How to Run a Macro from a Navigation Button in Microsoft Access

See Microsoft Access: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

You're not limited to running forms and reports from the navigation form. You can use navigation buttons to run macros as well, thus opening the range of functionality to any process you can write a macro or module for.

This feature works the same in all modern versions of Microsoft Access: 2010, 2013, and 2016.

  1. Open the navigation form in Layout view.
  2. In the button area, right-click and select Insert Navigation Button from the shortcut menu. A new navigation button is added. Select Insert Navigation Button
  3. With the new navigation button selected, go to the Property Sheet and on the Format tab in the Caption field, type a label for the button. Type Label for Button
  4. Select the Event tab.
  5. In the On Click field, select the macro you want to run from the drop-down list or click the points of ellipsis Select Macro to build a macro. Navigation Form
  6. Preview the navigation form in Form view and click the new button to test the macro.