Resize a control

Microsoft Office Access 2003

  1. Open a form, report, or data access page in Design view.
  2. Select the control or controls that you want to resize. To select more than one control, hold down the SHIFT key and click each control, or drag a rectangle over the controls.
  3. Drag the sizing handles until the control is the size you want.

Example of move handles and sizing handles

Callout 1 Move handle

Callout 2 Sizing handles

If you select more than one control, all the controls change size as you drag the sizing handle of one control.

Note  In data access pages, you can't resize a drop-down list box vertically. The vertical size of the drop-down list box is based on the font setting of the data in the control.

ShowTip

If you want to make small adjustments to the size of a control in a form or report, you might find it easier to press SHIFT plus the appropriate arrow keys.

ShowSize controls uniformly relative to each other on a form or report

  1. Open a form or report in Design view.
  2. Select the controls that you want to size by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking each control, or by dragging a rectangle over the controls.
  3. On the Format menu, point to Size, and then click one of the following commands:
    • To Tallest Makes the controls as tall as the tallest selected control.
    • To Shortest Makes the controls as short as the shortest selected control.
    • To Widest Makes the controls as wide as the widest selected control.
    • To Narrowest Makes the controls as narrow as the narrowest selected control.

ShowSize controls uniformly relative to each other on a data access page

How you size controls relative to each other depends on whether you have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2 (SP2), or 5.5 or later installed.

  • Open a data access page in Design view.

    ShowIf you have Internet Explorer 5.5 or later installed

    1. Select the controls that you want to resize by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking each control.

      Make sure that the control that you want to align the other controls to is the last control you select and that its sizing handles are white.

      Primary selection with white sizing handles

      Callout 1 The sizing handles of the primary selection are white.

    2. On the Format menu, point to Size, and then click one of the following commands:
      • Height Makes the controls as tall as the primary selection.
      • Width Makes the controls as wide as the primary selection.
      • Both Makes the controls as tall and as wide as the primary selection.

    ShowIf you have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed

    1. On the Format menu, click Alignment and Sizing to display the Alignment and Sizing toolbar.

      Alignment And Sizing toolbar

      Callout 1 Align Left, Align Right, Align Top, and Align Bottom buttons

      Callout 2 Size Height, Size Width, and Size Height and Width buttons

    2. Make sure the control that is the size you want is selected.
    3. Do one of the following:
      • To resize just one control, click the button that you want on the Alignment and Sizing toolbar, and then click the control that you want to resize.
      • To resize several controls, lock the button that you want on the Alignment and Sizing toolbar by double-clicking it, and then click the controls that you want to resize.

        To release the lock, click the same or a different button on the Alignment and Sizing toolbar, or press ESC.

ShowResize a control to fit its contents

You can resize an a label, command button, image control, or unbound object frame to fit its contents. Also, if you increase the font size for a control, you can resize the control to accommodate the larger font.

  1. Open a form, report, or data access page in Design view.
  2. Select the control or controls that you want to resize.
  3. On the Format menu, point to Size, and then click To Fit.

ShowResize a control by using the grid

  1. Open a form, report, or data access page in Design view.
  2. If the grid isn't already displayed, on the View menu, click Grid.
  3. Select the controls that you want to resize.
  4. On the Format menu, point to Size, and then click To Grid.