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Center Vertically By Richard Rost 
5 years ago
Count Records in a Table or Query with Criteria In this video, I'm going to show you how you can center text vertically (top to bottom, align middle) in your text boxes and labels in Microsoft Access. Eric from Nassau, The Bahamas (a Gold Member) asks: Is it possible to center text vertically in a label or textbox? I can do it easily in Excel, but Access doesn't seem to have that option. MembersMembers will learn how to use VBA code to automatically adjust the text box to keep multiple lines centered vertically.
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Keywordsmicrosoft access, ms access, #msaccess, #microsoftaccess, #help, #howto, #tutorial, #instruction, #learn, #lesson, #training, #database, center top to bottom, textbox, label, center vertically, vertical alignment, top margin, orientation, rotate, align middle
IntroIn this video, I will show you how to center text vertically inside text boxes and labels in Microsoft Access forms. We will talk about how vertical alignment works differently in Access compared to Microsoft Excel, and I will demonstrate a simple trick using the top margin property to help your text look centered even though Access does not have a built-in vertical alignment button. I will cover adjustments for both labels and text boxes, and discuss when this technique works best.TranscriptWelcome to another TechHelp video brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.In today's video, I'm going to show you how to center text boxes and labels vertically in Microsoft Access. Today's question comes from Eric in NASA, the Bahamas, one of my gold members. Eric asks, is it possible to center text vertically in a label or text box? I can do it easily in Excel, but Access doesn't seem to have that option. Well Eric, the answer is no, but yes. No, in that Access does not have that as a standard option like Excel does, but yes, in that with a little trick I can show you how to do it. So let's take a look. Here I am in Excel. Just to show you what Eric is talking about, if you've got a row across the top – first name, last name, and so on – and you want to make this row tall, maybe give it a little color. Let's go with light green. And you want to center these guys vertically. You can set them horizontally like that, and right above that, here's the alignment to go vertically. See? In Excel, that's super easy to do. Access does not have these buttons, so we've got to play a trick. And by the way, when I talk about vertical alignment, I'm not talking about orientation. This is vertical orientation when you actually flip the text 90 degrees. Access can actually do that. I'll show you that in a second too. I personally don't like the way that looks, especially in forms. If you want to do it in a report, okay, but in a form, no. Let me show you how to do this in Access. Here I am in my TechHelp Free template. You can download a free copy of this off my website if you want to. I'll put a link down below in the links section. In here, I've got a customer list form. Now let's say this top row of labels here, you want to do the same thing that we just did in Excel. So we're going to design view. Let's make this a little bit bigger. Let's make the form header section larger. I'll just do it with one of these labels first. Here's a label. Let's say I'm going to stretch it out like this and then make it a little bit bigger vertically like that. On the Format tab, here's your center and right. But there is no vertical alignment like there is in Excel. So what you have to do is add a top margin. It's like a buffer on the top here. Open this up. Go to the properties. On the Format tab, we're going to scroll down until we find top margin, right there. Now it's 0 inches high. Now the whole label, you've got to find the height of the whole label to get an idea. Here's the height. The whole label is half an inch high, 0.5417. So we've got to kind of guess as to how much of a margin. Maybe 0.2. Let's see what that looks like. You just kind of play it by ear. Find the top margin property. Put 0.2 in there. Let's see what that looks like. That's not too bad. Maybe a little bit less. Maybe go 0.15. A little bit more, 0.18. That looks good. Of course you have to adjust it based on your font size and all that stuff. When you have something that you're happy with, you can save that. Obviously here you'd want to add a little bit of color, because if not, there's no real purpose to do that. You could just move the label down. Let's go with maybe like that, a little bit slightly different color. Because if not, you could just stick the label there and no one would know the difference. This really is more handy in Access with text boxes. Let's put this guy back the way it was. Click. Let's go to the format painter. Paint that back here. Put him back the way he was right here. With labels, it's kind of silly. I don't think I've ever really wanted to do that with labels. But let's say your text boxes, you want to make them a little bit bigger. Like this. And we can do the same thing in here. I'll just do all of them at once. Highlight them all by clicking there. Right click. Properties. Let's see what the height looks like. The height is 0.41, so we'll go maybe, let's see, top margin. Maybe we'll go 0.18. That's a bit too much. Let's go 0.1. Let's see what that looks like. There we go. That's not bad. See? Now they're all centered vertically. Close that and open it back up again. See? You could make the text box bigger and increase the font size, but if you want just a bigger box and you want to have smaller text in that box, then if that's the look that you're going for, there you go. That's how you do it. