Modern UI in Access: Custom Dialogs & Mini Notifications

Building a modern database with the classic MsgBox & InputBox is like a new Porsche – but with Beetle rims. Time for the next step: formattable custom dialogs and subtle mini notifications, completely in VBA.

Why custom dialogs?

Picture this: you’ve been working on an Access database for months. The logic is perfect, the performance is right, the security is first class. Then you show it to your client – and the first thing they see is a grey MsgBox window from the 1990s.

Here I show you how to get from grey to great with little effort. The new version of my Custom Dialogs is a complete refactor – even faster, even simpler, even more powerful.

Feature comparison

The stars of the show

• myMsgBox – the modern alternative to MsgBox
• myInputBox – nicer than the original InputBox
• myComboBox – like an InputBox, but with data selection
• myListBox – like myComboBox, but as a ListBox (multi-select possible)
• myErrorBox – a dialog box for showing error messages
• myNotification – subtle, short feedback to the user

Two integrated editors – full control

Dialog-type editor: adjust the icon, set the header color and even the header gradient. This makes the dialogs blend perfectly into your application’s design.

Template editor: create or edit complete dialog templates. There you choose, among other things:

• the dialog type (myMsgBox, myInputBox, myComboBox, myListBox),
• heading & body text (plain text or HTML),
• the button labels,
• a “Do not show again” checkbox, a print and a copy button,
• the auto-close time and delayed display of the buttons,
• default values and values for ListBox/ComboBox (value list or SQL).

IntelliSense included

It was important to me that the calls are as simple as possible – and that requires IntelliSense. All dialog and notification types are therefore controlled via enumerations.

So you don’t have to maintain these enums by hand, there is the module modHelper_Enumeration: new enum entries can be created, edited or deleted dynamically at runtime – directly via a convenient editor.

Two classes join in as well:

• clsDLG_Config – manages the complete configuration setup and the values of the dialog boxes.
• clsDLG_Result – returns the results: which button was clicked, or which values were entered/selected in ListBox, ComboBox or InputBox.

Examples

A dialog as a single command:

myMsgBox "Header", "This is the body text", DLG_Info, "OK", "Cancel"

Debug.Print myComboBox("QUESTION", "Please choose a value.", DLG_Question, _
    "SELECT dlg_type FROM tblDLG_Dialogs_types", "OK")

Debug.Print myInputBox("QUESTION", "Please enter a value.", DLG_Question, _
    "Default value", "OK", "Cancel")

Debug.Print myListBox("QUESTION", "Please choose a value.", DLG_Mail, _
    "1;2;3;4;3;5", "OK")

A message box with more options:

With DLG_Config
    .DialogType   = DLG_Info
    .header       = "HEADER Text"
    .Body         = "HTML string"
    .Button1      = "OK"
    .Button2      = "Cancel"
    .Button3      = "Another button"
    .Printing     = True
    .CopyContent  = True
    .AutoClose    = 20
    .ButtonDelay  = 4
    .DialogWidth  = 10000
    .DialogHeight = 5000
    .Start_as_MsgBox
End With

A ListBox with more options (ComboBox works the same way):

With DLG_Config
    .DialogType   = DLG_Question
    .header       = "HEADER Text"
    .Body         = "HTML string"
    .Button1      = "OK"
    .ComboValue   = "SELECT dlg_type, dlg_typeColor FROM tblDLG_Dialogs_types ORDER BY dlg_type"
    .ComboWidths  = "5cm;0cm"
    .DefaultValue = "DLG_Info"
    .Start_as_ListBox
End With

An InputBox via a template:

With DLG_Config
    .TemplateName   = "delete"
    .TemplateValue1 = "Example text 1"
    .TemplateValue2 = "Example text 2"
    .DefaultValue   = "Text xxx"
    .Start_as_InputBox
End With

A notification:

myNotification DLG_Cancel, Black, 1

Replace standard dialogs automatically

At a talk for the Access User Group Europe, the question came up whether you could automatically replace the built-in standard dialogs – MsgBox and InputBox. You asked, here’s the answer: the function scans the entire VBE, detects all MsgBox and InputBox calls, shows them and lets you decide whether to replace them.

Playground: a preview

Besides the actual dialogs, a playground is included that shows what else is possible – for example manipulating values in existing HTML (theme, language) and reading the chosen values back.

Along the way I stumbled on a peculiarity: the web browser control in Access only reads content when it was loaded via Navigate. If I write the innerHTML directly (faster, as in the templates), the values can’t be read.

Just give it a try

With the included testing form you can try out all dialogs and notifications directly, get to know them and adopt them into your own application.

Standard was yesterday – with this extension your Access interface becomes more intuitive and a good deal “sexier”. You’ll find the detailed description and all notes directly in the code, well documented as usual.

Download