correctly. I've tried doing 1 at a time, and still can't seem to get it.
This is the public function:
Option Explicit
Public Function TypeNotInList(ctl As Control, arg1 As String, arg2 As Variant, arg3 As String)
On Error GoTo Err_TypeNotInList
Dim Msg, Style, Title
'arg1 is the row source of the combo, to be passed as the recordsource for the frmAddTypeVal form
'arg2 is the control source of the combo, to be passed as the control source for the text box in the frmAddTypeVal form
'arg3 is the label of the combo, to be used for messages, and the label of the text box in the frmAddTypeVal form
Msg = "The " & arg3 & " you entered is not in the " & arg3 & " list, would you like to add it now?"
Style = vbYesNo
Title = "Type or listing must be maintained"
Response = MsgBox(Msg, Style, Title)
If Response = vbYes Then
ctl.Undo
DoCmd.OpenForm "frmAddTypeVal", acNormal, , , , acDialog, arg1 & "|" & arg2 & "|" & arg3
ctl.Requery
End If
Exit_TypeNotInList:
Exit Function
Err_TypeNotInList:
MsgBox Err.Description
Resume Exit_TypeNotInList
End Function
This is how I am calling it, in 1 combo's Not In List event:
Option Explicit
Private Sub FKAuditType_NotInList(NewData As String, Response As Integer)
Dim a1 As String
Dim a2 As String
Dim a3 As String
a1 = Me.FKTypeXYZ.RowSource
a2 = "txtXYZType"
a3 = Me.lblTypeXYZ.Caption
TypeNotInList Me.FKTypeXYZ, a1, a2, a3
Response = acDataErrContinue
End Sub
That should be calling the public function, and passing the 4 parameters.
This is the form load of the generic continuous pop-up form, called frmAddTypeVal:
Option Explicit
Private Sub Form_Load()
Dim VarArgs() As String
VarArgs = Split(Me.OpenArgs, "|")
Me.Form.RecordSource = VarArgs(0)
Me.txtType.ControlSource = VarArgs(1)
Me.lblType.Caption = VarArgs(2)
End Sub
When I run this as is, my debug.print (s) give me the following:
ctl = FKFKTypeXYZ
arg1 = SELECT tblXYZType.ID, tblXYZType.txtXYZType FROM tblXYZType ORDER BY tblXYZType.txtXYZType;
arg2 = FKXYZType
arg3 = XYZ Type
openargs =
I get each value, but the open args is null. What the heck, Beck?
Can anyone help guide this clueless coder? lol
Thanks!
I edited this to update the code, with the changes made. Now it's working! At least the first part of the process. The openargs get passed and the pop-up form works correctly. When I click close on that form, I'm back on the form with the notinlist combo. That resumes it's process and I get a message: The text you entered isn't an item in the list.
It know that's the default notinlist message. The thing is, the public function is supposed to handle this. It has, in the if Response = vbYes Then
ctl.undo
'undo trying to add a value that is not in the list yet
and then after the open form (which would involve the close of that form, I would think)
ctl.requery
'requery the combo, so the added value(s) can be seen
Anyone know how I can adjust this to prevent that message, but not just disable all warnings?
Thanks!
Got it! In the not in list, after I call the public function, I have to add:
Response = acDataErrContinue
This let's the default error message take a seat lol.
Thanks for all the help! This is going to make setting this up for every darn combo so much easier!!!!

Microsoft Access applying 1 function to all fields automatically

I have a form that keeps track of assigned patient equipment. I have it set so that any changes made to text fields on the form automatically move down to the "comments" section of the form (this is done so that any changes made are documented in case the user forgets to manually document changes). I have a sub that I wrote that accomplishes this that I am currently calling for every single text field. This works but is messy.
Is there a way to apply the sub to all the fields in one procedure without calling it for every individual field? Code is below, please let me know if I can clarify anything.
Private Sub pPEMoveValue(sField)
'Moves the old field value down to the comments section automatically
Dim sOrigValue As String
Dim sCommentValue As String
sOrigValue = sField
sCommentValue = Nz(mPEComments, "")
Me.mPEComments = sCommentValue & vbNewLine & sOrigValue
End Sub
Private Sub sPEBatCharger_Dirty(Cancel As Integer)
pPEMoveValue (Nz(Me.sPEBatCharger.OldValue, ""))
End Sub
This is the solution I came up with to do what you are looking to do. I took advantage of the MS Access Tag system. You can add tags to your controls so you can sort of "Group" them.
First put the form in design view and adjust the tag for all of the fields you want to record to say "Notes".
Then in the Form's BeforeUpdate even you would add this:
Private Sub Form_BeforeUpdate(Cancel As Integer)
Call FindControlsForComments(Me.Form)
End Sub
Then you would use this function to find any fields that have the "Notes" tag and run it through the function you created:
Public Function FindControlsForComments(frm As Form)
Dim ctrl As Access.Control
For Each ctrl In frm
'If the control is tagged for notes
If ctrl.Tag = "Notes" Then
'If the old value is different than the current value
If Nz(ctrl.OldValue, "") <> Nz(ctrl.Value, "") Then
'Add to comment
Call pPEMoveValue(Nz(ctrl.Value, ""))
End If
End If
Next ctrl
End Function
You may have to adjusted this slightly to work with your system but this has worked well for me.