Name Property

You can use the Name property to specify or determine the string expression that identifies the name of an object. Read/write String for the following objects: BoundObjectFrame, CheckBox, ComboBox, CommandButton, CustomControl, Form, Image, Label, Line, ListBox, Module, ObjectFrame, OptionButton, OptionGroup, Page, PageBreak, Rectangle, Report, Section, SubForm, TabControl, TextBox, and ToggleButton. Read-only String for the following objects: AccessObject, AccessObjectProperty, Application, CodeProject, CurrentProject, DataAccessPage, and Reference.

expression   Required. An expression that returns one of the above objects.

Remarks

A valid name must conform to the standard naming conventions for Microsoft Access. For Microsoft Access objects, the name may be up to 64 characters long. For controls, the name may be as long as 255 characters.

For objects, set the Name property by clicking Save on the File menu in Design view and entering a valid name. To change the name of an existing object in the Database window, click the name, then either click Rename on the Edit menu or click the name again. You can also change the name by right-clicking it and clicking Rename on the shortcut menu. To change the name of an existing object when the object is open, click Save As or Export on the File menu.

For a section or control, you can set this property by using the property sheet, a macro, or Visual Basic. You can use the Name property in expressions for objects.

The default name for new objects is the object name plus a unique integer. For example, the first new form is Form1, the second new form is Form2, and so on. A form can't have the same name as another system object, such as the Screen object.

For an unbound control, the default name is the type of control plus a unique integer. For example, if the first control you add to a form is a text box, its Name property setting is Text1.

For a bound control, the default name is the name of the field in the underlying source of data. If you create a control by dragging a field from the field list, the field's FieldName property setting is copied to the control's Name property box.

You can't use "Form" or "Report" to name a control or section.

Controls on the same form, report, or data access page can't have the same name, but controls on different forms, reports or data access pages can have the same name. A control and a section on the same form can't share the same name.

Example

The following example returns the Name property for the first form in the Forms collection.

Dim strFormName As String

strFormName = Forms(0).Name