How to create a function dealing with text boxes and having a variable for the text box property

Why not just use Value?  I think that should do; no need to sometimes select Text and sometimes Value, since these are unbound controls.

Text boxes don't have a property called "valuetype".

Try
dim valuetype as string
 valuetype = "Value"
 Me.txt_date = valuetype

Will enter the word value in the text box.

Not sure what you are trying to achieve here but if it's what I think you are trying to do, then you are trying to specify that the text box should contain either a string value or a number value.  If this is the case,  then you can't.  The data type of the text box is determined by the Field Type in the underlying control source table.

You can change how the text box displays the data ie "Long Date, Short Date, Currency etc"  But it is the table that determines the data type.

Hope this helps

Leigh

Sorry if the control source of txt_date is in fact a date field in the underlying table as the name suggests then the code I posted will produce an error.  ie The value you entered is not valid for this field.

Wont Work !
dim valuetype as string
 valuetype = "Value"
 Me.txt_date = valuetype

Should work
dim valuetype as Date
valuetype = #1/1/2009#
 Me.txt_date = valuetype
Should enter the date 1/1/2009 in the field

Leigh

ldunscombe I am not sure you understand what I am attempting here.

Hi Helen, for unbound controls I believe I must use the .text property because I am checking the contents of the control with the . Onchange event. For this . Value does not update till the control loses focus.  But then later when all controls are filled I want to use .value cause .Text only works if the control has focus

OK Now I understand

in the change event of your code

use  me.txt_Date.text

and when you refer to it later use

me.txt_date

ldunscombe I am note sure where you get date again.

But I want to use Me.txtbox.text and Mee.txtbox.Value in the same function, something like this

Where Valuetype would equal sometimes .value and sometimes .text


Me.txt_date.Properties(valuetype)

<ldunscombe I am note sure where you get date again.>
I am really, really confused now. your question specified  "Me.txt_date.Properties(valuetype)"
it's the name of your control "txt_date" is where I got date from. You also have made no reference to a function or exactly what you are trying to achieve.  I am trying to help with "Best Guesses" from the information you have provided.  If you can be more clear about what you are trying to do I am "Certain" that myself or another contributor to this site will be able to help you out.

The quality of the answers you get will be proportional to the quality of the problem description you provide.

Leigh.






Me.txt_date.Properties(valuetype)

Extremely Sorry,  Re-read the question and noticed "I want to create a function".  My Apologies.

but what do you want it to do ?

Do you have any code that you are starting with ?  that you could post ?

Sorry Again.

I won't be happy till we get this sorted for you.

Leigh

Thanks Leigh

So you know how you use something like this

Form - Control - Property

Me.mytextboxname.text

Well what I want to do is I want to be more flexible with this.

For example the below example means that I can set  "str_FormName" to ANY form I have with that textbox and I can use the one line many many times.  I can then throw this in a function and the function could be used for all my forms.

Form - Control - Property

Forms(str_FormName).mytextboxname.text


So now I want to be able to do the same thing but with the PROPERTY


Me.mytextboxname.??????????

I believe it is difficult because I want to use Value and Text and because Value is the default but it should still work.

I still don't understand

If you are passing it to a function then as you know the valuue you pass is subject to the event you call it from.

for example if you are calling a function from the on change event of the control itself you would use something like
MyFunction(me.textboxname.text)
or
if calling from any other event or another control
MyFunction(me.textboxname)

????

Leigh

I did not realise my question was so hard.

I agree I could pass the whole control to the function but that would not work as the function has many controls in it.

I was trying to keep this on a semi theoretical level but I think you are dying to see the function, so an example is below.  The below is a start BUT IS NOT FINISHED in other ways other than this question.

Once again the form has all UNBOUND controls.
I want to update another section of the form with every change to a control.
Thus as far as I know I must use .text for this.
Also the control must have focus - thus the test with the IF for the control with focus. (this will have to be changed if we do get Value to work here as well)

Thus .text cannot be used to check all the controls so then I want to use value.

I am tending towards not worrying about it and just creating two functions.

