Question

While programming in MS Access, there are certain places where an object is referred by ! operator and its property by . operator.

For example,

Forms![Form Name].Visible

I was just wondering, is there any specific way to know what is what? I mean how can we be sure if ! is to be used or . is to be used?

Also, is there any specific reason, why two different symbols are used for objects and properties?

Answer 1

A period is always used for properties & methods.
ex: recordset.MoveNext

An exclamation mark is used for child objects. The most common child object you will use is the field of a table.
ex: recordset!fieldname = "John"

In your example above, [Form Name] is a form that is a child of the forms set (which includes all forms). The [] is used for objects with spaces.

Warning: Access is fairly tolerant and will often allow a period to be used instead of an exclamation mark.
ex: recordset.fieldname = "John"
It’s bad coding, but I give the example so you won’t be confused when you see it.