ColumnHidden Property

You can use the ColumnHidden property to show or hide a specified column in Datasheet view. Read/write Boolean.

expression   Required. An expression that returns one of the objects in the Applies To list.

Setting

You can set the ColumnHidden property by clicking Hide Columns or Unhide Columns on the Format menu in Datasheet view.

You can also set this property in a Microsoft Access database (.mdb) by using a Long Integer value in Visual Basic to specify the following settings.

Note   The ColumnHidden property is not available in Design view.

Remarks

For example, you might want to hide a CustomerAddress field that's too wide so you can view the CustomerName and PhoneNumber fields.

Note   The ColumnHidden property applies to all fields in Datasheet view and to form controls when the form is in Datasheet view.

Hiding a column with the ColumnHidden property in Datasheet view doesn't hide fields from the same column in Form view. Similarly, setting a control's Visible property to False in Form view doesn't hide the corresponding column in Datasheet view.

You can display a field in a query even though the column for the field is hidden in table Datasheet view.

You can use values from a hidden column as the criteria for a filter even though the column remains hidden after the filter is applied.

You can't use the Copy, Paste, Find, and Replace commands on the Edit menu to affect hidden columns.

Setting a field's ColumnWidth property to 0, or resizing the field to a zero width in Datasheet view, causes Microsoft Access to set the corresponding ColumnHidden property to True. Unhiding a column restores the ColumnWidth property to the value it had before the field was hidden.

Example

The following example hides the ProductID field in Datasheet view of the Products form.

Forms!Products!ProductID.ColumnHidden = -1

The next example also hides the ProductID field in Datasheet view of the Products table.

Public Sub SetColumnHidden()

    Dim dbs As DAO.Database
    Dim fld As DAO.Field
    Dim prp As DAO.Property
    Const conErrPropertyNotFound = 3270

    ' Turn off error trapping.
    On Error Resume Next

    Set dbs = CurrentDb
    
    ' Set field property.
    Set fld = dbs.TableDefs!Products.Fields!ProductID
    fld.Properties("ColumnHidden") = True
    
    ' Error may have occurred when value was set.
    If Err.Number <> 0 Then
        If Err.Number <> conErrPropertyNotFound Then
            On Error GoTo 0
            MsgBox "Couldn't set property 'ColumnHidden' " & _
                   "on field '" & fld.Name & "'", vbCritical
        Else
            On Error GoTo 0
            Set prp = fld.CreateProperty("ColumnHidden", dbLong, True)
            fld.Properties.Append prp
        End If
    End If
    
    Set prp = Nothing
    Set fld = Nothing
    Set dbs = Nothing
    
End Sub