 
Private Function updateemailtext() As String
 
 
Dim mycontrol As Control
Set mycontrol = Screen.activecontrol
 
If mycontrol.Name = "txt_licensee" Then
If Len(Nz(Me.txt_licensee.text)) > 0 Then
    str_licensee = Me.txt_licensee.text
Else
    str_licensee = "[empty licensee]"
End If
End If
 
If mycontrol.Name = "txt_vfile" Then
If Len(Nz(Me.txt_vfile.text)) > 0 Then
    str_vfile = " (" & Me.txt_vfile.text & ") "
Else
    str_vfile = ""
End If
End If
 
end function

                                              

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Now I think I know where your going,

Your function is referring to the active control so all you need to do is check if it is bound or unbound.

ie

Dim mycontrol As Control
Set mycontrol = Screen.activecontrol

if len(mycontrol.controlsource) < 1 then
 ' The control is unbound and you need to use the text property.
else
' The control is a bound control. use the value property
end if

Are we getting close ???

Leigh

You are right there are probably 1000 ways to write my function for testing what is in each control.  But that is not the question. In fact your last suggestion (which is a good one) avoids the question. :-)

The question is how to use a variable in the place of the Property Name of a control.

I know how to do this and use it quite often for Forms and Control Names but until now have not been successful with the PROPERTY NAME.

Just so we are aware of the subtle but distinctive difference, open a form myForm with a text box tbxLName, bound to a table Names.  The text box should now be displaying the last name of the first record - say Smith.  Now, click on the textbox, and change just the last letter to 't' - Smitt - now type Alt+F11 and in the Immediate pane type:

? Forms!myForm!tbxLName.Value
Smith
? Forms!myForm!tbxLName.Text
Smitt

Hello Ray,

(re your comment in another thread - I would prefer fishing to doing this VBA stuff any day)

Thanks for pointing out the subtle difference we are dealing with here.  I hope that by explaining what I understand we might be able to move on to my question or you can pick me up on why I am incorrect.

I have unbound text boxes.  The textboxes need to be updated with each change made.  For example imagine a form and at the top is a textbox labeled  "Place of Holidays" at the bottom of the form is the text  "We went on holidays to [space] and we went fishing"

Now what I am trying to do is that as the person types in the textbox "Place of Holidays" the below text is updated. So if in "Place of Holidays" the user types a "K" then the text below would now be  "We went on holidays to K and we went fishing"

So back to the theory - I am using the onChange event for each textbox.  When you check the .value and .text of this text box as you type, the .value does not change with each keystroke but the .text does. .Value will only change after the control is saved.  Thus this means that to do what I want to do I have to use the .text property.  However and annoyingly a control must have the focus to read the .text property, thus anywhere else in the code when I want to get all the contents of the textboxes I cannot use .text I have to use .Value.

As said before I have now just made two functions one with the text property and one with the value property, but I would like to know if it is still possible to combine these two functions into one by passing the property name to the function.

When the focus is on another control, you can momentarily set it back to txtPlaceOfHolidays, read the .text and return to the control that had the focus:

strCurrControl = Forms!frmName.ActiveControl
Forms!frmName.txtPlaceOfHolidays.SetFocus
strText = Forms!frmName.txtPlaceOfHolidays.Text
Forms!frmName.Controls(strCurrControl).SetFocus

That any help?

Thanks for the suggestion - yes you are right setting the focus on each box would work while going through them all, but not be so good when someone is actually typing in the box as focus would be taken away after each keystroke. ie each time the onChangeEvent happens.

You realise you are using an example by way of the controls which I would like to do with the properties. :-)

Forms!frmName.Controls(strCurrControl).SetFocus

I would love to be able to use this

Forms!frmName.txt_mytextbox.Properties(strmyproperty)

My testing show that the first sentance above of GrayL is the answer to my specific question.

ie

"Forms!frmName!txt_myTextBox.Properties(strMyProperty) works when strMyProperty = "Text".  However, as there is not an enumerated Property named "Value", if that is what you want then use Forms!frmName!txt_myTextBox.Value."


Thank you GrayL