Turn Off or Customize Error Checking in Microsoft Access
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 9, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® Access® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
In Microsoft Access, small green error markers may appear in Design View in forms and reports for a number of reasons. These triangular markers display when there may be an error since Access checks forms, reports and controls against the error checking settings or rules in the Options dialog box. Indicators usually appear in the upper-left corner of a form or report and the upper-left or upper-right corner of a control.
You can turn error checking off completely or set the rules you prefer in the Options dialog. The default settings can cause some irritating behaviour (like flagging unattached controls).
Recommended article: 10 Microsoft Access Tips for Working with Select Queries
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Change error checking options or rules
To turn off or change error checking options or rules in Access:
- Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
- Select Options. A dialog box appears.
- Click Object Designers in the left pane.
- In the right pane, select the desired options under Error checking in form and report design view.
- Click OK.
Below is the Access Options dialog as it appears in Access 2010 (and is very similar for other versions):
Turn error checking off or on
To turn error checking on or off in the Access Options dialog (Object Designers category):
- Check or uncheck Enable error checking.
- Click OK.
Change the error marker color
To change the error marker color, in the Access Options dialog (Object Designers category):
- Beside Error indicator color, select an alternate color from the color menu.
- Click OK.
Access error checking rules
The following error checking rules in the Access Options dialog (Object Designers category) are enabled by default:
- Check for unassociated label and control – when you select a control and a label, Access checks to ensure that the selected objects are associated with each other.
- Check for new unassociated label – this setting applies only to forms and enables Access to check all new labels to ensure that they are associated with a control.
- Check for keyboard shortcut error – this setting applies only to forms and causes Access to check for duplicate keyboard shortcuts and invalid shortcuts (such as space characters) and provides a list of alternatives.
- Check for invalid control properties – Access checks controls for invalid property settings (such as invalid expressions or field names).
- Check for common report errors – this setting applies only to reports and causes Access to check reports for common errors such as invalid sort orders or widths greater than the selected paper size.
Error checking markers can be very irritating and it's simple to change or disable error checking settings in Microsoft Access.
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More resources
How to Convert a Microsoft Access Report to PDF (3 Ways)
How to Filter a Report on the Fly in Microsoft Access
10 Techniques for Designing Forms in Microsoft Access
Related courses
Microsoft Access: Introduction
Microsoft Access: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft Access: Introduction to VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)
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