Access Navigation Forms: Build Tabbed Application Interfaces

Navigation Forms, introduced in Access 2010, provide a built-in way to create tabbed application interfaces without writing any VBA code. They give your database a modern, professional look that users find intuitive — similar to a web application with a navigation bar.

What Is a Navigation Form?

A Navigation Form is a special form type that contains a navigation control — a set of tabs or buttons — and displays other forms and reports within it when tabs are clicked. Think of it as a shell that hosts your other forms.

The result looks like a modern application with a navigation bar at the top or side, and the selected form's content in the main area.

Creating a Navigation Form

1. Go to Create → Navigation on the ribbon

2. Choose a layout from the dropdown:

   • Horizontal Tabs — tabs across the top (most common)
   • Vertical Tabs, Left — tabs down the left side
   • Vertical Tabs, Right — tabs down the right side
   • Horizontal Tabs and Vertical Tabs, Left — two-level navigation
   • Horizontal Tabs and Vertical Tabs, Right
   • Horizontal Tabs, 2 Levels — main tabs with sub-tabs

3. Access creates a blank Navigation Form with an "[Add New]" tab placeholder

Adding Forms and Reports to Tabs

The easiest way to add content to a Navigation Form is drag-and-drop:

1. Open the Navigation Form in Design View
2. Open the Navigation Pane so you can see your forms and reports
3. Drag a form or report from the Navigation Pane onto the tab bar
4. Access creates a new tab with the object's name and sets it to display that object

Alternatively, click the "[Add New]" tab to add a blank tab, then set its Navigation Target Name property to the form or report you want to display.

Renaming Tabs

Double-click a tab in Design View to rename it. Use clear, user-friendly names rather than the internal form names:

• "frmCustomers" → "Customers"
• "frmOrderEntry" → "New Order"
• "rptMonthlySummary" → "Monthly Report"

Reordering Tabs

In Design View, drag tabs left or right to reorder them. The leftmost tab is the default (displayed when the Navigation Form opens).

Customizing Tab Appearance

Select the navigation control (click the tab bar area, not a specific tab) and open the Property Sheet (F4) to customize:

Width — set the width of each tab button Height — set the height of the tab bar Font — change the font, size, and style of tab labels Back Color — background color of the tab bar Fore Color — text color of tab labels

For individual tabs, select a specific tab and adjust its properties.

Adding a Header with Logo and Title

Navigation Forms work best with a header section that shows your application's branding:

1. In Design View, right-click the form and select Form Header/Footer
2. In the Form Header section, add:
   • An Image control with your logo
   • A Label with the application name
   • Optionally, a label showing the current user: ="Welcome, " & CurrentUser()

Two-Level Navigation

For applications with many sections, use the "Horizontal Tabs and Vertical Tabs" layout to create a two-level hierarchy:

• Top tabs — major sections (Data Entry, Reports, Administration)
• Side tabs — sub-sections within each major section

When the user clicks a top tab, the side tabs update to show the sub-sections for that area.

To set up two-level navigation:

1. Choose the "Horizontal Tabs and Vertical Tabs, Left" layout
2. Add top-level tabs for major sections
3. For each top-level tab, add sub-tabs in the vertical tab area
4. Assign forms/reports to each sub-tab

Opening the Navigation Form at Startup

Set the Navigation Form as the startup form:

1. Go to File → Options → Current Database
2. Set Display Form to your Navigation Form
3. Uncheck Display Navigation Pane
4. Click OK

Now when users open the database, they see the Navigation Form immediately with no Access chrome visible.

Passing Data Between Forms in a Navigation Form

When a form is displayed inside a Navigation Form, it is a subform of the Navigation Form. You can reference it using the subform syntax:

' From the Navigation Form, reference a control in the displayed form:
Me![NavigationSubform].Form![CustomerID]

' From a form displayed inside the Navigation Form, reference the parent:
Me.Parent![SomeControl]

Limitations of Navigation Forms

• Cannot pass parameters — you cannot open a form inside a Navigation Form with a specific record pre-selected (use a search form pattern instead)
• Limited customization — the tab appearance is constrained compared to a fully custom form
• No conditional tab visibility — you cannot easily hide/show tabs based on user permissions (use a custom form for this)

For applications that need user-level security with different menus for different roles, a custom form with VBA-controlled button visibility is more flexible.

Conclusion

Navigation Forms are the fastest way to give your Access database a professional, application-like interface. For straightforward applications with a flat or two-level navigation structure, they require no code and look great. Combine them with a branded header, startup options to hide the Navigation Pane, and you have a polished application that users will find intuitive from day one.