Automatic Error Checking
In Access 2003 you can enable automatic error checking of forms. Error checking not only points out errors in a form, but provides suggestions for correcting them.You can activate error checking from the Error Checking tab under Tools, Options (see Figure 9.21). Click the Enable error checking check box to enable error checking. Once you enable error checking, indicators appear on your form, letting you know that something is wrong (see Figure 9.22). You then click the indicator and an explanation and suggestions appear for correcting the error (see Figure 9.23).
Figure 9.21. You can activate error checking from the Error Checking tab under Tools, Options.

Figure 9.22. Indicators appear on your form, letting you know that something is wrong.

Figure 9.23. A menu appears, providing you with an explanation and suggestions for correcting the error.

The error checker will identify several categories of errors. They appear in Table 9.6.
Category | Description |
---|---|
Unassociated label and control | You select a label and a control (for example, a label and a text box) that are not associated with one another. |
New unassociated labels | You add a label that is not associated with another control. |
Keyboard shortcut errors | You select a control with an invalid shortcut key associated with it (that is, duplicate shortcut key, or space as a shortcut key). |
Invalid control properties | The string in the control source is not valid. This might be because it is not a valid field name, or because the control source refers to itself. It can also be because the expression does not begin with equal, or because the option value in an option group is not unique. |