Search Text in Microsoft Access: Build Find Buttons

In this Microsoft Access tutorial, I will show you how to create a custom search tool with Find First and Find Next buttons for long text fields, ideal for quickly navigating keyword searches in text-heavy databases like book summaries. We'll explore using VBA to enhance efficiency and streamline repetitive tasks.

Heather from O'Fallon, Missouri (a Platinum Member) asks: I'm building a database to store book summaries, which includes fields like the book title, ISBN number, and a long text field for detailed summaries that can span multiple paragraphs. I often need to search for specific keywords within these summaries.

While I know I can use the built-in Ctrl+F function to search, it requires multiple steps, like specifying the current field each time. Since I perform this task many times a day, is there a way to create a custom text box with buttons to streamline the process? Ideally, I'd like to type a keyword into the box and use custom Find First and Find Next buttons to navigate through the results.

Members

There is no extended cut, but here is the file download:

•  File Download - Gold Members

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Prerequisites

• Intro to VBA
• Null
• SetFocus
• SelStart, SelLength
• InStr Function
• If Then
• TempVars
• String Functions

Links

• Select Text On Click
• Double Double Quotes

Recommended Courses

• Beginner Find & Replace
• Access Search Seminar
• Access Developer Courses

Up Next

• Find in Text Box, Part 2

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Keywords

TechHelp Access, Find First, Find Next, text search, long text field, keyword search, custom text box, VBA tutorial, search functionality, code builder, in-string function, VBA programming, Access developers, text navigation, Access project