Create Menus with Macros-2

Continued from last week's Article: Create Menus with Macros, please go through it before continuing.

Last week we have learned how to created a simple Shortcut Menu for Forms with Macros.  This week we will create a Toolbar Button and a Menu Bar item through Macro based Menus.

But, before all that let us make little modification to our earlier shortcut menu to add a menu group item added with few options.

1. Open a new macro in design view.
2. Select MsgBox from the drop down list in the Action Column.
3. Type Proceed with Report Data Processing? in the Message control under the Action Arguments list.
4. Select Critical from the drop down list in the Type control.
5. Type Report Processing in the Title control.

   Note: This macro is supposed to contain a series of actions; like running of action queries (Make-Table, Append, Update, Delete or running of other macros or VBA Routines) to prepare data ready for Reports.  Here, we are simply adding a message box to display a message instead.  You must create Menus with actions as per requirements of your Application.

6. Save the Macro with the name: macProcess and close it.
7. Click on New. . . to open another new macro in Design View.
8. If the Macro Name Column is not visible then select Macro Name from View Menu.
9. Type &Form in the Macro Name Column on the first row and select OpenForm from the drop down list under Action Column.
10. Select an existing Form in the From Name control using the drop down control.
11. Type Process &Data in the Macro Name column in the second row and select RunMacro in the Action Column.
12. Type macProcess (or select it from the drop down list) to insert the process macro that we have created in step-6.
13. Type &Report in the Macro Name column in third row and select OpenReport in the Action column.
14. Select an existing Report from your application in the Report Name control.
15. Select Print Preview in the View control.
16. Save the macro with the name macSubMenu and close it.
17. Open the macro mcrShortCut that we have created last week.
18. Type MenuGroup in the next row (as shown in the image given below) and select AddMenu option from the drop down list under Action column.
    
19. Type Form/Report in the Menu Name control below the Action Arguments.
20. Type macSubMenu (or select from the drop down list) in the Menu Macro Name control.
21. Save and close the macro mcrShortCut.
22. If you remember on which Form you have attached the earlier macro Shortcut Menu last week, then you can open that Form in normal view and right-click on the Form to display the Form/Report Sub-Menu we have added to the earlier menu. If You don't remember then open one of your existing Form in Design View.
23. Display the Property Sheet (View - -> Properties or press ALT+Enter).
24. Click on the Other Tab.
25. Set the Shortcut Menu Property value to Yes.
26. Set the Shortcut Menu Bar Property value to macMenu (you can select the macro from the drop down list also).
27. Save and close the Form.
28. Open the Form in normal View.
29. Right-Click on a field to display the Shortcut Menu. The new Group Menu that we have added will appear at the end of the Menu with description Form/Report.
30. Place the mouse over Form/Report menu group to display its Sub-Menu items.

The menu definition now remains in Macros and we are directly using it on Forms.  But, we can convert the Menu Macro into a regular:

• Menu Bar (like File, Edit etc.) OR
• Tool Bar  OR
• Shortcut Menu.

If you would like to convert this macro menu into a Menu Bar then we must make a small change in the macMenu macro.

1. Open macMenu in design view.
2. Type myMenu in the Menu Name control under Action Arguments.
3. Save and close the macro.
4. Click on macMenu macro to select it.
5. Highlight the option Macro in Tools Menu.
6. Click on Create Menu from Macro Option.

   A Menu Bar will appear on top with the label myMenu.

7. Click on myMenu to display the menu options which we have created in macros.

Note: You should not attempt to covert the same macMenu to a Toolbar Menu; a name conflict will take place.

Tip: To create a quick Toolbar Button with the same set of macros, do the following:

1. Make a copy of the macros: macMenu, mcrShortCut and macSubMenu and name them as mac_Menu, mcr_ShortCut and mac_SubMenu.
2. Open mcr_ShortCut macro in design view.
3. Click on the last line and change the Menu Macro Name control value to mac_SubMenu, save and close the Macro.
4. Open the mac_Menu macro in design view.
5. Change the Menu Name control value to myToolbar.
   
6. Change the Menu Macro Name control value to mcr_ShortCut, save and close mac_Menu Macro.
7. Click on the mac_Menu Macro to select it.
8. Highlight Macro in Tools Menu to display its Options.
9. Click on Create Toolbar from Macro option to convert the macro into a Toolbar; myToolbar button will appear near to the existing Toolbar with the label myToolbar.
10. You may click on it to display the Menu.

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