There really isn't a way to set a default number of rows in the subform.  It is dependent on the size of you detail section.  So it's just a matter of trial and error until you get it the way you want it displayed.

If you want to see the departments then the class list has to be a subform in the department list form.

Scott --- I thought that someone with your knowledge would be able to tell me the secrets to form design LOL!!  

Using Richard "Nested Continuous Forms" video I did create subforms as you mention.  I created StudentF then made that a subform in ClassF.  I then made ClassF a subform in CourseF.  I then made CourseF a subform in Departments. I made sure they were all "continuous".

The trouble is that on my laptop the screen size doesn't work very well when trying to see the Departments.  When I open my forms on my desktop I get the same challenge at times.  It's just that I can't seem to format it to make it look like Richard does.

My Department Detail size should not matter because the detail size of my other forms is pretty small ...

I'm still confused ...

Anyone else have an idea about this?  Thank you everyone ... I appreciate the help!

Ha ha -- Got ya fooled - I just fake it well Tom.

Seriously - I wish there was a magic bullet or piece of wisdom I could pass along.  Truth is I've spent hours tweaking forms on my laptop, until I'm blue in the face,  only to get to the desktop and it looks horrid.  If it helps I feel your pain.

That's just what it is. It's a serious pain, when you get it looking perfect on one resolution you go to the next monitor and it's smaller so it's all screwed up again. There's no good answer, just a lot of trial and error to get it to look how you want. You could mess with the height settings on the subforms but I don't think it's going to be perfectly always 4.

You might find other silly advanced work arounds like using recordsets to limit the number of records shown in a continous form at a time so the forms never grow beyond a certain point or have to deal with scroll bars. But it's all going to come back down to people on smaller monitors than you design it with are going to have some issues.

Scott --- everyone has me fooled --- even myself!  Thanks for sharing the pain ... it does help when I feel I'm not alone!

Adam --- I don't absolutely need to have a perfect 3 or 4 ... so I think I'll play with the Height Settings on the subforms to see if that at least makes it palatable :-)  I don't mind having to deal with the scroll bars at all ... it's just that I want to see at least two or three of my options for each of the four different forms if that makes sense!

Thank you guys I appreciate you sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and experience with us newbies!!