XL97: Setting the Default CommandButton on a UserForm

ID: Q161537

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

On a UserForm, you can designate only one CommandButton object as the default command button. Because only one CommandButton can be the default CommandButton, if you set the Default property for any CommandButton to True, the Default properties for all other CommandButtons on the UserForm are automatically set to False.

MORE INFORMATION

Behavior When the Default Property Is True

If you set the Default property of a CommandButton to True, the following events occur, depending on which control has focus when you press ENTER during run time. 

 Control with focus             Event
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 CommandButton (default=False)  Click and KeyDown (KeyDown has higher
                                precedence) events for this CommandButton
                                occur. (The default CommandButton is NOT
                                activated.)

 CommandButton (default=True)   Click, KeyDown or KeyUp (KeyDown has
                                highest precedence) events for this
                                CommandButton occur.

 Any control other than a       The default CommandButton is given the
 CommandButton                  focus and the Click or KeyUp (Click has
                                higher precedence) events for this
                                CommandButton occur.
NOTE: The KeyDown event occurs when you press a key while the UserForm or control on the UserForm has the focus. The KeyUp event occurs after any event (KeyDown) for a control is started by pressing a key.

If you want a specific control on the UserForm to have the focus when you display the UserForm, set the TabIndex property for the control to zero (0) or use the SetFocus method.

Setting the TabIndex Property

If you set the TabIndex property of a control to a value of zero (0), the control is given the focus when you display the UserForm. The TabIndex property specifies the position of the object in the tab order (the order in which the focus moves from one object to another when you press TAB or SHIFT+TAB).

Using the SetFocus Method

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If you do not want to change the tab order of the controls on the UserForm, use the SetFocus method to specify which object has focus when you display the UserForm. For example, if you want a ComboBox named ComboBox1 to have the focus when you display the UserForm, use the following sample code for the Initialize event of the UserForm: 

   Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()

       ComboBox1.SetFocus

   End Sub
When you display the UserForm, the insertion point appears inside the ComboBox, regardless of the tab order on the UserForm.

REFERENCES

For more information about default CommandButtons, from the Visual Basic Editor, click the Office Assistant, type "default," click Search, and then click to view " Default Property."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If the Assistant is not able to answer your query, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q176476
   TITLE     : OFF: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions
Additional query words: XL97 
Keywords          : kbprg kbdta kbdtacode KbVBA 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: May 18, 1999