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Form.PaletteSource property (Access)

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Use the PaletteSource property to specify the palette for a form. Read/write String.

Syntax

expression.PaletteSource

expression A variable that represents a Form object.

Remarks

Enter the path and file name of one of the following file types:

  • .dib (device-independent bitmap file)

  • .pal (Windows palette file)

  • .ico (Windows icon file)

  • .bmp (Windows bitmap file)

  • .wmf or .emf file, or other graphics file for which you have a graphics filter

The default setting is (Default), which specifies the palette included with Microsoft Access. If you change this setting by entering a path and file name, the property setting displays (Custom).

For a form, you can set the PaletteSource property in form Design view and Form view. The property setting is unavailable in other views.

Windows can have only one color palette active at a time. Access allows you to have multiple graphics on a form, each using a different color palette. The PaletteSource and PaintPalette properties let you specify which color palette a form uses when displaying graphics.

When you set the PaletteSource property for a form or report, Access automatically updates its PaintPalette property. Conversely, when you set a form's or report's PaintPalette property, the PaletteSource property is also updated. For example, when you specify a custom palette with the PaintPalette property, the PaletteSource property setting changes to (Custom). The PaintPalette property (which is available only in a macro or Visual Basic) is used to set the palette for the form or report. The PaletteSource property gives you a way to set the palette for the form or report in the property sheet by using an existing graphics file.

Example

The following example sets the PaintPalette property of the Seascape form to the ObjectPalette property of the Ocean control on the DisplayPictures form. (Ocean can be a bound object frame, command button, chart, toggle button, or unbound object frame.)

Forms!Seascape.PaintPalette = _ 
 Forms!DisplayPictures!Ocean.ObjectPalette

The ObjectPalette and PaintPalette properties are useful for programmatically altering the color palette in use by an open form at run time. A common use of these properties is to set the current form's PaintPalette property to the palette of a graphic displayed in a control that has the focus.

For example, you can have a form with an ocean picture, showing many shades of blue, and a sunset picture, showing many shades of red. Because Windows only allows one color palette active at a time, one picture will look much better than the other.

The following example uses a control's Enter event for setting the form's PaintPalette property to the control's ObjectPalette property so that the graphic that has the focus will have an optimal appearance.

Sub OceanPicture_Enter() 
 Me.PaintPalette = Me!OceanPicture.ObjectPalette 
End Sub 
 
Sub SunsetPicture_Enter() 
 Me.PaintPalette = Me!SunsetPicture.ObjectPalette 
End Sub

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