PRA: List Box Selection Is Blacked Out in Print Preview

Article ID: Q154451
Creation Date: 06-AUG-1996
Revision Date: 04-DEC-1996

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Access version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

When you select an item in a list box on a form or have a bound list box on a report, the selected item will be blacked out in Print Preview and is unreadable. If none of the list box items is selected, the preview appears to be correct.

RESOLUTION

The problem occurs only in Print Preview. The resulting printout should print the selected item correctly.

To work around the problem, so that the selected item is displayed in Print Preview, use a combo box instead of a list box. If your list box displays multiple columns, create a field that concatenates the multiple columns and display that column in your combo box.

The following example creates a combo box that displays three fields from the Employees table:

 1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb and create a new blank form.

 2. Turn on the Control Wizards in the toolbox.

 3. Create a combo box on the form (steps 4-7 walk you through the wizard).

 4. Click the "I want the combo box to look up the values in a table or
    query" button, and then click next.

 5. Select the Employees table, and then click Next.

 6. Select the EmployeeID, LastName and FirstName fields, and then click
    next.

 7. Click the Finish button.

 8. View the properties of the combo box.

 9. Select the Build button for the RowSource property.

Add a new field to the Query Builder grid as follows:

       all: [EmployeeID] & " " & [Lastname] & " " & [FirstName]

Close the Query Builder and save the changes to the SQL Statement.

Set the ColumnCount property to 4.

Set the ColumnWidths property to 0";0";0";1".

View the form in Form view.

Select an item in the list box and Print Preview the form.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Access 7.0. This problem no longer occurs in Microsoft Access 97.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Problem

Open the sample database Northwind.mdb and create a new blank form.
Turn on the Control Wizards in the toolbox.
Create a list box on the form (steps 4-7 walk you through the wizard).
Click the "I want the list box to look up the values in a table or query" button, and then click next.
Select the Employees table, and then click Next.
Select the EmployeeID, LastName and FirstName fields, and then click next.
Click the Finish button.
View the form in Form View.
Select an item in the list box and Print Preview the form. Note that the selected row is blacked out.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.