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of this is this only really looks good if you have small bits of text: first name, last name, state, that kind of stuff. If you start getting into larger fields, like notes fields, or stuff that's going to wrap onto multiple lines, then it starts to do that. See? It doesn't center itself nicely. You've got that margin, then the rest of the text. Now, it is possible to achieve something like a good vertical alignment with some VBA code, as I did here. See that? As I add more text to this box, see that? It's centering itself automatically as the text gets longer. That requires a little bit of significant VBA code, and I will show how to do this in the extended cut for the members. How do you become a member? Click the join button below the video. After you click the join button, you'll see a list of all the different types of membership levels that are available. Silver members and up will get access to all of the extended cut TechHelp videos, live video and chat sessions, and more. Gold members get access to a download folder containing all the sample databases that I build in my TechHelp videos, plus my code vault, where I keep tons of different functions that I use. Platinum members get all the previous perks, plus access to my full beginner courses and some of my expert courses. These are the full length courses found on my website and not just for Access. I also teach Word, Excel, Visual Basic, ASP, and lots more. These free TechHelp videos are going to keep coming. As long as you keep watching them, I'll keep making more. If you liked this video, please give me a thumbs up and feel free to post any comments that you have. I do read them all. Make sure you subscribe to my channel, which is completely free, and click the bell icon and select all to receive notifications when new videos are posted. Click on the show more link below the video to find additional resources and links. You'll see a list of other videos, additional information related to the current topic, free lessons, and lots more. YouTube no longer sends out email notifications when new videos are posted. If you'd like to get an email every time I post a new video, click on the link to join my mailing list. If you have not yet tried my free Access Level 1 course, check it out now. It covers all the basics of building databases with Access. It's over three hours long. You can find it on my website or on my YouTube channel. If you like Level 1, Level 2 is just $1, and it's also free for all members of my YouTube channel at any level. If you want to have your question answered in a video just like this one, visit my TechHelp page and you can send me your question there. Click here to watch my free Access Beginner Level 1 course, more of my TechHelp videos, or to subscribe to my channel. Thanks for watching this video from AccessLearningZone.com. QuizQ1. What is the primary topic addressed in this video tutorial?A. How to vertically center text in Access text boxes and labels B. How to add color to Excel worksheets C. How to sort data in Access reports D. How to secure Access databases Q2. What is Eric's question about Access compared to Excel? A. Can you use macros in Access like in Excel? B. Is it possible to center text vertically in a label or text box in Access? C. Can you create pivot tables in Access? D. Is database security the same in Excel and Access? Q3. How does Microsoft Access handle vertical text alignment by default? A. Access has built-in vertical alignment options like Excel B. Access requires a workaround since it lacks vertical alignment buttons C. Access automatically centers text vertically in all labels D. Access restricts all text to the bottom of the label Q4. What property in Access allows you to shift label or text box contents down to simulate vertical centering? A. Font Size B. Background Color C. Top Margin D. Text Orientation Q5. After adjusting the Top Margin, what should you consider to achieve the best vertical alignment? A. The color of the control B. The size of the font and overall height of the control C. The orientation property setting D. Whether the control is locked Q6. For which type of data is the Top Margin trick most effective in Access? A. Large text blocks with multiple lines B. Short, single-line fields like first name or state C. Calculated fields only D. Numeric fields greater than 100 Q7. What happens if you use this Top Margin method with multi-line text or large notes fields? A. The text automatically centers regardless of size B. The text may not center properly as it wraps C. The text disappears D. The text becomes bold Q8. What advanced solution did Richard mention for automatic vertical centering in multi-line text boxes? A. Use the text orientation property B. Manually adjust the top margin for each possible line count C. Use significant VBA code to center the text as it gets longer D. Increase the font size Q9. What feature in Access allows you to rotate the orientation of text vertically? A. Vertical alignment property B. Text orientation property C. Font weight property D. Label color property Q10. Where can viewers access extended tutorials and sample files mentioned in the video? A. By becoming a paid member of the YouTube channel B. By sending an email request to the instructor C. By downloading directly from Microsoft's