If the Form is unbound why does it need to be Requeried?
Are there controls on the form that need Requerying such as a Text Box or a List Box?

I want the user to be aware of new orders, so I have a button that changes colors when there's a new order. But when the new order is dealt with, the menu doesn't update back to the default color without closing and reopening the menu.

How do you tell the user there are new orders?
When the user "deals" with the order, why not change the color in VBA code on Form Close or unload?

By a button changing colors on the main menu.

When I have the 'orders' form close I tell the main menu to refresh/requery but because it doesn't have any Record Source it doesn't make any difference.

If you have an unbound Main Menu form, for example, you can still issue a Me.Refresh on that form either in a button or in a timer event. You don't need to close and reopen it.

Hi Daniel, requery only affects data, not button's color.  Like Sami said, you need VBA to change the button's color based on whether new orders are present at any given moment.

Create a function to count the number of new orders.  E.g.:

    Public Function GetNewOrderCount() As Long
        ' Write code here to count new orders.
        GetNewOrderCount = ...
    End Function

Then change button's color based on new order count.  E.g.:

    Me.MyButton.BackColor = IIf(GetNewOrderCount > 0, vbRed, vbGreen)

Then put this line at key locations in your app, such as when an order is submitted, processed, cancelled, re-instated, etc.

I like the way Kevin explain things.

Thak you.

Richard, is there anything that would block the Me.Refresh command? I have a button on that menu to refresh it and it has no effect.

Kevin. I have a VBA code to change the color based on if there are new orders or not. The button works correctly, but when I try to update the button with the fact that there are no new orders (or vice versa), the Me.Refresh has no effect and the only way I can refresh the menu to reflect the correct color button is to close the main menu form and reopen it.

Like Requery, Refresh only affects data, not button colors, nor any format settings used on anything on the form.  Requery, Refresh, and Repaint cannot "reset" the form to the settings you specified at design time.  Those settings are only known to Access when the form is in design view.  When the form is in form view, it cannot be in design view, therefore Access can't retrieve the design view settings.  And that's why Requery, Refresh, and Repaint don't work for that purpose.  Only your VBA code would work.  You need to use the same VBA method to change the button color when there is no new order.

While a form is running, it doesn't (and can't) keep a "history" of the possibly hundreds of changes to its button colors, form background colors, font styles, visibility settings, etc.  So only you can tell the form what to do, every step of the way, with your code.

Ok, I'm giving that formula a try. I'm using the formula from <A HREF="https://599cd.com/blog/display-article.asp?ID=1526"><B>Here</B></A>  for the code that counts the orders but it's not working. Can this function use DLOOKUP from a Query?

If you want the number of orders to be part of the notification to your users, you need to use DCount() to get an actual count.  If you  only need to know whether or not a new order is present, DLookup() may suffice.  DLookup() only returns one record, and if it finds just one new order, that means new orders are present.

From the VBA code area, I deleted the 'Private Sub' and then added the following:

Public Function ChangeButtonColor() As Long
      ChangeButtonColor = NZ(Lookup("OrderID", "NewOrderQ"), 0)
      Me.OrdersBtn.Backcolor = IIF(ChangeButtonColor = 0, vbRed, vbBlue)
End Function

That renders no change. Am I getting close?  I really appreciate your time.

You can't use "ChangeButtonColor" as a variable because it is the name of the function itself.  You need to declare a variable with a different name.  Also, it's DLookup instead of Lookup.  Finally, this function "ChangeButtonColor" needs to be called in order to do anything.  Where is this function called?  If a function isn't called anywhere, it does nothing, and that may be why you see no changes.

Create Function

Thank you Kevin and Alex. I see that I am missing a basic knowledge of Functions. I'll work on that. Thank you! For now, I'm having a pop-up message on a timer if there are any new orders.

Daniel
You remind me of myself until recently. I knew just enough Access to frustrate myself.  I knew what I wanted to do and I knew just enough to try but not enough to make Things work. so finally, I started taking Richard's access courses from the beginning to the end.  Now programming in access turned from a frustration to our pleasure. I strongly recommend you invest the time and money to go through those courses, no one teaches access better than Richard.

Richard
Modesty does not become you.

Lol