Understanding Subform Creation

You can create a subform in one of two ways: without a power form, or as a control either directly on a power form or on the tab page of a power form. These two options give you the flexibility to code subforms and power forms independently to accommodate different design schedules. Therefore, you might choose to create a subform outside of the context of a power form if the power form itself is not ready yet or if your group is responsible only for creating a subform that other groups will use on their power forms, for example. Furthermore, you can only create browse subforms directly on a power form, so if you want to create an edit subform, you must create it independently of a given power form.

No matter how you create the subform, it exists as its own entity in the system. Therefore, you can find and insert any subform onto any power form.

When you create it, a blue hashed line appears at the top and bottom of a subform. Use these lines as guides for button placement. Place initial actions, such as find, at the top.

Place concluding actions, such as save, near the bottom. Controls may only exist within the boundary of the subform; you cannot size the subform to be smaller than the area where its child controls reside. This restriction includes hidden controls, so if FDA does not permit you to shrink a subform, ensure that you have no hidden controls preventing the resize.