website D. By posting a comment Q11. What is suggested as the best reason to vertically center a control in Access using the margin trick? A. To make multi-line notes easier to read B. To create visually pleasing headers with short text C. To lock the control from editing D. To make the text bold and italic Q12. If you want to be notified of new videos, what should you do since YouTube no longer sends email notifications? A. Subscribe to the channel and join the mailing list B. Post a comment on every video C. Only check the website periodically D. Change your browser settings Q13. What is the recommended action if you want your Access question answered by Richard in a future video? A. Visit the TechHelp page and submit the question there B. Ask in the video comments only C. Email Microsoft support D. Join a third-party Access forum Answers: 1-A; 2-B; 3-B; 4-C; 5-B; 6-B; 7-B; 8-C; 9-B; 10-A; 11-B; 12-A; 13-A DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks. SummaryToday's video from Access Learning Zone focuses on how to center text vertically inside text boxes and labels in Microsoft Access. This question comes from one of my members, Eric, who asked if it is possible to center text vertically in a label or text box in Access, since Excel makes this quite easy.Eric is right that Excel provides a simple way to vertically center text using built-in alignment tools. You can quickly make rows taller, add color, and then use the vertical alignment button to center your text. Access, unfortunately, does not include a similar built-in feature. So, while you cannot do it as easily as in Excel, there is a trick to achieve vertical centering in Access, which I will explain. To address this, I opened up the TechHelp Free template in Access and demonstrated using a customer list form. If you want your top row of labels to look more like they do in Excel, start by switching to design view, enlarging the header section, and making one of the labels taller. Unlike Excel, Access labels only provide horizontal alignment options. There is no built-in vertical alignment button. However, you can use the top margin property as a workaround. By going to the label's properties and adjusting the top margin on the Format tab, you can move the text down within the label. For instance, if your label's height is about 0.54 inches, you can experiment by setting the top margin to 0.15 or 0.18 inches, adjusting until the text appears visually centered. The exact measurement may vary depending on your font size and overall label size. This trick works similarly with text boxes, which is where it is most useful. If you have fields like first name, last name, or other single line inputs and you want the text to be vertically centered inside a larger box, highlight the boxes, open their properties, and increase the top margin slightly. For a typical text box around 0.41 inches tall, a top margin of about 0.1 should work well. You may need to try different values until the text looks centered. There are some limitations to this approach. It works best with fields that contain short pieces of information. If you apply it to text boxes meant for longer entries, like notes fields that span multiple lines, the vertical centering does not work as neatly. The margin shifts the beginning of the text, but it will not keep longer text blocks centered. There is a more advanced way to achieve true dynamic vertical centering for multi-line text boxes, but that requires using VBA code. In the extended cut for members, I demonstrate how to set this up so that the text stays vertically centered even as it grows longer. If you are interested in viewing extended cut videos, live chats, or downloading sample databases, you can explore membership options on my site. Silver members and above get access to extended cut TechHelp videos and additional resources. Gold members also gain access to my downloadable samples and code vault. Platinum members receive access to my complete beginner and some expert courses on a variety of topics, not just Access. If you found this information helpful, please consider leaving a comment, subscribing to the channel, and joining the mailing list so you get notified when new content becomes available. You can find links to more lessons and resources on my website as well as additional tutorials covering Access and other Microsoft Office programs. If you have not yet tried my free Access Level 1 course, I highly recommend you check it out. It covers all the fundamentals of building a database in Access, runs for over three hours, and is available on my website and YouTube. If you want to move on to Level 2, that course is only $1 and is also free for all members. If you would like to have your own question answered in a TechHelp video, submit it through my TechHelp page. You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends. Topic ListDemonstrating vertical alignment options in ExcelComparing text alignment features in Access and Excel Adjusting form header and label height in Access Using the top margin property to adjust label text position Estimating margin values to center text vertically Applying vertical centering to multiple text boxes at once Adjusting top margin in text boxes for vertical centering Explaining limitations with multi-line and large fields |
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| Keywords: TechHelp Access center top to bottom, textbox, label, center vertically, vertical alignment, top margin, orientation, rotate, align middle PermaLink Center Vertically in Microsoft Access |
