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Knowledge base article 100

Start Database and open a form

How to open a database from the desktop and automatically display a form

First Part: create a link on your desktop that runs the database application

1. Right-click over the desktop and select New/Shortcut
2. Select Browse and choose the abdata.exe program (it's normally in c:\program files\ability office 4\)
3. Select Finish
4. Right-click over the database and select properties
5. Add the name of the database to the Target and include the name of the macro you are going to create. For example, suppose your database is called "MyData" and is a folder called "MyDocs" on your C: drive, the full Target should read:
   "C:\Program Files\Ability Office 4\Abdata.exe" c:\MyDocs\MyData.adb#StartUp

Second Part: create the macro to open a form

1. Open the database containing the form you want to display
2. Select File/New/Macro and call it "StartUp"
3. Edit the macro so it opens the form. For example, suppose the form is called "CustomerForm", the macro should look like this:
   Sub Startup ()
      DBForms.Open("CustomerForm")
   End Sub
   

Now you can close the database and test the link on the desktop - the result should be that the form you want is displayed