Version 1.3           Approx 0.4 MB (zipped)                First Published 23 May 2022                 Last Updated 24 Jan 2026

UPDATED 24 Jan 2026 :   new version with slightly modified code


The form/report controls available in Access have been around for over 20 years with only minimal change.
There is a real need for new controls to be added that don’t depend on the use of ActiveX

This is the first in an occasional series of additional controls that can be added to Access forms without requiring ActiveX functionality

It is based on a thread I posted at Access World Forums in Dec 2017, Toggle On/Off Button where I asked:
Does anyone know of a form control which can act in a similar way to those below?


This type of control is common in Windows settings and on smartphones but is not available in Access.

Fellow forum member, Chris Arnold, suggested a simple solution:
You can use a button - use format to select a quick style, but you would need code to set border, back and fore colors - plus code to change the alignment.
Use Wingdings font (lowercase L) or Webdings (lowercase N)

The prompt acted as a reminder about using Quick Styles and other items on the Control Formatting section of the Format ribbon:


Quick Styles:



Change Shape:



Shape Effects:



It took no more than 2 minutes to achieve exactly what I wanted!

In this case I just needed to use Change Shape to create the rounded corners effect and code to toggle the appearance of each button.

In the latest version (1.3), I used a custom color ColBlue with the value RGB(0,114,195) as a close approximation to that in Windows Settings.

After creating the rounded button(s), add the button caption as a lower case 'l' in Wingdings then add code similar to this to your form module.



CODE:

Copy code
Option Compare Database
Option Explicit

Const ColBlue As Long = 12808704   'RGB(0,114,195)

'---------------------------------

Private Sub cmd1_Click()
    
    If Me.lbl1.Caption = "On" Then
        FormatButton False, cmd1
        FormatButton True, cmd2
        Me.lbl1.Caption = "Off"
        Me.lbl2.Caption = "On"
    Else
        FormatButton True, cmd1
        FormatButton False, cmd2
        Me.lbl1.Caption = "On"
        Me.lbl2.Caption = "Off"
    End If
    
End Sub

'------------------------------------

Private Sub cmd2_Click()

    If Me.lbl2.Caption = "On" Then
        FormatButton False, cmd2
        FormatButton True, cmd1
        Me.lbl1.Caption = "On"
        Me.lbl2.Caption = "Off"
    Else
        FormatButton True, cmd2
        FormatButton False, cmd1
        Me.lbl1.Caption = "Off"
        Me.lbl2.Caption = "On"
    End If

End Sub

'------------------------------------

Function FormatButton(IsOn As Boolean, ctrl As control)

'sets the toggle button appearance on/off
If IsOn Then
    ctrl.BorderColor = ColBlue
    ctrl.BackColor = ColBlue
    ctrl.ForeColor = vbWhite
    ctrl.Alignment = 3
Else
    ctrl.BorderColor = vbBlack
    ctrl.BackColor = vbWhite
    ctrl.ForeColor = vbBlack
    ctrl.Alignment = 0
End If

End Function

'------------------------------------

Private Sub Form_Load()
    'set cmd1 button 'on' and cmd2 'off'
    Me.lbl1.Caption = "Off"
    cmd1_Click
    
End Sub

Download

Click to download:     OnOffToggle_v1.3.zip              Approx 0.4 MB (zipped)



Related Article

See also my latest article on this ideawhich also includes a practical example app: Settings Form with On/Off Toggle Slider Controls
The article also includes several links to alternative solutions created by other developers.



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Colin Riddington           Mendip Data Systems                 Last Updated 24 Jan 2026

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