ColumnOrder Property

You can use the ColumnOrder property to specify the order of the columns in Datasheet view. Read/write Integer.

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

Setting

You can set this property by selecting a column in Datasheet view and dragging it to a new position.

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

To set or change this property for a table or query by using Visual Basic, you must use a column's Properties collection. For details on using the Properties collection, see Properties.

Note   The ColumnOrder property isn't available in Design view.

Remarks

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

In Datasheet view, a field's ColumnOrder property setting is determined by the field's position. For example, the field in the leftmost column in Datasheet view has a ColumnOrder property setting of 1, the next field has a setting of 2, and so on. Changing a field's ColumnOrder property resets the property for that field and every field to the left of its original position in Datasheet view.

In other views, the property setting is 0 unless you explicitly change the order of one or more fields in Datasheet view (either by dragging the fields to new positions or by changing their ColumnOrder property settings). Fields to the right of the moved field's new position will have a property setting of 0 in views other than Datasheet view.

The order of the fields in Datasheet view doesn't affect the order of the fields in table Design view or Form view.

Example

The following example displays the ProductName and QuantityPerUnit fields in the first two columns in Datasheet view of the Products form.

Forms!Products!ProductName.ColumnOrder = 1
Forms!Products!QuantityPerUnit.ColumnOrder = 2

The next example displays the ProductName and QuantityPerUnit fields in the first two columns of the Products table in Datasheet view. To set the ColumnOrder property, the example uses the SetFieldProperty procedure. If this procedure is run while the table is open, changes will not be displayed until it is closed and reopened.

Public Sub SetColumnOrder()
    
    Dim dbs As DAO.Database
    Dim tdf As DAO.TableDef
    
    Set dbs = CurrentDb
    Set tdf = dbs!Products
    
    ' Call the procedure to set the ColumnOrder property.
    SetFieldProperty tdf!ProductName, "ColumnOrder", dbLong, 2
    SetFieldProperty tdf!QuantityPerUnit, "ColumnOrder", dbLong, 3
    
    Set tdf = Nothing
    Set dbs = Nothing

End Sub

Private Sub SetFieldProperty(ByRef fld As DAO.Field, _
                             ByVal strPropertyName As String, _
                             ByVal intPropertyType As Integer, _
                             ByVal varPropertyValue As Variant)
    ' Set field property without producing nonrecoverable run-time error.

    Const conErrPropertyNotFound = 3270
    Dim prp As Property
    
    ' Turn off error handling.
    On Error Resume Next
    
    fld.Properties(strPropertyName) = varPropertyValue
    
    ' Check for errors in setting the property.
    If Err <> 0 Then
        If Err <> conErrPropertyNotFound Then
            On Error GoTo 0
            MsgBox "Couldn't set property '" & strPropertyName & _
                   "' on field '" & fld.Name & "'", vbCritical
        Else
            On Error GoTo 0
            Set prp = fld.CreateProperty(strPropertyName, intPropertyType, _
                      varPropertyValue)
            fld.Properties.Append prp
        End If
    End If
    
    Set prp = Nothing
    
End Sub