Keyboard Shortcuts

Introduction.

Keyboard Shortcuts can significantly enhance productivity when practiced and memorized. They allow you to perform frequently used actions quickly, without constantly switching between the mouse and keyboard. Microsoft Access offers an extensive set of keyboard shortcuts that make working with the application more efficient. You can find a categorized list by searching for “Keyboard Shortcuts” in the Help menu. For your convenience, I have selected and listed some of the most useful shortcuts at the end of this post.

If you observe the Microsoft Access menu items closely, you’ll notice that one letter in each menu name is underlined. This indicates a keyboard shortcut key for that menu.

For example, the letter E in the Edit menu is underlined, meaning you can open the Edit menu by pressing ALT + E. Similarly, many options within each menu display their own shortcut keys on the right-hand side—these are predefined system shortcuts designed to improve efficiency and ease of use.

Defining Custom Shortcuts

When designing Forms in Microsoft Access, you can define your own custom keyboard shortcuts—also known as Access Keys—for form controls using the & (ampersand) symbol. By placing the & symbol before a character in the Caption property of a Command Button or Label, you enable the user to press ALT + that character to trigger the associated control.

For example, if you have a command button labeled Export, setting its Caption  &Export allows the user to press ALT + E to run the button’s action. However, you should avoid using characters already reserved for built-in shortcuts, such as ALT + E, which is assigned to the Edit menu.

To prevent conflicts, you can place the & before a different letter in the word, for instance, use Ex&port to assign ALT + P as the shortcut.

In addition to this method, you can define global keyboard shortcuts using a special macro named AutoKeys. This macro allows you to bind specific keystroke combinations to actions such as:

• Opening a specific form in design or normal view,

• Running a macro to process report data,

• Or initiating a Print Preview.

An example of the AutoKeys macro layout is shown below.

Click to Enlarge

In the AutoKeys macro, each line maps a key combination to a specific action. For example:

• The line ^O (where ^ represents the CTRL key) triggers the OpenReport action when CTRL+O is pressed.

• Similarly, CTRL+K runs another macro assigned to the ^K key combination.

Note: If you assign an action to a key combination that is already used by a built-in Access shortcut (such as CTRL+C for Copy), your custom action will override the default behavior.

AutoKeys.

A list of key combinations that you can use in your Autokeys Macro is given below.

Key Codes for Autokey Macro

Key Code	Key Press
^A or ^4	CTRL+A or CTRL+4
{F1}	F1
^{F1}	CTRL+F1
+{F1}	SHIFT+F1
{INSERT}	INS
^{INSERT}	CTRL+INS
+{INSERT}	SHIFT+INS
{DELETE} or {DEL}	DEL
^{DELETE} or ^{DEL}	CTRL+DEL
+{DELETE} or +{DEL}	SHIFT+DEL

A macro with the name Autoexec runs automatically when you open a database.

General Purpose Keyboard Shortcuts

A list of useful general-purpose Keyboard Shortcuts is given below for your reference.

Seq	Key Strokes	Action
SAVING AND PRINTING
1.	CTRL+S or SHIFT+F12 or ALT+SHIFT+F2	To save a Database Object
2.	F12 or ALT+F2	To open the Save As... dialog box
3.	CTRL+P	To Print the Current or Selected Object
FINDING REPLACING
4.	CTRL+F	To open the Find tab in the Find and Replace dialog box (Datasheet view and Form view only
5.	CTRL+H	To open the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box (Datasheet view and Form view only)
6.	SHIFT+F4	To find the next occurrence of the text specified in the Find and Replace dialog box when the dialog box is closed (Datasheet view and Form view only)
WORKING IN DESIGN VIEW
7.	F2	To switch between Edit mode (with insertion point displayed) and Navigation mode
8.	F4	To switch to the property sheet (Design view in forms and reports in databases and Access projects)
9.	F5	To switch to Form view from the Form Design view
10.	F6	To switch between the upper and lower portions of a window (Design view of tables, macros, and queries, and the Advanced Filter/Sort window only)
11.	SHIFT+F7	To switch from the Visual Basic Editor to form or report Design view
12.	ALT+V+P	To open the property sheet for a selected object
Editing Controls in Form and Report Design View
13.	CTRL+C	To copy the selected control to the Clipboard
14.	CTRL+X	To cut the selected control and copy it to the Clipboard
15.	CTRL+V	To paste the contents of the Clipboard in the upper-left corner of the selected section
16.	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW	To move the selected control to the right
17.	CTRL+LEFT ARROW	To move the selected control to the left
18.	CTRL+DOWN ARROW	To move the selected control down
19.	SHIFT+DOWN ARROW	To increase the height of the selected control
20.	SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW	To increase the width of the selected control
21.	SHIFT+UP ARROW	To reduce the height of the selected control
22.	SHIFT+LEFT ARROW	To reduce the width of the selected control
WINDOW OPERATIONS
23.	F11	To bring the Database window to the front
24.	CTRL+F6	To cycle between open windows
25.	ENTER	To restore the selected minimized window when all windows are minimized
26.	CTRL+F8	To turn on Resize mode for the active window when it's not maximized, press the arrow keys to resize the window
27.	ALT+SPACEBAR	To display the Control menu
28.	SHIFT+F10	To display the shortcut menu
29.	CTRL+W or CTRL+F4	To close the active window
30.	ALT+F11	To switch between the Visual Basic Editor and the previous active window
MISCELLANEOUS
31.	F7	To check to spelling
32.	SHIFT+F2	To open the Zoom box to conveniently enter expressions and other text in small input areas
33.	ALT+ENTER	To display a property sheet in the Design view
34.	ALT+F4	To quit Microsoft Access, close a dialog box, or close a property sheet
35.	CTRL+F2	To invoke a Builder

• MS-Access Object Documenter
• Useful Report Functions
• Reminder Pop Up
• MS-Access & Graph Charts-2
• MS-Access & Graph Charts